JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — (First Coast News is not naming the second or third teacher that were removed from the classroom due to the lack of formal charges.)
Over a hundred students will be interviewed by law enforcement officials at Douglas Anderson after multiple teachers were removed from the classroom due to alleged misconduct.
Principal Tina Wilson sent an update to parents and guardians Friday, explaining the reasoning for the interviews.
"Investigations into the personnel matters concerning our school are continuing," she explained. "The State Attorney’s Office, in concert with School Police and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, have identified approximately 140 students with whom they would like to conduct a brief interview. These students have been identified based on class rosters and participation in certain programs in recent years."
Wilson says that if your student is among those selected for this voluntary interview, expect to be contacted through an automated call and email. You should also expect a written notification, which will be provided to your students to bring home Friday.
The interviews will be conducted by the State Attorney’s Office, school police and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
Superintendent Diana Greene also sent a message to families Friday, outlining the district's plan to "address the culture of the school" and ensure that the district "does everything possible so that current and future students experience all the greatness that DA has to offer within a school climate and culture that is as emotionally and physically safe as possible."
Read the full statement from Greene below.
A third teacher was removed from the classroom two weeks ago after the initial arrest of longtime Duval County Public Schools music teacher Jeffrey Clayton, who is accused of lewd behavior with a student.
DCPS says Clayton has since submitted his retirement, effective March 28.
Statement from Principal Tina Wilson:
Dear Douglas Anderson families,
Investigations into the personnel matters concerning our school are continuing. The State Attorney’s Office, in concert with School Police and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, have identified approximately 140 students with whom they would like to conduct a brief interview. These students have been identified based on class rosters and participation in certain programs in recent years.
If your student is among those selected for this voluntary interview, I will notify you separately later today through an automated call and email. We will also provide you with written notification, which will be provided to your students to bring home today.
If your student has not been selected for an interview at this time but still wants to share information that might be helpful to these investigations, they should contact Dr. Tameiko Grant at GrantT1@duvalschools.org if they have not done so already.
Thank you for your continued cooperation and support as we work to address these issues and ensure that we provide all students with a safe and effective learning environment going forward.
Sincerely,
Tina Wilson
Principal
Statement from Dr. Greene:
Dear Douglas Anderson families,
Douglas Anderson School of the Arts has an exceptional reputation for helping highly talented students achieve academic goals and pursue collegiate and professional artistic goals at the highest levels. It is exceedingly disappointing that recent events and allegations from the past reveal another dimension of the school’s reputation that must be addressed and corrected.
While multiple personnel investigations remain open and on-going, as Superintendent, I know enough now to be able to outline several steps we will take to address the culture of the school and ensure we do everything possible so that current and future students experience all the greatness that DA has to offer within a school climate and culture that is as emotionally and physically safe as possible.
To build the right and best school environment going forward, we will implement multiple initiatives under three major strategic categories: (1) Accountability (2) Process and Training, and (3) Cultural Assessment.
Accountability
Two aspects of employee accountability will be addressed. If employees are found to have committed criminal or professional practices offenses, appropriate discipline or judicial process will commence. Additionally, actions of current and past employees at all levels, including the district, must be reviewed to determine if policy or procedural infractions or omissions require accountability. We will arrive at these conclusions and determinations through multiple investigations.
- All current personnel investigations will continue. These include criminal investigations and internal personnel investigations focusing on compliance with or violations of law, district policies, and the Florida Code of Ethics of the Education Profession.
- With direction from and in collaboration with the Duval County School Board and through the City of Jacksonville’s Office of General Counsel, an external law firm will conduct a broad investigation into employment behavior and handling of allegations and reports of improper conduct over the history of the school. To the extent possible, this investigation will seek to reveal both issues of policy, procedure, and/or employee adherence to policy and procedure. My office and the School Board will receive findings of fact and recommendations from this investigation and then initiate any further proceedings supported by the facts and recommendations.
Process and Training
The Duval County School Board has already begun evaluating policies and procedures related to professional ethics and fraternization with students. We will continue to work collaboratively with the School Board on any policy or procedural changes that will strengthen our ability to maintain a safe learning environment and protect our students. A central feature of this work will be the development of a strong system enabling students and staff to report allegations of impropriety to officials outside of the school to ensure proper investigation, tracking, and action. Additionally, if investigatory findings or recommendations highlight any further policy or procedural changes, I will fully collaborate with the School Board to act on those recommendations.
In addition to process evaluation, we will also implement two initiatives in training and professional development at the school.
- For staff, we will implement an additional mandatory training session on ethics and responsibilities of educators. This will be completed this school year and then re-emphasized as part of our normal back-to-school ethics training next year.
- For students, we will provide a voluntary, after-school informational training session on their rights under Federal Title IX. This civil rights law prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in education programs and activities. We will also include information from our high school health curriculum on strategies for deflecting, rejecting, and reporting unwanted and inappropriate sexual advances and behavior.
Cultural Assessment
In addition to accountability and process and training improvement, we must move with haste to create a better future for our current students. Therefore, we will initiate a collaboration with Dr. Denise Davis-Cotton, a preeminent scholar and highly experienced practitioner of arts education. Dr. Davis-Cotton currently serves as the Director of the Florida Center for Partnerships in Arts Integrated Teaching (PAInT) at the University of South Florida. Dr. Davis-Cotton’s lengthy list of accomplishments includes being the founder and 18-year principal of the Detroit School of the Arts. She will bring an unparalleled capability to consult with DA stakeholders in the development of norms and practices that allow for optimal growth of artistic and academic skills in a safe and effective learning environment. Dr. Davis-Cotton is particularly qualified to hear and understand the voice of students in this work as she collaborates with all groups toward the accomplishment of three objectives:
- Establish and define norms and boundaries for the special craft of teaching in artistic fields, including norms and practices for any bodily contact.
- Create procedures and policies to guide safe rehearsals and specialized student instruction typical of an arts intensive instructional environment.
- Develop rubrics or screening protocols to be used for the selection of performances or other works to be performed or produced by students.
Additionally, within the scope of Dr. Davis-Cotton’s work, we will accept and take action upon any other recommendation she may bring to ensure a safe, positive, highly productive climate and culture for students and staff at the school. My goal is to emerge through this process with a school of the arts that maintains Douglas Anderson’s national renown for academic and artistic excellence and that provides all children with the challenging, positive, safe learning environment every child deserves.
Sincerely,
Dr. Diana Greene
Superintendent
Duval County Public Schools