A second Chicago principal is expected to receive a formal job warning Wednesday for improper test security at her school as officials continue to investigate the system’s biggest cheating scandal in years.
Joanne H. Davis of Armour Elementary School, who has worked in the school system since 1965, could be fired if her conduct is not corrected, said a spokesman for the Chicago Board of Education.
Davis, who didn’t return phone calls Tuesday, is accused of allowing the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills and pupils’ answer sheets to remain in classrooms for a few days instead of having them immediately collected and secured after daily testing last spring, officials said.
That could have provided an opportunity for the sort of cheating that investigators found in other schools, where staffers allegedly changed pupils’ answers, officials said. The inquiry also looked at faculty members giving answers to pupils during testing.
The investigation has grown to include 26 system employees representing 14 schools–five principals and 21 teachers and aides–said schools spokesman Peter Cunningham. Nine of the teachers and aides face punishment from reprimands to firing, three are still being investigated, and nine have been cleared.
Last month, Principal Eloise Shumpert of Wright Elementary School, 627 N. Harding Ave., received a warning for storing test booklets and answer sheets in an unsecured closet, officials said. Two Wright teachers were cleared of improperly assisting pupils during testing.
At Armour, 950 W. 33rd Pl., a non-tenured teacher who was also under investigation recently resigned, schools spokesman Peter Cunningham said.
Two principals at undisclosed schools received written reprimands–less severe than a job warning–from schools chief Arne Duncan, officials said. A fifth principal was cleared.
The investigation at Fairfield Elementary School, 6201 S. Fairfield Ave., has resulted in a termination hearing against one teacher, and a teacher assistant has received a written reprimand. At Herzl Elementary School, 3711 W. Douglas Blvd., a substitute teacher was fired, and a teacher aide is facing dismissal proceedings.
At Lawndale Elementary School, 3500 W. Douglas Blvd., a tenured teacher is still under investigation, but charges were dropped against another tenured teacher. At Dewey Academy of Fine Arts, 5415 S. Union Ave., a proctor who was a teacher aide got a written reprimand.
Four elementary schools–Ashe, Gary, Peck and Shoop–were cleared, officials said. They declined to name the remaining four schools.