Free Republic

The assistant principal of San Francisco's Galileo High School and a Milpitas woman have been arrested on pimping and prostitution charges by San Jose Police. Gerald Courtney, 57, the assistant principal, and Hsiu Hwa Chou, 41, were arrested for allegedly running brothels at 1550 Technology Drive and 80 Descanso Drive in San Jose. The arrests came after search warrants were served at the homes of the suspects in Milpitas and San Francisco. "The San Jose vice unit served several search warrants, one in Milpitas and one in San Francisco, regarding an ongoing investigation of the past four months," said San...

Gabriel DeJesus Back At Work At Sacred Heart School For The Arts On Monday; N.Y. Archdiocese Investigating. GREENBURGH, N.Y. (CBS) ― A Westchester County Catholic school principal is in serious trouble after he was arrested for allegedly going on a naked sexual romp with two other men in the backyard of a vacant home in the Orchard Hill section of town on Sunday. Gabriel De Jesus, 41, of Ossining told police he was the principal of Sacred Heart School for the Arts, a Catholic elementary school at 71 Sharpe Blvd. in Mount Vernon. DeJesus was still running the elementary school...

DEDHAM – The haggard-looking former Hull High School principal who was set to do a stint this summer as a camp swim instructor was ordered held on $10,000 cash bail this morning after authorities say they found thousands of images of child pornography on his computer. Russell Goyette, 61, a longtime teacher who retired as Hull High principal in 2005, pleaded not guilty this morning to 16 counts of possession of child pornography. Prosecutors say a search of Goyette’s personal computer netted more than 4,500 images of children engaged in sex acts with adults and other children. He was indicted...

The case of a first-grade teacher convicted of molesting his own students has taken a new twist. The school's principal is now accused of knowing about the abuse and not reporting it. Frank Laine Hall is currently serving a 15-years-to-life prison sentence for molesting students in his Riverton classroom. Now, the school's principal is charged with one count of failure to report abuse, a misdemeanor that could destroy her career. Parents of Hall's victims have mixed emotions about this new charge. Shelly Nordick is a well-liked principal, who one parent says helped the children heal after Hall's conviction. But could...

A South Carolina high school principal said he'll resign from his post after the district approved an organization for gay students that conflicts with his religious beliefs. Eddie Walker, the principal of Irmo High School in Columbia, S.C., announced his intention to step down to faculty and students on Wednesday, saying he'll end his tenure following the 2008-09 school year. The decision, outlined in a letter to Lexington-Richland School District 5 officials, said the reason was the formation of a Gay-Straight Alliance Club for students.

Memphis, TN - Attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union say Daphne Beasley, the principal of Hollis F. Price Middle College High School in South Memphis, went way beyond her role as educator. The ACLU says in September 2007, Beasley asked her staff to give her the names of students who were couples, heterosexual and homosexual, because she wanted to keep an eye on them to cut down on public displays of affection. She's accused of publicly posting the names of those students, including two boys, Andrew and Nicholas, who had just started dating. The ACLU says that in doing...

Durango High School will allow its highest-performing students to wear white robes at graduation, reversing an earlier decision to require all students to wear red robes. Principal Diane Lashinsky said she had learned "a great deal" from the controversy over graduation robes. Lashinsky decided several months ago that all students would wear red robes at the May 24 graduation ceremony, ending a tradition where students with grade-point averages of 4.0 or greater wear honorary white robes. Lashinsky said she felt the white gowns "diminish the accomplishment and hard work of other graduates by relative comparison." Her decision caused an uproar...

New Leaders, New Funding? by: Bethany Stotts, March 18, 2008 A new, experimental policy discussed this week at the Center for American Progress (CAP) suggests reforming schools from the top down through engaged, talented principals....The program currently has a 20% success rate. “ 20%—you might say this is not an impressive number and it is not nearly what we want it to be, but nonetheless 20% of schools led by our New Leaders principals are making breakthrough gains in academic achievement for high poverty kids. ” said Schnur. “Now 80% aren’t, and that’s of immense concern to us, but the...

Man Charged With 5 Counts Of Possession Of Child Porn POSTED: 1:07 pm EST December 21, 2007 UPDATED: 12:54 am EST December 22, 2007 LAKELAND, Fla. -- A Central Florida elementary school principal was arrested Friday on suspicion of possessing and creating child pornography, including pictures of a girl who attended the school last year, officials said. John Stelmack, 60, the principal at Scott Lake Elementary School in Lakeland, was arrested at his home, located at 5749 Deer Track Trail in Lakeland, and charged with five counts of possession of child pornography. Stelmack was suspended from his job as principal...

BRISTOW, Va. - The principal of a Prince William County elementary school has been found dead in a county park. Police say the body of Derek Michael Drummond, 44, of Bristow, was found Monday afternoon by an 8-year-old girl and her grandfather who were hiking in Locust Shade Park. Police spokeswoman Erika Hernandez says there were no signs of trauma or foul play. Police are waiting for an autopsy report and results of a toxicology test. Drummond was principal of Cedar Point since it opened in 2001 and before that was principal of Occoquan Elementary School.

WATERFORD -- Waterford High School's principal reportedly disciplined two freshmen for fighting by having them get on their hands and knees, look at each other through a chair, apologize to each other and promise their behavior would end. It worked, according to one of the boys who made the pledge after the altercation last week. It also made his mother furious. Penny Watson said she was shocked when her son told her of the punishment. "I can understand having them stand up like men, apologize and shake hands," she said. "I'm past confusion. Now I'm angry."

Life Term for Teen in Principal's Death Friday August 3, 2007 7:01 PM By TODD RICHMOND Associated Press Writer BARABOO, Wis. (AP) - A 16-year-old was sentenced Friday to life in prison with the possibility of parole for the shooting death of his high school principal. Eric Hainstock was convicted a day earlier of the first-degree intentional homicide of Weston Schools Principal John Klang last September. Sauk County Circuit Judge Patrick Taggart said Hainstock would be eligible for parole in 30 years. The judge urged the state's Department of Corrections to place Hainstock in a juvenile center. ``I do believe...

TUCSON, Ariz. — When her husband comes home to Tucson on leave from Iraq, Keila Rios could face a dilemma she finds infuriating. She plans to take their children out of school for a week to spend time with their Army dad. But when she asked for makeup work they could do at home, she initially was told they'd receive zeros if they didn't go to class. The head of the charter school they attend declared the absences inexcusable and told the Arizona Daily Star that Rios' children would not be allowed to make up missed assignments. It now seems...

Should teachers offer advice on what color underwear is the right color for their students? Should students give roses to their teachers on Valentine’s Day? A criminal trial is not normally the place where you might expect to hear questions worthy of consideration by Miss Manners. But a Manhattan jury was asked to ponder such etiquette questions on Thursday — to the evident amusement of some of them — in the statutory rape trial of Lina Sinha, the East Side private school principal and teacher accused of having sex with two of her junior high school students. On the witness...

A 50-year-old principal was found naked in his school office while watching gay pornography on Tuesday, according to sources. Sex toys were found nearby, the sources added. Police said John Acerra was a longtime teacher and principal in the Bethlehem Area School District, but was also allegedly selling crystal meth out of his school office. Acerra, of Allentown, was the principal of Nitschmann Middle School in Bethlehem, and was arrested minutes after he arranged to sell the notoriously addictive drug to a police informant, according to investigators. Police arrived and found meth and drug paraphernalia on his desk, according to...

The principal of Nitschmann Middle School in Bethlehem sold crystal methamphetamine to police informants three times this month, once in his school office, police say. John Acerra, 50, of 832 Chestnut St., Allentown, was arrested Tuesday in his office, where police found meth on his desk, according to arrest papers filed by Bethlehem police. One police informant told officers that Acerra used and sold crystal meth for at least five months before his arrest, the papers say.Acerra faces felony charges of possession with intent to deliver meth and delivery of the drug and related charges. He is in Lehigh County...

Eastern H.S. Principal FiredEastern Senior High School Principal Shawn Hearn has been fired following a D.C. school system probe into his role in four altercations with students and a parent. Hearn was arrested following one of the fights, but some of the other cases had not been previously reported. Officials won't elaborate on what happened, but school chief Clifford Janey says it was the right move based on the findings. The case that led to the investigation happened October 25th, when Hearn and a student were arrested following a fight in a hallway of the Northeast Washington school. Hearn and...

Klang Called Hero, Dedicated EducatorFuneral to be held this morning at 11 A.M. at Weston High School gym.

CAZENOVIA, Wis. - A ninth-grader shot his principal three times in a rural school just before classes were to start Friday, after a custodian wrested from the boy one of the two weapons he had carried into the building, the sheriff said. No one else was hurt. The custodian took a shotgun from the 15-year-old before the student shot Weston Schools Principal John Klang with a handgun in the hallway near the school’s main entrance, Sauk County Sheriff Randy Stammen said. The student was in custody, he said. Klang was in critical condition when he was taken by helicopter from...

EVERMAN, Texas — A high school principal has left her position two weeks after singling out black students' poor test scores over the school's intercom system. The Everman Independent School District announced Kathy Culbertson's departure in a Tuesday statement. It said her comments had overshadowed district achievements. During an address on the first day of classes at Everman High School, Culbertson said black students who failed math on the state's accountability test had caused the high school to be rated unacceptable. The remarks set off a racially charged debate at the suburban Fort Worth campus, which is about 59 percent...

Everman Principal Leaves Following Remarks EVERMAN – The Everman High School principal who highlighted black students’ poor math scores over the school intercom has stepped down. The decision was announced Tuesday afternoon after Superintendent Jeri Pfeifer met with faculty and school board members. A written statement released by the district said Kathy Culbertson’s comments on the first day of school have overshadowed other district achievements and put the high school at the center of attention for the last two weeks. “Neither the district nor Ms. Culbertson believes in the isolation of any student group or that students are solely to...

LULAC chapter criticizes Austin school district for going against community's wishes.A Hispanic community group is criticizing the district's choice to lead Travis High School, saying he is inexperienced and unfamiliar with issues facing the campus. Austin school board members last week approved the hiring of Rene Garganta, former principal of University Middle School in Waco. Garganta has also worked as an administrator in the Victoria district and as an administrator, teacher and coach in the Seguin district. The local League of United Latin American Citizens is circulating an e-mail saying the district went against the wishes of the organization and...

The principal of a Los Angeles charter elementary school said Wednesday that neither he nor his staff ordered the assault of a KABC-AM radio reporter last week. Sandy Wells, the reporter working for KABC's morning show, "McIntyre in the Morning," was allegedly assaulted outside the school last week by a man demanding his audio tape. Station officials said Wells was also followed as he drove away. Rumors of Aguilar's involvement stemmed from an on-air caller to KABC's morning show, claiming he witnessed Aguilar order the attack, according to producer John Phillips. Police are investigating the incident. "I know for a...

For Maquisha Cosey, vice president of Thornton Fractional North High School's class of 2006, graduation day is not one she'll soon forget. And not for any of the sentimental reasons. It's the day that Cosey, who was listed on Friday's graduation program as the leader of the pledge to the flag, was arrested and charged with criminal trespass and disorderly conduct after trying to participate in the ceremony despite being denied entry for being late. "I know that this shouldn't have happened to me. It shouldn't happen to anyone," says the graduate. Instead of celebrating her big day, she spent...

School official suspended for sex questionnaire Assistant principal consulted on heterosexual survey Port Washington - A first-year assistant principal has been suspended for two days without pay for his role in the use of the "Heterosexual Questionnaire" at Port Washington High School last month. Principal Duane Woelfel on Monday confirmed reports that Eric Burke, one of two assistant principals at the school, was out of school Monday and will be out again today. Woelfel described the action as an "unpaid leave." Woelfel would not discuss details of the decision. He is expected to make a formal announcement today on all...

Facing a deluge of criticism, Wrentham school administrators have relented on their refusal to allow West Point officials to honor two student appointees and will allow the presentations to occur at this weekend’s graduation, state officials said. King Philip High School seniors Jeffrey Chin and William Small will receive their official appointments at commencement ceremonies this Sunday, marking accomplishments won through years of hard work and perserverence. “The public has spoken,” Jeffrey Chin’s mother, Pam, said today. “I’ve gotten so many calls. It’s so nice to see how caring and respectful people are.” School administrators had initially prevented West Point...

BOSTON -- Two local high school students have earned scholarships to West Point, but when it comes to awards night at their school the military is not invited. Some said it's a big disservice to those who are ready to serve their country. Newscenter Five's Sean Kelly reported that the principal of King Phillip Regional High School in Wrentham, Mass., told the U.S. Army it would not be welcome at a scholarship banquet that will be held to honor two graduates who have received scholarships to West Point Military Academy.

In the spirit of the times, it was reported today that Dr. Richard Robbat, Superintendent of Schools for the King Philip Regional School District, Norfolk, MA, has barred from the high school graduation ceremony Army officers there to present to two graduates their appointments to The US Military Academy at West Point. Dr. Robbat, apparently now hiding under his desk, refused to talk to the WRKO reporters calling him and instead had the school principal answer questions. According to a school spokesdrone, the superintendent feels it is "inappropriate for any special presentations at the school graduation." Calls to Dr. Robbat"...

11 News has learned the principal at Reagan High School has resigned. Two weeks ago the principal was accused of emailing an offensive picture to a teacher. HISD said investigators confirmed that sexual harassment complaint. In March this same principal was disciplined by HISD for flying the Mexican flag on the campus flag pole. We're told the flag incident was part of a compromise to keep students from walking out during an immigration protest.

Eyewitness News has learned the same HISD principal who decided to fly the Mexican flag next to the American flag on school grounds has resigned. Robert Pambello told HISD on April 22 he is resigning for personal reasons. In late March, Pambello put up a Mexican flag outside the school to fly alongside the US flag. That incident happened while many immigration protests were taking place both in Houston and around the country.

Beaumont police conducting a sting at Tyrrell Park trying to stop indecency at public parks arrested Doak Lamb, the principal at Woodcrest Elementary School in Port Neches after he requested anal sex from undercover officers. According to the officers, who were patroling the park and going into and out of the public buildings there, Lamb responded to officers advances but rejected oral sex, instead saying that he preferred anal sex and had brought his own condoms. During a search of Lamb as he was being arrested, a condom fell out of his front left pocket. When asked if he had...

PN-G elementary principal caught in sting Beaumont police conducting a sting at Tyrrell Park trying to stop indecency at public parks arrested Doak Lamb, the principal at Woodcrest Elementary School in Port Neches after he requested anal sex from undercover officers. According to the officers, who were patroling the park and going into and out of the public buildings there, Lamb responded to officers advances but rejected oral sex, instead saying that he preferred anal sex and had brought his own condoms. During a search of Lamb as he was being arrested, a condom fell out of his front left...

More than two dozen students walked out of Skyline High School Friday morning to protest what they say is a ban that doesn't allow the American flag to be flown on school grounds. Several students said that they were upset that Mexican flags can be waved around but that American flags couldn't. They said that school officials confiscated their American flags because it has become inflammatory because of recent immigration issues. "When the immigration laws came out we noticed that a lot of Hispanics were waving Mexican flags and what we were thinking to ourselves is like, isn't the immigration...

Mexican flags divisive topic as principal shows his support for student protests Reagan High School Principal Robert Pambello was ordered to remove a Mexican flag Wednesday morning that he had hoisted below the U.S. and Texas flags that typically fly in front of his school — a symbol he agreed to fly to show support for his predominantly Hispanic student body. At nearby Hamilton Middle School, a child was asked to wipe off Mexican and U.S. flags painted on his face. Hundreds of other students carried Mexican flags during walkouts Wednesday — acts of protest that they vow to continue...

Principal Joseph Carruth was riding down the slow, paneled elevator at Camden's district office, ready to cave in to pressure from a superior who he says had just given him a tutorial on how to cheat on state tests. "My head is spinning," Carruth recounted to The Inquirer of his feelings that day in January 2005. "I can't believe it." Still green on the job at Camden's Dr. Charles E. Brimm Medical Arts High, Carruth needed medical benefits for his ill daughter. He did not have tenure. He was tempted to take whatever steps necessary to keep his job. "I...

Report: Principal Exposed School Cheating Thursday March 23, 2006 4:01 AM By GEOFF MULVIHILL Associated Press Writer CAMDEN, N.J. (AP) - Six months after Joseph Carruth became principal of one of the city's high schools, one of his bosses gave him step-by-step instructions on how he should cheat to make sure students got passing scores on state standardized tests, according to a report. In a story based on court documents and interviews with law enforcement and education officials, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported in Wednesday's editions how Carruth has been on a nearly two-year behind-the-scenes odyssey to expose cheating in the...

Popular principal at Acreage middle school killed in crash By LEON FOOKSMAN sun-sentinel.com March 8, 2006, 3:30 PM EST WEST PALM BEACH – The popular principal of Western Pines Community Middle School in the rural Acreage area was killed Wednesday morning when her car collided with a pickup truck, the Palm Beach Sheriff's Office said. PBSO spokesman Paul Miller said the crash occurred around 7:30 a.m. in the intersection of Pratt Whitney Road and the Bee Line Highway as Western Pines principal Margaret "Peggy" Campbell, 62, drove to work at the school, 5949 140 Avenue North. Miller said Campbell, who...

DUBAI DUETS Late Friday, Department of Justice lawyers in the Office of Legal Counsel were attempting to determine if former President Bill Clinton had registered as an "Agent of a Foreign Principal." Federal statute requires that anyone -- even a former President -- doing political or public affairs work on behalf of a foreign country, agency or official must register with the Department, and essentially update his status every six months. It was not clear the Clinton had done so. If his status is less clear, here is what we do know: If Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton did not know...

(CBS) CHICAGO The principal at Clemente High School suddenly resigned at the height of the school year and at a time when the students there are confronted with increased violence. CBS 2's Dorothy Tucker reports on the unusual way the principal called it quits. While two students at Clemente High School were taken into custody Thursday, the school's principal is somewhere in Brazil on vacation. It’s from this tropical setting that she resigned. Hector Belen, chairman of the local school council, says the council was on a conference call with Principal Irene Damota when she suddenly announced she wasn't coming...

An open letter to Helen Donovan, editor of the Globe on its article "Gay principals soon take helm at both Newton high schools." Dear Helen: Under your supervision – or that of another of the homosexuality marketeers now running the Globe – we got this latest little goodie: "Jennifer Price, 34, is a doctoral student at Harvard's Graduate School of Education who lives in Newton with her spouse and their two young children. She takes over at Newton North High School in July." Now, Helen, you're not intentionally avoiding a franker use of English just so the precipitously declining...

Gay principals soon take helm at both Newton high schools By , Globe Staff | February 16, 2006 The new principals at both of Newton's high schools are young, energetic, and eager to start meeting people in their schools. They are also both openly gay. Brian Salzer, 38, who will be the principal at Newton South High School, comes from Sauk Prairie, a small Wisconsin school district near the state capital of Madison, and was the first openly gay principal in Wisconsin. Jennifer Price, 34, is a doctoral student at Harvard's Graduate School of Education who lives in Newton with...

PITTSBURGH - A high school senior who was transferred to an alternative school as punishment for parodying his principal on the Internet is suing the district, arguing it violated his freedom of speech. Justin Layshock had used his grandmother's computer and the Web site MySpace.com to create a phony profile under the principal's name and photo. The site asks questions, and Justin filled in answers peppered with vulgarities, fat jokes and, to the question "what did you do on your last birthday?" the response: "too drunk to remember," according to the lawsuit filed on Justin's behalf by the American Civil...

A SCHOOL principal has apologised for "over-using" the word Christmas in a controversy branded political correctness gone crazy. The head, Laurelle Allen, wrote the apology after a father claimed she had discriminated against his family by using Christmas too many times in newsletters. Paul and Melanie Jowsey -- whose children Charles, 10, and Harrison, eight, attend Yeppoon State School in central Queensland -- do not celebrate Christmas and oppose the "historical dominance of Christianity" in Australia. Mr Jowsey complained that Ms Allen used Christmas at least 10 times in three newsletters over a week. But community leaders, teachers and family...

Forget "Friday Night Lights." For this Jefferson County High School football team, it was "Bloody Monday" that has put a head coach and four of his former players on opposing sides in a federal courtroom. Four Jefferson County players cut from the team in October and their parents filed a lawsuit Friday in U.S. District Court against head football coach Marty Euverard, Jefferson County High Principal Dale Schneitman and athletic director Craig Kisabeth. Both sides agree that whatever happened on Oct. 10, a day the teenagers' attorney, Michael S. Kelley, called "Bloody Monday," in the football locker room led to...

SANTA ANA, Calif. - A federal judge ruled that a lesbian student can sue her school district and her principal for revealing her homosexuality to her mother. Charlene Nguon, 17, may go forward with her suit claiming violation of privacy rights, U.S. District Judge James V. Selna ruled in a decision dated Nov. 28 and announced Thursday by the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California. Orange County’s Garden Grove district had argued that Nguon openly kissed and hugged her girlfriend on campus and thus had no expectation of privacy.

Santa Ana -- A federal judge ruled that a lesbian student can sue her school district and her principal for revealing her homosexuality to her mother. Charlene Nguon, 17, may go forward with her suit claiming violation of privacy rights, U.S. District Judge James V. Selna ruled in a decision dated Nov. 28 and announced Thursday by the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California. Orange County's Garden Grove district had argued that Nguon openly kissed and hugged her girlfriend on campus and thus had no expectation of privacy. However, the judge ruled that Nguon had "sufficiently alleged a legally...

EAST POINT, Ga. (AP) - A high school principal in Fulton County, Georgia, has returned to work after being suspended without pay for making a disparaging comment about the mayor of New Orleans in a meeting with evacuated students. The principal of Tri-Cities High School in East Point -- Amelia Davis -- was allowed to return to work Thursday. The Fulton County school board determined that Davis had used -- quote -- "inappropriate and inflammatory" language in a meeting September ninth with New Orleans student displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Davis -- principal for seven years -- has denied saying anything...

ELIZABETH, Pa. -- Angry parents told a school board it should fire an elementary school principal who publicly shamed an 8-year-old girl falsely accused of stealing $5 from another student. William Penn Elementary School Principal Marlene Whitby paraded the girl from class to class last month, calling her a liar and thief. Soon after, the student who made the theft accusation recanted her story. Whitby apologized privately to Katie White after the family complained to school administrators, but not publicly, said Ryan White, the girl's father. Elizabeth Forward School Board members told angry parents at a meeting Wednesday they are...

Some parents in a local school district say the principal was out of line for taking by the hand an 8-year-old accused of stealing into every classroom in the school and telling kids she is a thief and a liar. Some want more than an apology -- they want the principal fired. Marlene Whitby is the principal of William Penn Elementary School. The parents of the little girl she humiliated say she scarred their child for life. The girl's father told Channel 4 Action News, "What good can you get out of that -- abusing a child? What good can...

Two other administrators also shotJACKSBORO, Tenn. — A student shot and killed an assistant principal and seriously wounded two other administrators at a high school today, officials said. The student was arrested. Parents rushed to 1,400-student Campbell County High School to take their children home after the shooting about 30 miles northwest of Knoxville. Assistant Principal Ken Bruce was killed, and Assistant Principal Jim Pearce and Principal Gary Seale were wounded — Seale while trying to take the student into custory, according to state Education Department spokeswoman Rachel Woods. The school was locked down after the shooting, and students were...