The four teachers currently suspended for allegedly providing improper coaching to students during last April’s statewide ELA and Math exams are still at home waiting for the next plot development in this local drama.

 

By Sarah Varney

 

The four teachers currently suspended for allegedly providing improper coaching to students during last April’s statewide ELA and Math exams are still at home waiting for the next plot development in this local drama. Originally, the four had been assigned to work in the Rye City School District’s offices at 411 Theall Road, but on September 9, the first day of school, they were instead given work-at-home projects.

 

While many Osborn and Milton parents are still hoping that the teachers will be returned to their classrooms, that hope may be overly optimistic. The lull in settling the conflict over the summer is no indication of a possible positive outcome, as the teachers’ union prohibits hearings from being held outside of the school year, sources stressed.

 

Leave-replacement teachers have been hired to take over the two class sections at Osborn and the two class sections at Milton while the investigation continues.

 

The New York State Education Department has ceded control of the investigation to the district for now, with weekly check-ins by the state’s Test Security Unit. Official “charges” won’t be filed until the investigation is complete.

 

Meanwhile, rumors continue to fly. A credible source reports that the District had approached one of the teachers involved in the case with a settlement that would have required that teacher to admit wrongdoing and accept her suspension as a disciplinary action. Presumably, she would have been allowed back into her classroom after the unpaid suspension. She refused.

 

A close study of case outcomes in this kind of situation shows that the odds may be in favor of the district in certain circumstances. There is some indication that tenure, along with the number of years that a teacher with a “clean” record has been employed, is taken into consideration in cases where a teacher is cleared of charges. Sources also report that expressions of remorse also boost chances of being cleared. Still other sources contend that this is unlikely.

 

Stay tuned.