Saturday, January 25, 2020

High school teacher and dean fired from Maspeth High School that is under investigation by the feds

sepulveda-maspethhttps://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2020/01/sepulveda-maspeth.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=618&h=410&crop=1

NY Post

A Maspeth High School math teacher and dean who students say gave them answers on Regents exams and texted with them has been removed, The Post has learned.

Danny Sepulveda was escorted out of the Queens school in late December “due to an ongoing investigation,” the city Department of Education confirmed.

DOE officials said the investigation was “unrelated to academic fraud.”

But Sepulveda, 30, is one of several teachers who gave kids answers during Regents exams, according to statements given to investigators.

One student wrote last year that Sepulveda re-read the questions at the end of the exam: “But while he was reading it he was only saying the right answer choice, and this made me uncomfortable because it showed he didn’t believe in me to pass the exam.”

Another student wrote that during a math Regents exam in June 2018, Sepulveda and math teacher Chris Grunert “helped me and other kids in my room with answers.”

Grunert and others accused of academic misconduct have not been removed from the school.

NY Post

The feds have started looking into allegations of widespread academic fraud in New York City schools, a Queens lawmaker says.

City Councilman Robert Holden met this month with officials in the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York after his call for a federal probe of “deep-rooted fraud” in the city Department of Education.

“I’m encouraged by my meeting with the US Attorney. His team is taking this seriously,” Holden told The Post.

FBI agents have already contacted several whistle-blowing teachers whose names he provided, Holden added.

A spokesman for US Attorney Richard Donoghue declined comment.

Holden sent a letter in November to Donoghue in Brooklyn and US Attorney Geoffrey Berman in Manhattan, saying “an apparent pattern of conspiracy to cover up” grade-fixing, cheating and other wrongdoing might warrant an investigation under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), which covers criminal enterprises.

In Atlanta, eight educators were convicted under a RICO statute of manipulating student test scores and sentenced to prison in 2015.

Holden turned over records compiled by former and current faculty members at Maspeth High School in Queens, where teachers say administrators encouraged cheating on exams, enforced a “no-fail policy,” and retaliated against staffers who didn’t play ball.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Looks like the NYC Demorats are going to start Rating out each other soon ! Get the Popcorn and sit back and enjoy. Look what one City Council member with "BALLS" got done...

Anonymous said...

Crapie (Sorry I mean JQ LLC) thanks for these DOE stories it's getting hot !

rikki said...

Isn't this like what they did in Atlanta years ago give minority student an extra 10 points so they could graduate the next grade and the starts didn't look so bad???

Anonymous said...

Love the Wire clip. Best show ever.

Anonymous said...

He helped the minorities, didn't he? Isn't what the Democrats do since Obama? Helping illegals, the mediocre getting high-scores, etc. So where is the problem in a deep blue city?

Anonymous said...

Just minorities helping minorities! Not a problem. Maybe the they need the help.

Dumb old hag said...

Mixed feelings here. Yes this behavior is clearly wrong and unethical and unfair to kids who busted their butts studying.... but at the same time, I wish this dude had been my math regents proctor. Thankfully I always managed to pass the math regents (by a thread), but it was a great source of stress. Some peeps are lousy test takers- I sucked at the SAT too, though I was an A student in a competitive high school. I freakin hate the Regents exams, then and now.

Anonymous said...

Wow Councilman Holden is not afraid to take on our corrupt, racist, politicians . He was active as President of Juniper Civic for 25 years, member of Community Board 5 and just retired for teaching college for 40 years he could have taken it easy but he really is stirring the stinkpot.Holden for Mayor.

Anonymous said...

Until you can sue the government (in this case parents vs NYC Board of Ed) it will go on forever. There needs to be penalties.

Anonymous said...

What about the Glendale homeless shelter? Thanks Bob. What about your do-nothing posture regarding complaints about young girls being approached, and thus intimidated, by a black in Middle Village? Thanks, Bob. By the way, is Bob somehow connected to this website?

JQ LLC said...

@ Anon re: Bob

No.

I can't help but notice that whenever Holden is part of a news item that gets posted here, immediately comes these baseless accusations that he's "tied" to a blog somehow.

No one is "tied" to this blog, and it would be pathetic that a councilmember would waste his or her time trying to get likes via a blog working as a surrogate p.r. person.

And me and Crapper are not the same person either. But keep up all the speculating, I find controversy very sexy.

Anonymous said...

By the way, is Bob somehow connected to this website?

You need to see your doctor to up the medication.

Anonymous said...

Austin Powers @JQ LLC said...(QC Number Two)
"I find controversy very sexy" Yeah, baby!

Queens Crapper said...

"Is Bob somehow connected to this website?"

No. Not in 2006 when it was first started. Not since then. Not now. Why didn't you ask about it on the Eric Adams post? Or the BQX posts? Is Holden a trigger word for you? Time to get a life already.