Nine former Gwinnett County educators won’t return to Grace Snell Middle School near Loganville next year. The school district says an investigation found they “violated testing procedures.”
The investigation involved six teachers and three administrators, including the school’s principal. The Gwinnett County Public Schools and the Georgia Department of Education launched the investigation, which reportedly found that an eighth-grade math teacher gave her students a formula sheet that they took notes on and then used as a study guide during the year-end Georgia Milestones test. That violates state testing procedures. 76 Grace Snell students had to retake the exam on May 20 as a result.
“We did find that there were clear violations of testing procedures and potential violations of the Georgia Code of Ethics for Educators which calls for teachers to administer state-mandated assessments fairly and ethically without compromising the integrity of the assessment,” Gwinnett Schools Associate Superintendent for School Improvement and Operations Steve Flynt said in a letter to parents. “In addition, we found a lack of oversight and training at the school level which compounded the issue.”
Flynt said the district has referred possible ethics violations to the Georgia Professional Standards Commission, the state agency that certifies teachers.
The district has appointed Vivian Stranahan, a former Gwinnett principal, as interim principal of Grace Snell until the school board approves a new one. Flynt said that search will begin soon.
