STAMFORD – There is a bit more clarity surrounding a school scandal, which the Stamford Superintendent of Public Schools says has resulted in the “erosion of public trust.”
Monday afternoon, during a press briefing at Stamford Government Center, Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Winifred Hamilton, said two top administrators at Stamford High School, arrested in October for failure to report a sexual relationship between a male student and a female teacher, will not return to the high school.
Principal Donna Valentine and Assistant Principal Roth Nordin, on paid leave since their arrests for failure to report, say they learned of the nine month long relationship at the end of the school year. But, Nordin admitted to police she did not report the incident to DCF, within the state mandated 12 hours of finding out. In fact, she never reported the relationship. Both received accelerated rehabilitation last month.
“Under the collective-bargaining agreement, as Superintendent, I have the right to involuntarily transfer administrators,” said Hamilton, who has not said where, within the school system, Valentine and Nordin will work. An third person, still unidentified, was placed on paid leave last week, as a result of this investigation.
The male student, who was 17 when the relationship began, told police that teachers and administrators knew of his relationship with 32 year old English teacher Danielle Watkins as far back as last December. And, he says, school officials were also aware that Watkins threatened him with a failing grade if he tried to break off the relationship. One of the student’s guardians says she visited Stamford High School in February to report that she felt it was inappropriate for Watkins to be picking up the boy in her car as often as she did.
Watkins pleaded guilty, on December 4, to second-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor, which could keep her in jail for up to four years.
“We have notified her that her status has been changed to unpaid leave,” said Hamilton, who added that she will also send a notification to the Commissioner of Education requesting the revocation of her teaching license.
The city’s Corporation Counsel says a retired judge has been retained to conduct an investigation, on behalf of the city. Among items of interest, will be “whether any staff, teachers, school administrators and/or Board of Education staff, including the Superintendent’s office, failed to comply with state and federal laws,” said Kathryn Emmett, Stamford’s Director of Legal Affairs.
Emmett, like Hamilton, reading from a prepared statement, added that “a full written report will be prepared at the conclusion of the investigation. The report will be made available to the public. It is anticipated that the investigation will be concluded within 60 to 75 days.”
Related Stories:
