By Brian Zanzonico
The DOE investigation, which concluded in May, found that as assistant principal of the Cobble Hill School for American Studies, Theresa Capra elevated grades on Global History Regents exams in 2002 and 2003, and instructed teachers to do the same.
"She indicated she intends to devote herself full time to defending herself against those allegations, which she vehemently denies," said Sewanhaka Superintendent Dr. John Williams.
Capra was hired by the Sewanhaka schools last summer, during the DOE investigation. Williams said the district was unaware of the investigation during the hiring process, which DOE spokeswoman Kelly Devers said happened because it was still ongoing. "We're disappointed we didn't know about the incident before we hired her," Williams said.
Williams said he helped form a committee comprising social studies experts, current department chairs and retired chairs last week to comb through social studies Regents tests taken this year by Carey students, and found no abnormalities in the grading.
Capra did not return several phone calls.
Former Assistant Superintendent of Personnel Dr. Gerard Connors said that Capra "came with the best of references," and her New York State fingerprint check came back clean. Connors, now retired, was one of the officials in charge of hiring her. "I'm flabbergasted," he said of the news about her. "Shocked."
Capra was slated to meet with Sewanhaka officials last Thursday, but Williams said she had hired a lawyer who requested time to review the facts. Because she was a probationary employee and did not have tenure, Sewanhaka district officials had a multitude of options, including dismissal.
Williams said that district officials began interviewing candidates this week for the vacant assistant principal post at Elmont Memorial High School. Once that position is filled, he explained, attention will be turned to finding a replacement for Capra, which will most likely come from Sewanhaka.
Until the investigation came to light, Capra was considered a rising star in the district, rated "very good" in her one year at Carey by principal Douglas Monaghan, Williams said. "We wish her well," Williams added. "She was a good employee for us."
According to the 30-plus-page DOE investigator's report, obtained last week by the Herald, Capra was accused by Cobble Hill social studies teacher Vincent Leardi of changing failing grades on the 2003 Global Studies Regents to passing marks, and that at least one exam was changed from the 50th percentile to the 70th percentile. Leardi also said he personally changed grades below 65 to passing. As a result of his cooperation with investigators, Leardi avoided disciplinary action stemming from the investigation.
Cobble Hill social studies teacher and United Federation of Teachers chapter leader Phillip Nobile said in the report that he was told by Capra in May of 2002 that students could get essay points for "old garbage" they wrote. Two other teachers said they were asked by Capra to "scrub," or inflate the scores of that fall's exams that fell just below the passing grade of 65.
Several Cobble Hill teachers interviewed in the investigator's report, however, said they never saw or heard Capra bumping up grades or instructing teachers to do so. Capra declined to be interviewed for the report, but in published reports has denied wrongdoing.
The investigator's report also said that in a letter from a State Education Department official to a superior, the official wrote that data obtained from the Office of Information and Reporting Services concluded that "the aggregation of scores assigned in the 65-69 range as compared to the 60-64 range for students of the Cobble Hill High School on both Regents examinations goes beyond any dispersion, magnitude or directionality that is likely attributed to chance."
Cobble Hill Principal Lennel George was removed last week by Region 8 Superintendent Dr. Marcia Lyles, but his fate will not ultimately be decided until further investigation by the DOE, Devers said. She also said that Kathy Pelles, a superintendent in Brooklyn responsible for supervising the school, received a letter of reprimand but will not be terminated.
According to Cobble Hill's mission statement on the DOE Web site, it "provides a full college preparatory program with a special focus on American History. We believe that high teacher expectations, an emphasis on student effort and a supportive learning environment will help students achieve academic success."
Comments about this story? Bzanzonico@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 240.
