[Newark, New Jersey – January 24, 2014] Newark Public Schools has completed its investigation of five Principals who were put on paid suspension for various potential offenses.  Superintendent Cami Anderson instructed Newark Public Schools’ Employee Services to conduct a swift and thorough investigation. The investigation was to determine if Principals were meeting their obligation to:

  1. provide accurate, timely information about their school’s performance,
  2. actively support and engage families around all school options, including but not limited to, the schools they run, and
  3. ensure a safe purposeful environment focused on student learning. Principals were provided specific findings individually on Thursday, followed by a written letter regarding findings and outcomes. Because the investigation is a confidential personnel matter, Newark Public Schools will not comment on specifics but offers the two statements below.

The following is a statement from Newark Public Schools Spokesperson Matthew Frankel:

“Five Principals were put on paid suspension to address serious concerns. The investigation concluded misconduct by some Principals and raised issues that families were being denied access to accurate and complete information. There is a pending criminal investigation involving an incident at one school where the safety of children and staff were potentially in danger. We stand firmly by our obligation to ensure safety, enforce families’ rights, and protect student learning. The Superintendent remains focused on prioritizing the many issues that should unite us and will continue to do what is in the best interest for Newark’s children.”

The following is a statement from Newark Public Schools General Counsel and Chief of Staff Charlotte Hitchcock:

“At every step in this process, Newark Public Schools has taken great care to respect the rights of our administrators. Principals were placed on paid suspension last Friday afternoon pending the results of an investigation, in keeping with Employee Services policy. We met yesterday with each Principal to allow dialogue on facts discovered. The Newark Public Schools investigation concluded today.”