The principal of a charter school located within the building that also houses the Dept. of Education has stepped down amid accusations that she was doctoring standardized test scores.
The Sun reports that Stephanie Clagnaz left the Ross Global Academy last month after a teacher alleged she saw the principal of the school taking ungraded math exams home with her. Regulations require that the exams remain physically secured on school grounds until they are graded to prevent tampering.
Ross Global Academy, named after Courtney Ross, who runs a similar private school in the Hamptons, has only been open for two years, but has encountered a difficult startup atmosphere, with budget problems, high staff turnover, and complaints about the curriculum and violence. Clagnaz was it's fifth principal in the last two years.
The school shares space with the Dept. of Education at the recently renovated Tweed Courthouse, which is named after William "Boss" Tweed, a politician synonymous with municipal corruption. The building itself, is considered the physical embodiment of governmental waste and political crookedness. It took about 20 years to build and its cost overruns were epic, due to the fact everyone in Tammany Hall, including Boss Tweed, was lining their pockets with construction funds.
NYC - Civic Center: Tweed Courthouse , by wallyg at flickr
