A former assistant principal at Stratford High School in Nashville alleged in an interview with WSMV4 that students were placed in fake classes and given manipulated grades in order to help them graduate.
The outlet reported last week that Dr. Howard Jones, who served as an assistant principal and grading principal at Stratford, told WSMV4 Investigates he discovered students enrolled in classes not listed on the school’s master schedule while auditing grades.
Jones said students were sometimes given failing grades in the alleged fake classes, which then allowed them to use Edgenuity, an online credit-recovery program. Tennessee law requires students to have failed a class before using the program, according to WSMV.
Students could also take a “test for credit” to receive credit for a class without completing traditional coursework. Jones alleged that teachers assisted students while they took the tests, allowing them to pass.
“With teacher assistance,” Jones told WSMV4 Investigates, describing how students were allegedly guided toward correct answers.
Jones recalled seeing one student receive a physics credit through Edgenuity despite the student, whom he described as having special needs, being unable to read.
He also alleged that former Stratford Principal Michael Steele and Principal Michael Pratt were involved in different forms of grade manipulation. He said Pratt instructed him to “just let it go” and “leave it alone” after he raised concerns.
The allegations come as the Tennessee State Board of Education investigates Stratford following multiple complaints of grade manipulation.
Jones’ claims also follow reporting by The Tennessee Star on concerns raised by former MNPS Teacher of the Year Samira Hardcastle, who previously alleged that district administrators pressured her to fabricate or alter a student’s grade.
Hardcastle, in an exclusive sit-down interview with The Star’s CEO and Editor-in-Chief Michael Patrick Leahy, said she witnessed students struggling with foundational academic skills while teachers were restricted from going back to teach material below their grade-level standards.
She also questioned the accuracy of district achievement data, saying, “I think all of the numbers are skewed.”
In September, Professional Educators of Tennessee President JC Bowman said a forensic audit of MNPS was likely as more educators came forward with allegations of misconduct.
Watch WSMV’s report and interview with Jones:
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
