Principal of the Year Forced out in Preuss Scam

[Rich Gibson <rgibson@pipeline.com>]

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Departure follows scandal over grades

By Jeff McDonald
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

December 19, 2007

Following a grade-tampering scandal at the Preuss 
School, the nationally recognized charter school 
at UC San Diego that steers low-income and 
minority students to college, the principal has resigned.

Doris Alvarez, who was placed on paid leave in 
September when allegations that teachers issued 
undeserving grades first became public, abruptly 
resigned yesterday, the University of California 
San Diego said in a news release.

The departure, which came as little of a surprise 
to educators and others watching developments at 
the Preuss School, was effective immediately. 
Alvarez had served as principal since the school opened in 1999.

?Accountability stops at the top, so she'll have 
to take the blows for whatever happened,? said 
John de Beck, a trustee of the San Diego Unified 
School District, which approved the school's 
charter. ?I'm sure they will recover from it, but 
they'll have to put in pretty strong supervision.?

No one from UCSD or the Preuss School was made 
available to discuss the resignation, which was 
submitted seven months after university auditors 
began investigating claims that grades were 
changed to improve student performances.

Cecil Lytle, the UCSD professor who founded the 
Preuss School and serves as chairman of its board 
of directors, did not return messages late 
yesterday seeking comment. Neither did other board members or school officials.

In a news release, the UCSD communications office 
said simply that Alvarez was leaving and the 
school would continue to respond to audit 
findings issued last week that found more than 
400 grades wrongly recorded in the past six years.

The UCSD audit concluded that Alvarez and a 
former counselor ?likely had knowledge of and/or 
directed the inappropriate grade changes.?

According to the report, 76 percent of the 190 
student transcripts reviewed contained at least 
one discrepancy or error. All told, 427 grades 
were changed or failed to reflect teachers' records.

In 72 percent of the cases, grades were raised to 
improve the students' academic standing; the rest 
had a negative or no impact, leaving auditors to 
conclude that some grade changes were made by human error.

The school also was found to have a 
?significantly lower? percentage of students 
passing Advanced Placement classes. Preuss 
students passed AP classes at a rate of 26 
percent ? well below the 45 percent average 
across San Diego Unified School District, the audit said.

Auditors also interviewed 28 current and former 
employees, some of whom said Alvarez and a former 
counselor pressured them into making 
extraordinary accommodations to improve student grades.

One staff member was Greg Campbell, who spent the 
2003-04 school year teaching at the Preuss 
School. Campbell said Alvarez often reminded 
teachers during the weekly staff-development 
meetings that high marks were critical.

?Low grades to students were unacceptable,? said 
Campbell, who left after one year because his 
contract was not renewed. ?If low grades occur, 
we fail ? not the students. As a reminder to 
that, we were all presented with at-will contracts.?

Campbell, who subsequently taught at the Art 
Institute in Mission Valley, said he was forced 
to award subpar grades to four former students 
when they took his college-level ethics and anthropology courses.

?The highest grade I gave to any of my Preuss 
graduates was a C, and they struggled through that.?

The Preuss School operates on the UCSD campus and 
serves about 780 students from sixth through 12th grades.

Classes are held 198 days a year ? 18 more than 
the number of days traditional public schools are 
open. The school was recently named 10th-best 
high school in America by U.S. News & World Report.

Most students accepted into the school come from 
low-income and minority families that have never 
sent a child to college. More than 90 percent of 
Preuss graduates are admitted to four-year colleges or universities.

Alvarez was named national principal of the year 
in 1997 while leading Hoover High School in City Heights.

Acting Principal Scott Barton will finish out the 
Preuss school year. Meanwhile, UCSD plans to hire 
a consultant to perform a comprehensive review of 
academic operations and management practices at school.

Alvarez, who remains under contract until June, 
will serve as an adviser to UCSD until she 
retires June 30. Her new duties were not outlined 
in the statement issued by the university.

Alvarez has declined repeated interview requests 
since the grade-fixing reports surfaced. But she 
continues to receive unflinching support from friends and colleagues.

?She's one of the brightest people I've ever 
met,? said Mike Askey, Hoover's head counselor. 
?She could take a concept instantly and turn it into an action plan.?


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Jeff McDonald: (619) 542-4585; 
<http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/education/MAILTO:jeff.mcdonald@uniontrib.com>jeff.mcdonald@uniontrib.com


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