ENGLEWOOD, NJ – This past Friday, October 13th, a former Bronx, NY public school geometry teacher who was investigated and reassigned for allegations of harassment of a 12-year-old female student in 2014, and later hired by the Englewood Public School District, was reportedly removed from the classroom for being verbally abusive to a female student who attends Dwight Morrow High School.

Professor Dierdre Paul, a candidate for the Englewood Public School Board of Education said that this case should raise several questions and concerns for students and parents.

Professor Paul said, “The removal of this teacher from the classroom and allegations of inappropriate and abusive behavior are the latest in a sad series of Englewood Public School administrative acts of malfeasance, child endangerment, and blatant disregard for our students’ welfare.”

“Why are School Superintendent Robert Kravitz, the administration, and the school board failing to take initiative in the vetting and hiring of the district’s educators? And, why do they all appear to have a lack of concern about who is instructing our children?” Professor Paul continued.

According to Professor Paul, the school superintendent and the board of education are not involved in the employment process related to the hiring of teachers within the Englewood Public School District. Potential employee vetting and subsequent hiring remain the function, which is solely by the district’s human resources department.

This past Monday morning, Professor Paul went to the Englewood Police Department to request a copy of the police report related to Friday’s removal of the Dwight Morrow High School teacher. Police advised the professor that she needed to file an Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request in order to receive the police report. She is now waiting to receive the report from police administration.

Earlier this month, Professor Paul outlined three important areas that she plans on addressing if she is elected to the school board, which includes school reform. She said that there are inherent and debilitating problems with the Englewood Board of Education’s leadership.

“Instead of opening the newspaper and reading about the great achievements of our students, we are seeing a lack of transparency and negative repetition of story after story about how the school system is mismanaged, non-compliant, and full of improprieties,” said Professor Paul.

She continued, “These seemingly unending events are at the very least damaging the district’s reputation and most importantly, hurting the education of the children who attend our public schools.”

Professor Dierdre Paul is a full professor of Education at Montclair State University where she has worked for 24 years.

Her areas of specialization include multiethnic children’s literature, using popular culture and digital literacies, and closing the school discipline gap for children of color.

She is also a published author of four books and multiple journal articles, who has written extensively on the subject of education. A former educator in the New York City Public School System, Professor Paul is also an active member of St. Cecilia Church and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and the proud parent of 2 adult children.

To learn more about Professor Dierdre Paul, and her important ideas on how to get the Englewood Public School District an A+, please visit her on Facebook