South Phila. principal, lacking credential, resigns

The beleaguered principal of South Philadelphia High resigned Thursday, abruptly ending her controversial tenure after it was revealed that her state certificate was inactive.

School officials made the announcement in the afternoon, after The Inquirer asked about the status of LaGreta Brown's certification to work as principal. The state Department of Education confirmed that the certificate, issued in 2000, was inactive because Brown had not fulfilled a requirement for continuing education.

Brown's resignation, on the day teachers were to take a vote of no confidence against her, ended a turbulent tenure at the 900-student school. On Dec. 3, the school was rocked by racial violence that sent seven Asian students to the hospital. It triggered a boycott and investigations by the district, the state's Human Relations Commission, and the Department of Justice.

The resignation was announced as Superintendent Arlene Ackerman traveled to the school to inform teachers.

Asked in an interview if she bore responsibility for Brown's credentials, Ackerman initially said, "I hired her." Then she said, "I didn't really hire," adding that Brown had been selected through the school's hiring process. "I'm sorry she didn't get her credentialing."

Math teacher Dean Coder said the tenor of the school this year had been difficult.

"What's another word for turmoil? Maelstrom?" Coder asked.

Coder, the school's union representative, said most teachers at the school were "ecstatic" over Brown's resignation. "Unfortunately, it breaks down along racial lines."

Ackerman acknowledged the deep racial divide among staff, and said she would meet with teachers individually.

"I'm going to go into that school and get to the bottom of it," she said after the announcement.

The racial tension has been difficult for students, and now "the children have to come to school tomorrow with another distraction," Ackerman said.

Brown, Ackerman said, is "not happy. Would you be happy? She's resigning in the middle of the year."

A district official said that Brown had agreed to step down in June but that the questions about her certificate prompted her to resign Thursday.

In her resignation letter, Brown wrote that "it has become apparent that I have been made the focus of a controversy that continues to impede the education process to the detriment of the students."

Regional Superintendent Michael Silverman described the entire situation as "sad."

Silverman declined to say whether he thought district leadership bore responsibility for failing to vet Brown's credentials. A spokesman later said he could not answer whether Brown had lacked certification when hired.

Outside the school, students reacted to the news with surprise.

"I can't believe it," said Willaya Fox, 16. "I can't believe she just quit."

Senior Long Lau was incredulous.

"She quit today? The principal? I think it's good. I don't like the principal. I think she let the school get bad," said Lau, an immigrant from Taiwan.

In the short term, Brown will be replaced by Ozzie Wright, a retired district principal who has been assisting her since December.

Otis D. Hackney III, the principal of Springfield High School in Montgomery County, will become the permanent principal for next school year. He is a former district teacher who worked at South Philadelphia High as an assistant principal on a summer assignment.

In a statement, Ackerman praised Hackney and said the school had moved forward from the Dec. 3 racial violence.

"We have spent the past several months making positive changes at South Philly High. These changes have brought about an improved climate for all students at the school. Violent incidents have decreased, and more students are involved in after-school activities," Ackerman said in the statement.

In the statement, Hackney said he was looking forward to "returning to work with a community that I care about and respect. I'm confident we can move Southern forward."

Brown grew up in West Philadelphia and graduated from Girls High in 1979. She worked as a principal at several Atlantic City schools, where her tenure was also rocky.

In 2008, she resigned from that district in advance of a school board vote on her dismissal.

Last fall, she became South Philadelphia High's fourth principal in five years, taking over a school that has long failed to meet state performance standards and been labeled "persistently dangerous" under federal law.

A federal civil-rights complaint filed against the district in January leveled several accusations directly at Brown, saying she showed a discriminatory attitude toward Asian students.

Helen Gym, a board member of Asian Americans United, said she was gratified that Ackerman had acknowledged the gravity of the situation. On Brown's watch, the racial problems at the school "clearly got out of control," Gym said.

"We hope the change in administration will signal a change in how they address the deeply rooted problems at South Philadelphia High School," she said.

Gym said she was disappointed that Ackerman had hired a new principal without consulting the community.

Councilwoman Jannie L. Blackwell, who this month gave Brown an award for service to the community, said she the resignation surprised her.

Brown attended a meeting with Blackwell on Wednesday night and didn't signal that she would resign, Blackwell said.

"I thought she was sincere and trying to do a good job, and trying to improve things," Blackwell said.

Leah Harris, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Education, said Brown's principal certificate had been issued in 2000 but was inactive "because she has not complied with Act 48 requirements."

Act 48 requires teachers and principals to complete continuing education. Educators with inactive certificates can only substitute teach for 90 days until they meet the act's requirements.

It was not clear when Brown's certificate had become inactive.

Jerry Jordan, president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, was troubled by Brown's lack of active certificate.

"She wasn't capable of performing teacher evaluations," he said. "They will all have to be destroyed."

Teachers at the school have filed multiple grievances against Brown this academic year, Jordan said.

Now, he said, he has one question: "How did this happen?"