Lies and racism behind firing of black principle

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Lies and racism behind her leaving Delco school, principal says
By WILLIAM BENDER
Philadelphia Daily News

Sherrell Mickens, the embattled principal at Aldan Magnet School, in Delaware County, has decided to leave the job she loved.

But she's not going quietly.

Mickens, who was suspended last month amid allegations of improprieties involving the elementary school's standardized tests, says that she was railroaded by William Penn School District officials.

The district superintendent has declined to comment on the reasons behind her suspension, to the dismay of some parents who are concerned that their children's education might have been compromised.

Mickens, however, said Saturday that she had been accused of changing answers on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) tests to lower the scores, purportedly to prevent the 420-student school from having to accept additional students from failing schools under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

She said the allegation is a "lie," and described the ordeal as a racially motivated witch hunt.

"It's a disgrace to think that my boss would ever believe that I would do anything like that," said Mickens, referring to district Superintendent Joseph Bruni.

"Who has ever cheated to fail a test? It just doesn't make sense," said Mickens, 39, who has a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Pennsylvania and was hired as Aldan's principal five years ago.

The school board is expected to vote tonight to accept her retirement.

"I've had enough," she said. "I want to be in an environment where you feel like you're equal to me so you don't have to make up stories to ruin my life. This has been so detrimental and traumatic. I don't know how a person bounces back from this."

After the allegations were leveled last month, Mickens was told to hand over her keys and was escorted from the building "like I was some sort of child molester."

"I felt so degraded by the whole process," she said. "It was embarrassing, and it is a mark of shame for the school district to treat a highly respected administrator that way."

Mickens, who is black, believes that her race also played a role. Two white teachers who were suspended with her have since returned to their jobs.

"Why is it that these teachers were invited back two weeks before I even had a meeting? It has to do with race," she said. "After all of this disruption to my life and finger-pointing, I thought it was foolish to stay in an environment that was, in my opinion, racist and abusive. That's why I have decided to retire."

The principal said that district officials told her that the accusers were credible.

"What makes them credible?" she asked. "Because they're white? I'm not credible because I'm black?"

Aldan parents should "rest assured that there was no wrongdoing with the PSSA scores or testing at all," she said. "Their scores are legitimate, and they shouldn't worry about anything."

Of her former students and their parents, Mickens said, "I miss them and I think it's very sad that our relationship had to end so abruptly. But they should know that their principal is a respectable person and did nothing wrong."