Principal gives kids too much ‘credit’
In a rush to boost his graduation rate, the principal of Hillcrest HS gave 172 students credits for online courses that had no teachers, whistleblowers charge.
Principal David Morrison listed himself as the teacher of online classes in drawing, health and gym, records show.
The city and state require that online classes be overseen by teachers certified in the subjects. Morrison is certified in English.
“There were no real classes with any meaningful instruction,” a Hillcrest staffer said. “The students had no teacher to meet with.”
In some cases, Morrison’s name appears on student transcripts two or three times next to online classes. Most are seniors who needed the classes to graduate.
“He’s just enrolling these kids to give them credit and move them along,” the insider said.
The 3,300-student Jamaica Hills, Queens, school posted a 76-percent graduation rate in 2015, but only 32 percent of the grads were prepared for college, based on low Regents scores.
Fewer kids were on track to graduate this year, a school source said.
“Principal Morrison improperly provided credits to students in order to improve graduation rates, cover his own professional interests, and possibly qualify for future bonuses,” a staffer wrote in a letter sent to school investigators and The Post.
Morrison did not return a request for comment. The city Department of Education said it will investigate.