DeKalb teacher’s hiring questioned

Educator was fired by Ohio school district amid allegations of physical, mental abuse of students.

Sandra Meeks-Speller was reported to local authorities in Ohio after they say she physically and mentally abused students while she was a school administrator there.

It’s not clear whether anything was done by the Ohio Department of Education, which approves, renews and revokes licenses to teachers and school administrators in the state.

No one can explain exactly how Meeks-Speller was allowed to continue teaching after the allegations, which were publicly documented before the DeKalb County School District hired her this summer to teach math at Chamblee Middle School.

DeKalb County School District officials did not say whether they knew about Meeks-Speller’s history in Ohio when she was hired.

She was placed on administrative leave on Oct. 10, a week after the Atlanta Journal-Constitution requested Meek-Speller’s personnel file, citing information about the incidents at Toledo Public Schools.

Patty Mazur, spokeswoman for Toledo Public Schools, said, “Anytime there’s evidence of some sort physical abuse against a student, (the Ohio Department of Education) receives a report.”

In Meeks-Speller’s case, Mazur said: “We absolutely contacted them ... and provided the code number for her misconduct.”

Ohio Department of Education officials directed a reporter to the department website, which shows Meeks-Speller is still licensed to teach in Ohio. According to court records, she was dismissed for not properly handling suspensions and expulsions, and complaints from staff and parents that she’d verbally and physically assaulted students. One investigator said

Meeks-Speller pushed students against the wall, put them in a headlock, twisted arms and grabbed them by the neck. She asked a male student once whether he was on his period, investigators reported.

A referee appointed by the Ohio Department of Education recommended overturning the termination, saying administrators in a white-dominated bureaucracy were working against Meeks-Speller and district officials had not proven the level of misconduct suggested. The court did not agree. She appealed the termination to the Ohio Supreme Court, which agreed with previous decisions to uphold her termination.

Still, she was able to get a job with Columbus City Schools in Ohio in 2015. According to Meeks-Speller’s personnel file, she stated on her application for employment with the DeKalb County School District that she was terminated by the Ohio district, but did not mention the allegations there.

“As an administrator, I had a conflict with central office regarding teacher duties,” she wrote.

Lisa Harris, who had a child in Meeks-Speller’s math class, said parents were aware of her history in Ohio, but issues locally came to their attention after a curriculum event at Chamblee Middle. Harris said a parent told a group of other parents that Meeks-Speller immediately took a negative tone after mistakenly being called “Spellers,” ignoring the parent the rest of the evening.

About 20 parents held a meeting last month after hearing complaints about Meeks-Speller from students as well. A letter listing concerns was sent to Superintendent Steve Green.

“I was shocked and disappointed, and also frustrated because this isn’t the first major teacher issue my children have had to deal with,” Harris said. “It was a sad commentary on the obvious lack of leadership in the DeKalb Schools (human resources) department. Just seeing whether she has a license and no felony convictions isn’t enough.

“A simple Google history search would have brought everything up in the first couple of links.”

News of Meeks-Speller’s leave of absence comes as the district deals with the recent reassignment of the new principal at Tucker High School. DeKalb Schools officials said Tamra Watts was reassigned to the district’s administrative offices effective Monday, but would not give a reason for her reassignment. She became the school’s principal in May, after having been principal at Towers High School, her alma mater.