Rune? J. King, Director of Data, Assessment, 8.: Accountability 6026 Paris Avenue New Orleans, LA 70120 Of?ce ofthe CEO February 3, 2019 Mr. Michael Washington Human Resource Director 5800 St. Roch Street New Orleans, LA 70122 Dear Mr. Washington, The purpose of this communication is to provide a detailed overview of the conversation that 1 held with Principal Brian Gibson on February 1, 2019 at approximately 3:05pm. Prior to calling Mr. Gibson, using Ms. Blouin-Williams? cell phone, 1 spoke with my immediate supervisor CEO-Ms. Blouin-Williams so that she would be informed ofthc situation. When speaking with Mr. Gibson, 1 communicated to him the noted grade changes identi?ed by John F. Kennedy Data Manager Ms. Rachel Banks, which I reviewed with Ms. Banks and af?rmed the changes in the PowerSchool Historical Grades system. In a routinely scheduled 1:1 with Ms. Banks, we spoke about the changes, speci?cally Algebra (Dr. Love) and Spanish 1 (Ms. IIingle). Mr. Gibson stated that he was not aware of any changes that were made, and if changes did occur, it was approved without his consent. Noted in our conversation, Mr. Gibson stated that Dr. Payne executes all academic functions at John F. Kennedy, and that she would be the appropriate person to make the inquiry regarding changes in the PowerSchool system. While speaking with Mr. Gibson, he made certain that he did not at any point instruct any of the administrative staff on his team to make grade changes?this he is sure of. in his attempt to recall prior conversations with his team, Mr. Gibson added that it was his understanding that the data manager ultimately managed all data inputs changes, through the implemented grade change policy communicated by both the District Data Director and School Data Manager (Documented). I, af?rmed Mr. Gibson. Additionally, Mr. Gibson acknowledged receipt of the email received on January 14, 2019 at 4:47 pm, and later communicated again on January 30, 2019 at 2:07pm (Also copied on the communication: Dr. Taisha Payne, Ms. Nicole Cooper. Ms. Kimberly Owens-l-Ieath}. As 1 spoke with Mr. Gibson, 1 infonned him that following our phone call, I would immediately call PowerSchool and request assistance in identifying when the changes were made, and by whom. Following our conversation, MS. attempted to speak with Mr. Gibson to assure him that the Director of Data would arrange to speak with PowerSchool Technical Support, and provide a response immediately following. Unfortunately, Mr. Gibson was no longer available, and ended the call. MS. BLOUIN-WILLIAMS attempted two unanswered phone calls to Principal Gibson within seconds of the initial phone conversation. While speaking with MS. about details related to the changes in the PowerSchool system, administrative team entered the room with what appeared to be the attempt to gain further information regarding ?ndings in the PowerSehool Systems. Unprepared for the impromptu meeting, I quickly briefed MS. BLOWN-WILLIAMS on what inquiries I would make with PowerSehool Support Team, and was asked to step next door to complete the call. At the conclusion of the meeting, I was asked to enter into the room and report the ?ndings of the phone call with PowerSchool Technical Support. The ?ndings yielded information that we were initially unaware of?in addition to unsupported grade(s) changes. While speaking with PowerSchool. the Support Agent prompted me to run a series ofreports. The queries identi?ed changes to Quarter 2 Historical Grades in PowerSehool, which do not align with the teachers? original published grade on the January 16, 2019 report card, or the Historical Grades Tab in PowerSchool. The PowerSchool Agent confirmed that the weights that are assigned to John F. Kennedy in PowerSchool are aligned with the grading scale utilized by New Beginnings School Foundation. Therefore, the only alternative to this thought would be manual Quarter 2 historical grade changes that were not previously stored in the PowerSchool roll book. Requesting further investigation, I asked the PowerSehool Support Agent if there existed a query that would allow me to track the UserID associated with the grade change. The name associated with the grade change is an employee that is no longer employed within the NBSF organizatioanormer Data Manager?Roxanne Watts, in addition to updates from Assistant Principal?Ms. Nicole Cooper. There is no record of Ms. Cooper submitting a request for a grade change. nor is there plausible causes for Cooper to update grade changes absent the knowledge of the School Data Manager or District Data Director. Additionally, according to my knowledge, Ms. Watts retired in the month of November. Therefore, ethically, there should be no login activity under this USER ID. Further, upon onboarding the newly hired Data Manager. I tie-activated Ms. Watts PowerSchool account on December 20, 2019 at 6:55am. Unfortunately, the ?ndings ofthe query search yielded login activity associated with the User ID: 3875 with the following Login Activity: Login Date Lngin Time Logout Date 01/071220 1 9 1 01/0'02019 01f07f2019 01f07f2019 01/09f2019 01:09:00 1 9 01(091?20 9 01f09/2019 01!]0f2019 01/100019 01!]4f2019 01(141?2019 01!15l2019 0105x2019 In addition to the above-mentioned concerns regarding Quarter 2 Historical grade changes, I?d like to include a chronology of communication regarding PowerSchool Access for JFK Administrators and Counselors. Thursday, January 10, 2019 at 2:38pm, I received an email from JFK Data Manager?Ms. Rachel Banks regarding PowerSchool access and privilege modi?cations for 16 employees. The list included a request from administration to immediately provide FULL ACCESS to the following administrators: Dr. Taisha Williams- Payne, Ms. Nicole Cooper (full access already provided), and Ms. Lauren Coleman. Full Access will allow individuals to navigate the PowerSchool system with zero limitations. including, but not limited to: -Make Historical Grade Changes -Alter TeacherlStudent Schedules -Create Delete critical data ~Enrollment -Attendanee In addition to the request were comments aside the employees name and role. Speci?cally1 requests noted that Counselors Ms. Kimberly Owens-l leath and Ms. Ashlci Dclarge. The note stated. ?Should be given access to view but not to change grades or schedules or anything else". Professional School Counselors, in conjunction with the School Data Manager are the holders of all records related to students. Prior to making changes, 1 attempted to call Principal Gibson; however. I did not receive a response. The next business day, I emailed Chief of School Ms. Boudouin to inform her of the odd requests and to also schedule a meeting for further advisement. Friday January 1 l, 2019 at 10:45am. I met with Ms. Boudouin in regards to the requests. Ms. Boudouin advised that I speak with Principal Gibson regarding access. 1 spoke with Principal Gibson, and 1 was later referred to Dr. Payne. While speaking with Dr. Payne regarding her request and modification of Powchehool privileges. Dr. Payne communicated to me the importance of the JFK's administrative goal to have all seniors grades audited and schedule aligned to satisfy TOPS graduation requirements. Following our meeting, at the request ofthc JFK Administration and the support ofthc Chief of Schools, FULL ACCESS was provided.