Although the word “cheating” was never used in a letter School Supt. Michael Van Tassel published on the Van Buren Public Schools web site this week, that’s what he described.
The results of his investigation of high M-Step test scores at Savage Elementary school, where he grilled teachers and students, were sent on to the State and the State said there were “testing improprieties,” Van Tassel said in his recent, undated letter.
He said the Department of Education Office of Standards and Assessment (OSA) has invalidated all Savage student scores for the 2015 M-Step tests. The Van Buren schools will notify by letter parents of every child affected, invalidating their spring scores, and OSA monitoring will take place at Savage for the 2016 testing year.
According to Van Tassel’s letter, OSA praised him and his staff for their “exemplary cooperation” in resolving the issue. He quotes the OSA letter: “It is unfortunate that none of the educational staff in the building came forward in a timely manner which might have allowed time for students to retake the assessments. This aspect of the case will remain troubling.”
No teacher said, “We cheated.” Is that because they didn’t? Parents are not going to believe this assessment. Savage has been forever tainted and many believe it is unwarranted — and the State was misled.
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17 Comments
Weather
Those are some pretty serious accusations. Does anyone have any further information on this?
I read the letters on the school website from the State of Michigan, and it was pretty clear to me that they made a very cogent case for dishonesty by some at Savage School. Is Van Tassel sometimes difficult? Yes. Was this a difficult situation? Absolutely. But does the Independent, or any other honest person really want to keep teachers and administrators on staff that encourage cheating? I looked at the state website, and the district could lose all of its at-risk money, as well as putting the general fund at risk! Cheating and dishonesty are serious. And while we love our teachers, this group was not honest. They cheated the kids, they cheated the district and now they’ve cheated themselves probably out of good careers. It wasn’t worth it. Why did they cheat? I’ve heard they were “not discouraged” to do so by Kelley Villa. So she moves to another district (and we all go wacky because she’s gone) and she gets off free. Those she did not “discourage” will pay a very big penalty. Whose to blame here? A principal who was wonderful, but wasn’t up to the job? Teachers who are in a club, and not in it for the kids but in it for the money? A superintendent who demands the best from his employees? Probably all share some of the blame. But again, there were many teachers at Savage and in the entire district who DID NOT cheat. They played by the rules. The state was clear in their demand that the district investigate, I don’t think anyone can say this was a Van Tassel initiative. He didn’t go to the school and “grill” the teachers or kids as the Independent states. It was done independently by a law firm. The state was absolutely clear that there was a big problem. This is all very sad, but it really is time to put this behind us, and support the honest and ethical people that work for the district. Rant and rave if you like, but cheaters are cheaters, and thank goodness we have the courage to own up to it, fix it, and to do what needs to be done. It’s a sad situation for all, but most of all for the students.
Toni… I mean George,
Did you read the results of the investigation? Did you read the proof or do you have first-hand knowledge of the wrongdoing the district claims to have uncovered? What do you have that makes you so sure they cheated? And remember – we are innocent until proven guilty. What do you have that proves these specific teachers are guilty?
POST THE FACTS…PROOF….DOCUMENTS…..I’VE SEEN NO PROOF, HAVE YOU? WHEN THEY ARE PROVEN INNOCENT, THE SUPERINTENDENT NEEDS TO GO. IF NOT
EVERY TEACHER, BUS DRIVER,EMPLOYEE NEED TO WALK OUT. THE ACCUSED TEACHERS NEED A VOICE. WHERE IS THE OVERPAID UNION?
It’s people like you who ruin people’s good names with your ignorance. I talked to union and there is no evidence of cheating…Do you have an agenda? Shame on you.
George,
When Mike Van Tassel comes over for drinks at your house does he dress up as the Kool-Aid Man or does he just serve you the flavor he likes best?
George,
You seem so certain in your accusations. What evidence do you have to support it? The letters posted by VanTassel did not provide any evidence or explanation, so I am curious where you are getting your information. This is a serious matter and I pray that the truth, the real truth, comes out. When these teachers are vindicated I hope with all my heart they go after VanTassel and the lousy school board for slander, defamation of character and anything else that will stand up in court. VanTassel needs to go somewhere else with his Kool-Aid and leave our teachers alone.
Did they actually walk teachers out of savage for accusations? Oh my god.
Lisa- yes, 4 teachers were escorted out of the building between 230 and 3pm on Thursday. The 5th was on Friday. There is a massive following for the teachers on Facebook under SavageStrong. You should plan on attending the School Board meeting tonight at 7pm and on Feb 1st as well. This has got to stop!
Thank you for the information. I will look up the facebook page. I just can’t believe the school board and Superintendent have stooped to this level. These teachers will forever be tainted with this for the rest of their careers. He better damn well be sure his accusations are true or he will find himself in a whole heck of a lot of legal trouble. I have a friend who is a Secretary at one of those schools and she is so afraid for her job. That is a terrible feeling, this tyrant needs to go.
You are more than welcome. There is also a petition available at change.org to fire VanTassel.
https://www.change.org/p/fire-vantassel-bring-in-new-leadership-for-our-children. The meeting tonight will be held at the BHS cafeteria. Even if the audience is not “allowed” to speak, we need to band together as a community to remove the toxicity. Your friend should not be afraid of their job.
I think that the bottom line here is ethics. All employees in the educational field have a duty and a responsibility to be professional and ethical at all times. Why would you blame the Superintendent for doing as he was directed by the OSA. SHAMEFUL!!!
Lynette- sadly it appears you are stricken by the Kool-Aid man too. There are only a handful of people like yourself like this, easily led, naïve and feel this Superintendent can do no wrong. He has a track record of abuse, neglect, manipulation, deception and lies. He has deceived the OSA. He made them believe teachers cheated, when they didn’t. He has covered up guns in schools. He has made every single person afraid of speaking up against him or doubting his authority. He is a bully, in every sense of the word. Mr. Van Hassel’s time has come, and you will see, once you come to your senses, and the Kool-Aid poison has left your body, he was a fraud, a menace, a maniacal tyrant and a very, very bad person.
I just want to see what proof of cheating there is to walk 5 people out of their jobs. This isn’t something to be taken lightly. The “anomaly” is not proof and would not hold up in the court of law. They had better have something else.
Also, interviewing a minor, especially the ages of 8 or 9 is very questionable without a parent or guardian present. Children of this age are very impressionable and could easily be guided to answers questions in a way that benefits the one sided agenda that I feel Van Tassel is pushing.
I honestly believe his agenda was to get rid of these specific teachers long before the testing results came out. I think the test results just provided a platform for him to move forward with his vendetta.
But that is just my outsider looking in opinion.
Thank you.
As I was saying…. in 2013…. There is a problem at the very top!
Van Tassel’s true colors come shining through under pressure. He has done much better in the past 3 years to be a positive leader. Teachers have been given some of their pay cuts back, the budget is balanced, and he tries to treat people better. The teachers still haven’t been given their respect and dignity that they deserve. They are still leaving at a very high rate.
How can you interrogate a 3rd or 4th grader without their parents permission? The police can’t do it and when they do, they used specially trained forensic interviewers to avoid any biased or leading questions. Why not have the teachers leave at the end of the day if you think that has to be done? Where are we going to get teachers to replace the many years of experience being thrown away?
He also covered up the gun incident at the high school and made the principal take the blame for not informing parents. That was not a team decision. There are no team decisions in VT’s regime. The gun wasn’t a threat because the ammo was not in the gun but was still with the student. That doesn’t work in court and it shouldn’t be all right with parents in Van Buren Schools.
Fire him NOW!!!
Just saw the comments and had to laugh. If the “Toni”comment refers to me, please remember I have the courage to sign all my letters. Yup I support the supe. And I’ll tell you why.: when I got on the school board drugs weapons and gang mentality were totally out of control at BHS. One of my friends told me she had a drug operation running out of the locker next to her complete with guns. There was an administration in place who warned the kids the day before a drug sweep as they didn’t want the press to know how big the problem was. That’s all gone now. Who fixed it? Mr. Madyun, mr. Van tassel and a host of caring teachers. Your kids are so much safer than they were at that time. Remember the My Space gun incident at the homecoming dance? I do. The fact that a gun was found and a student expelled is a testament to the dedication of this administration. Sure we wish it had been handled differently but they found the gun. Had this been eight or ten years ago, never would have happened. I don’t live in the district any longer but I am very proud of the positive changes that have been made in school culture and safety. Check back issues if local papers if you want to see how bad it really was….it’s all documented.