JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Duval County Public Schools said it waited weeks to remove a Douglas Anderson School of the Arts teacher from the classroom.
A spokesperson for the district said the district knew about the arrest of Christopher Allen-Black on Feb. 27, but he wasn’t removed from the class until a week ago. Parents weren’t notified until Wednesday.
Allen-Black is at least the fifth teacher to be reassigned at the school since last spring.
According to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, Christopher Allen-Black was arrested at a Disney resort at the end of February after multiple people reported seeing him fondling himself at the window of a hotel room that faced the pool.
NOTE: News4JAX typically doesn’t name those arrested on misdemeanor charges, but because of the nature of the charge and Allen-Black’s occupation, we have chosen to name him.
“Our school district received notification that Mr. Allen-Black, who taught your child’s algebra class, was arrested by the Orange County Sherriff’s Office on a misdemeanor charge of exposure of sexual organs. While the presumption of innocence applies, we have reassigned this teacher to duties without student contact while the district’s office of professional standards conducts an investigation into the matter,” said Douglas Anderson School of the Arts Principal Tina Wilson in an email to families on Wednesday.
The announcement comes amid a turbulent time at the fine arts school.
Last March, longtime music teacher Jeffrey Clayton was arrested and accused of abusing his authority and inappropriately touching and texting a student.
The news prompted an outcry of allegations against administrators that alumni said looked the other way, and against other teachers, three of whom were removed from the classroom amid investigations.
Attorney Chris Moser said she represents multiple former DA students.
“Just the fact that he’s been arrested has really re-traumatized my clients and other students at the school,” Moser said.
She said Allen-Black is popular among students and teaches 9th-grade math.
“In talking to students, I know that he really enjoyed going to Disney World. And he went quite often. And some of the students, and one of my clients, told me that part of his office was decorated with, you know, Mickey Mouse paraphernalia and things like that,” Moser said.
Last year, city officials hired an outside law firm to investigate how DA handles complaints of misconduct. As of early April, the board chair said that investigation was still underway and that administrators and the Office of General Counsel are working to implement suggestions for improvement.
“I would encourage anybody who’s concerned about this to go and speak out and apply some pressure so we get some results,” Moser said.
When News4JAX asked DCPS how the district learned of Allen-Black’s arrest, a spokesperson responded, “The district follows all state laws and policies regarding the screening of instructional personnel, including a level 2 background check. This process also provides notification to the district if an employee is arrested. We were notified through this process.”
When we asked why it took weeks for him to be removed from the classroom they said, “Initially, the district followed protocol regarding a misdemeanor arrest and failure to report it to the district while we sought guidance from the Office of General Counsel.”
DCPS said parents weren’t notified until Wednesday because that was the day after the district completed its formal process for removing a teacher.