JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Duval County Public Schools confirmed that two teachers were terminated last June after being removed from the classroom, but a source told News4JAX it was not due to allegations of abuse that have plagued other teachers at the school in recent months.
For more than a year, alumni at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts have been speaking out, alleging abuse and inappropriate behavior by teachers went unchecked for years.
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It was prompted by the arrest of longtime music teacher Jeffrey Clayton last March. He’s accused of abusing his authority and inappropriately touching and texting a student.
After his arrest, News4JAX learned several other teachers were also removed from the classroom around that time amid investigations.
Now, the district confirms two of them, Kerry Burke-McCloud and another teacher whose identity the district has not yet confirmed, were terminated in June of last year.
A DCPS employee, who did not want to be identified, said those teachers did not have their contracts renewed at the end of last school year after complaints about them making inappropriate comments.
The Cinematic Arts Department Chair at Douglas Anderson, Corey Thayer, was also removed from the classroom last spring after a former student alleged “inappropriate communication.” He was cleared and was back in the classroom at the start of this school year, but was removed again a few weeks later after backlash.
The district said he is still under investigation and has been reassigned to duties with no student contact.
Most recently, algebra teacher Chris Allen-Black was arrested in February and accused of exposing himself in a Disney hotel room in view of the resort pool. He was removed from the classroom this month pending an internal investigation. The district said he was not removed earlier as they were following protocol and receiving guidance from the Office of General Counsel.
DA alum Shyla Jenkins, who has been pushing for accountability at the school, said she wishes administrators were more proactive.
“It’s, you know, déjà vu all over again, literally almost a year and here we are,” Jenkins said.
Last year, city officials hired an outside law firm to investigate how DA and the school district handle complaints of misconduct.
School Board Chair Darryl Willie gave an update at a school board meeting earlier this month.
“Our eyes are on this and we’re doing everything that we can. All board members have been individually given updates on the ongoing investigation, including the dozens of interviews that have taken place, the thousands of documents that have been submitted. So we have been advised to not share any of that information from that briefing at this time because of ongoing litigation. But as part of that briefing, we did about some suggestions and changes and improvements. And so the district admin as well as OGC are working together to review and implement those appropriate changes,” Willie said.
Jenkins said she’s tired of waiting.
“This is taxpayer money. We are paying for this investigation. And yet, we don’t know anything. We don’t know what updates there are. There’s no like clear timeline. And so people are frustrated,” Jenkins said.
News4JAX is awaiting the results of a public records request to learn more about the teachers who were terminated last June.