17 Ineligible Students Graduated in June, Report Finds

D.C. Inspector General Charles J. Willoughby reported yesterday that 17 students, including three who failed courses, graduated from Wilson Senior High School in Northwest Washington in June even though they did not meet all academic requirements.

In a 31-page audit, he also determined that the school neglected to provide an accurate graduation list to Superintendent Clifford B. Janey and could not verify that 36 students met community service requirements.

The report attributed the problems to guidance counselors, saying they failed to properly categorize courses and schedule students in required classes. But it also blamed the school system for lacking "well-defined or documented" graduation requirements.

"It's the principal who is responsible for ensuring that the people in his charge are doing the job, and that is simply not being done," said Erich Martel, a Wilson history teacher, who prompted the investigation when he alleged that more than 100 students had not met all the rules.

Principal Stephen Tarason did not respond to phone messages left at his home yesterday. Chuck Samuels, chairman of the parent and teacher group that advises the principal, said Tarason "already has underway a process to reorganize the guidance department -- not just for this problem but to provide better guidance. . . . Parents are supportive of the reorganization."

In his written response to the report, Janey said he has directed the school system's office of accountability to review the findings and recommend policy changes "to minimize ambiguities around graduation criteria and confirmation of students' eligibility" for a D.C. public school diploma. He also said the principal will appoint staff to randomly select the records of seniors to determine whether they meet graduation requirements.

The inspector general's report came two days after Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) received preliminary approval from the D.C. Council to take over the schools. It came two weeks after the Board of Education voted to require high school seniors to take more academic courses to graduate.

Deputy Mayor for Education Victor Reinoso said yesterday that although the report focuses on one school, it highlights a larger problem of poor record-keeping systemwide.

"A story about any kid who graduates without meeting the graduation requirements undermines the credibility and the value of a diploma from the D.C. public schools," Reinoso said. "It's a serious issue."

This was the second inspector general investigation of Wilson's graduation process. In 2002, investigators examined whether school officials allowed 15 ineligible students to graduate that year. Although investigators supported the school's decision to allow 12 of those students to graduate, according to the report, they determined that problems in record-keeping warranted further review of student records.

Austin A. Andersen, spokesman for the inspector general, said yesterday that Willoughby asked Janey to provide by April 23 target dates for when the system will introduce its plan to correct the deficiencies.

Samuels, the parent advisory chairman, is also on the board of a newly established nonprofit organization, Woodrow Wilson Management Corp., that is seeking autonomy from the system to first oversee Wilson's facilities and eventually, perhaps, its entire operation.

If the organization obtains autonomy, Samuels said, "We'd get some dollars to do some basic audits" of student records. "It's not acceptable to have anybody graduating based on inaccurate records and inappropriate procedures," he said.

Staff writer Theola Labb? contributed to this report.