A Northport Public School teacher with 15 years of experience resigned Monday as part of an agreement made with the school district over an alleged violation she committed in administering the Michigan Education Assessment Program (MEAP) test.

At a special meeting Monday, the Northport Board of Education approved the terms of a separation agreement and release between the district and teacher Carla Hammersley of Northport. Under terms of the agreement, Hammersley’s resignation will be effective at the end of the 2007-08 school year. She has been on a paid leave of absence since Oct. 29 and will not return to the classroom.

In exchange for resigning, Hammersley will be paid $49,517.60 – the balance of her regular salary – and will continue to receive fringe benefits that include health insurance and retirement through the end of the school year. The vote was 5-2 in favor of the resolution, with trustees Jeff Dwyer and Alan Woods opposed.

A second resolution to accept Hammersley’s resignation was approved unanimously. Superintendent Tyrus Wessell said the district has a short-term substitute teacher in place to fill Hammersley’s spot, and will continue to use a long-term substitute while he and staff go through the process of hiring a new teacher.

Before the board began its discussions, Hammersley read from a prepared statement. She denied doing anything wrong, but said she was resigning from teaching at Northport to prevent negative media attention to the district and added that she hopes the school continues to move in a positive direction.

“My first concern is for the students. Their scores are valid and they should not have to take that test again,” Hammersley said.

Teacher Steve Wetherbee, one of three staff members who conducted the investigation concerning Hammersley, said MEAP procedures are numerous. While a script is provided explaining what teachers should communicate prior to a test, he said each educator tends to vary the language a little bit. “There are a lot of gray areas in MEAP administrative procedures. There is a great difference between providing answers and not following MEAP administrative procedures,” he said.

Board members said the situation has been emotional and difficult to deal with over the last week. Dwyer said while he accepts Hammersley’s decision, there needs to be a change in the MEAP test’s directions.

“If this is all because of gray areas in MEAP administrative procedures, then that is just sad,” he said.

Hammersley was administering a MEAP exam to her sixth grade class, and seventh and eighth grade students, during the week of Oct. 22. Wessell said on Thursday, Oct. 25, he first heard about possible administrative violations from another teacher. He said that a teacher had talked with a student from Hammersley’s class who had expressed concerns about how Hammersley had administered the test.

Wessell then talked with the student as well as two others who were in the classroom that day who confirmed what the first student reported. He then met with Hammersley and asked her about the allegations. Wessell said he then formed a committee of teachers and professionals to investigate the case that included Wetherbee, president of the Northport Education Association; Sue Boss, fourth and fifth grade teacher; and Meredith Schmidt, school counselor and the district’s MEAP coordinator.

The committee investigated by interviewing all sixth, seventh and eighth grade students in small groups, and individually. The committee also talked with a few parents and Hammersley. The students were questioned relative to instructions, procedures and possible infractions.

At the board meeting Monday, Wetherbee said the committee found no evidence that Hammersley provided answers to questions on the test. But they did find four areas where Hammersley violated administrative procedures, including:

• Providing information to three sixth grade students that may have aided in answering a total of five questions;

• Coaching sixth, seventh and eighth grade students by encouraging them during testing sessions, including writing, to include details, follow previously taught formats, and correct grammatical mistakes;

• Returning assessment materials to seventh and eighth grade students after students believed they had completed the test, and giving the students the opportunity to edit and revise their work;

• Using an overhead projector to review a persuasive essay format immediately before administering the sixth, seventh, and eighth grade writing tests.

In its written report, committee members emphasized that while the degree of assistance offered was inappropriate, they did not believe it would significantly impact performance scores.

As of Tuesday, Wessell said the district had not received a formal written decision from state Department of Education’s Office of Educational Assessment and Accountability. An e-mail from Robert Nelson, who is representing the state, said the scores of 11 students will be invalidated as a result of Northport’s self-reporting and investigation. The students will have to retake that section of the MEAP during a testing window. Wessell said the state would likely let the district offer the test again within the next few weeks.

Resigning 'was my only real option'.

Carla Hammersley taught at Northport Public School for 15 years after spending her first four years as an educator in a substitute’s role in schools around the county.

She has had opportunities to take full-time positions in other school districts, but always turned them down. “I never wanted to teach anywhere but Northport. This is where I grew up, I went to school here, Northport is where I want to be,” she said.

Hammersley resigned her position at Northport after an investigation by a committee of her peers showed she had committed four possible violations. In a phone interview Tuesday, Hammersley said she did not agree with the conclusions reached by the committee but felt it was better for the school and the community that she resign and try to start again somewhere else. As part of an agreement reached with the district, Hammersley did not admit to any wrongdoing but she will receive her pay and benefits through the end of the 2007-08 school year.

“A lawsuit would benefit me, but I know it would cause a lot of harm to the school and the community. I want to be seen as a supporter of this school,” she said.

When Hammersley met with superintendent Tyrus Wessell on Nov. 1, she learned he was recommending a punishment of three days suspension without pay and a letter of professional misconduct being placed in the personnel file. Hammersley would have then been reassigned to another position.

“I asked Ty what were my other options and we talked about resignation and taking a leave of absence,” Hammersley said. A special school board meeting was scheduled that night, so she went home to write a statement. Then, she received a call from Don Hakala, a teacher’s union representative with the Traverse Bay Area Intermediate School District, and they talked about other options as well.

“After we talked about what could happen, I just thought that resigning was my only real option,” she said.
Hammersley said the only assistance she offered to students was answering some questions about the testing procedures. She said she mainly encouraged students to remember what they learned, and just relax.
“I emphasized that this was just a test, they all knew the subjects that were being covered, and to have some fun. I wanted them to be relaxed, not anxious about this test,” she said.

As to her decision to resign rather than contest her case, Hammersley said it would have been hard for her to stay at the school. “I have 15 years at Northport, and would be eligible for retirement in a few years. If I would have stayed here, it would have put me in a position of being the kind of teacher I hate; the kind waiting for retirement, never challenging a student or a parent for fear of a reprimand,” she said.

As to her future plans, Hammersley said she is considering her options. “I love teaching. I would love to find a teaching position here in the county. I’m a fine teacher, I’ve done nothing wrong,” she said, adding she vows to be honest and straightforward about her resignation.

“I see no reason to hide what happened. I have a very solid portfolio and look forward to continuing my career,” she said.
Wessell said Monday the situation has been unfortunate and he has nothing but respect for Hammersley. “I would like to speak for many of the students and staff here and say thank you to Carla for her 15 years of service to the district,” he said.
Hammersley said the most difficult part of the whole matter is not getting to teach students she has come to know and love.
“My concern is the real people being hurt here are the students and that is not right. I want my kids to be OK and let them know they did nothing wrong. I have nothing but tremendous respect and admiration for them and I will miss them very much,” she said.
— By Chris Olson