Warning signs in hiring
March 24, 2018
Throughout the course of their investigation in the Jenkins case, the TSPC discovered facts that raise questions about whether PPS and Lincoln are doing enough to vet hirees.
In child support court filings, the commission found that Jenkins had had a child with a 16-year-old boy in 1992. Jenkins was 27 at the time, the investigation found. The Cardinal Times was able to locate the same records with an online search.
“[Jenkins’ actions in 1992] call into question her suitability to teach adolescent males,” wrote Erin Olson, Zerpa’s attorney during the investigation, according to records obtained through a public records request. At the time when Jenkins worked with Zerpa, he was just 15 years old. [Jenkins’ actions in 1992] call into question her suitability to teach adolescent males. — Erin Olson, Attorney for Ethan Zerpa, In TSPC investigation report
Olson declined to comment further when contacted by the Cardinal Times.
While these court records may not have been digitized at the time of Jenkins’ hiring, they were always available at the courthouse and could have been part of a background check.
“[This] showed it wasn’t the first time she had groomed a child,” Zerpa said.
Jenkins told TSPC investigators she did not know that the father of her child was 16, according to records of the interview. She said she believed the father was 20.
Elisa Schorr, Title XI coordinator in the HR department at PPS, explained the background check process for new hires.
“The TSPC does the fingerprint check and fitness for duty investigations on any licensed position. [Then] our security services does a criminal records check by name, date, and social security number,” she said in an email. “We look at convictions, arrests and court orders, such as restraining orders. We have access to court records in case we need more information.”
On why Jenkins’s actions in 1992 did not raise red flags, PPS spokesman David Northfield stated, “Since it was not a criminal matter, it would not show up in a background check.”
Not referencing the Jenkins case specifically, Chapman said the vetting process for new hires has improved in recent years.
“The background checks are much more in-depth and sophisticated, even in the last five years,” she said.
Chapman also said the background check now has the mandatory step of contacting the teacher’s last direct supervisor, even if it is in another state.
The Lincoln administration relies on the school district to vet new teachers, she said.
“We interview from a pool of candidates that [the district] pre-screen[s] and then we send HR the name of our first choice and we do reference checks,” Chapman said. “We don’t hire, we just get to recommend for hire. Then HR completes the rest of the hiring process after a full background check.”
Whitehurst was allowed to move schools after complaints by students. When he arrived at a new school, his personnel file seemed to be cleared of the reports against him, according to The Oregonian.
The Whitehurst case has led to calls for better inter-school communication about potential hires.
Chapman said this is already happening to an extent.
She is now required to communicate any sexual misconduct complaints to a senior director at the district. Before, any notes on the teacher that didn’t result in discipline, but were taken for documentation purposes, would only go into the teacher’s “building file,” which contains records of complaints that stay at Lincoln. Now, the district has these files, as well.
“PPS has responded to recent issues and set up new practices so more information goes to the central office, and that is a good improvement,” Chapman said.
Further, she said, “principals work together to protect students and no one I know would move a teacher they thought was potentially harmful to students, to another school.”
Lincoln campus security officer Frank Acosta believes positive change will result from the investigation into what went wrong in the Whitehurst case.
He is sometimes involved in investigating reports of misconduct, and he said requiring an even bigger paper trail in these investigations could help ensure that reports are not ignored or misplaced when teachers move schools.