Update: Teachers in Fear after PGCPS Administration covers up racism at Laurel area schools.

Dwight D Eisenhower Middle School

By Reform Sasscer Staff:

Some teachers at Dwight D Eisenhower Middle School, claim the district is trying to find the sources of information to our blog in order to oust them for speaking out against unfair practices. Teachers who did not want to be identified for fear of retaliation called the claims against them “nonsense” and said the district is trying to oust anyone for speaking out against deceptive practices. However, one teacher who wanted to remain anonymous said, the teachers at Dwight D Eisenhower Middle School were happy the truth was finally out.

Some of the teachers who did not want to be identified said they repeatedly raised internal concerns about teachers allegedly advancing racists tendencies on school grounds and the district leaders reportedly violating students’ civil rights by placing them into disciplinary action in some cases without proper due process.

However, Mr. Ronald Dortch who is the PTA President at Dwight D Eisenhower Middle School appears to be out of touch with reality. He was said to be unhappy when the story broke out. There are reports he engages external parties to raise money or other items and was afraid the school was looking bad. He was said to be upset with the exposure concerning racism at the school hence the reasons to make up wild allegations against the student whistle blower. While PTA members are not school employees, they are part of the school community. The alleged misconduct of pointing fingers by Mr. Dortch is deeply disappointing and betrays the trust the Dwight D Eisenhower Middle School community placed in him. Mr. Dortch must learn not to take public issues personally as victims of various shenanigans tied to racism have families too and deserve justice. Across the country, there have been many PTA Presidents or members of PTA with ties to the unions who have been arrested and charged for violating trust involving money and other issues tied to schools improvement.

Conflict of interest

At Dwight D Eisenhower Middle School, there are concerns that, Mr. Jonathan Mayhew who is a husband to Mrs. Laura Garon Mayhew, who also works as a Technology teacher at the school might have conflicts of interests. Situations involving conflicts of interest within the school system in Prince George’s County and the entire Maryland system are widespread. Allegations of cronyism, wasteful spending and other misconduct are roiling the entire school district including single source contracts which was reported widely in the media to be more than $78 million dollars.

“I believe that there are several factors which have contributed to the administration’s desire to retaliate against a student who blew the whistle in the first place and find sources of information in order to discipline teachers who have spoken out,” said a teachers who wanted to remain anonymous. “In my opinion, none of these factors are legitimate or reasonable. The fact remains that, there many issues which are being swept under the rug to the detriment of the entire system,” she added.

District’s claims

According to Mr. Dortch, he truly believes that we are damaging people’s lives without all of the facts. He stated in part that, “ALL of your stories appear to be one sided. You and the parent should be sued after these people are cleared of all charges. Did this parent tell you that her so called innocent daughter is accused of bullying students at DDEMS? But I guess since she is a black student bullying other students its ok. Are we now saying that a White Teacher can’t teach Black History? Are we now saying that a Black Teacher can’t teach students about Cinco de Mayo? If people would also educate their children and STOP thinking that education is only done at school, then students would be able to tell the difference between someone teaching them and someone trying to embarrass them. Parents need to stop treating school like it is a daycare. As long as their child is out of the house so they don’t have to deal with them. I challenge any adult to visit a school and just try to make an open announcement to the students and see just how disrespected they will be treated. I am in no way defending anyone that is a racist, but I have know Mrs. Mayhew and the staff at DDEMS and LHS for seven years and I know that what you said about both of these schools are NOT true……..” statement stated in part.

Widespread Fraud involves the Unions and Laurel Area Schools

On or around June 2011, Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) in conspiracy with Association of Supervisory & Administrative School Personnel (ASASP) headed by Dwayne Jones Principal of Laurel High School engaged in a scheme. The scheme involved Dr. Monica Goldson and other external parties led by O’Neal Law Firm of Ardra O’Neal engaged in a wide ranging scheme and bribery to defeat justice for employees.

The Fraudulent scheme and conspiracy involved Office of the legal counsel and Thatcher Law Firm in which a transcriber company was hired to sabotage the hearings of employees at the systems Headquarters at Sasscer.  Transcripts for the hearings involving employees where changed or omitted major facts to advance the shenanigans and protect Dwayne Jones. Some of the omitted facts even though acknowledged involved extra marital affairs involving Mr. Dwayne Jones and Debrah Toppins. Shortly after the hearings, any lawyer who tried to represent these employees was bribed after the Thatcher Law Firm was given a “no bid contract” for more than $5 million dollars. Many local employees are not getting the justice they deserve due to public corruption in Prince George’s County with ties to racism. The public corruption starts on an administrative level and is connected to local politicians which has been an ongoing concern for many years.

Employees’ protection

Employees enjoy protection from retaliation under the law for a host of actions in the workplace. State and federal laws protect employees from retaliation for complaints of unlawful discrimination, for seeking reasonable accommodations for disabilities, for taking protected family and medical leave, and from whistleblowing or refusing to engage in illegal activities. The web of legal protections from retaliation is comprehensive and fact-specific, and you should contact a qualified employment attorney if you believe you are being retaliated because of your legally protected activity at work.

You Have Rights to Protect You from Workplace Retaliation

Workplace protections from retaliation can be very broad. Not only do laws against retaliation protect employees from termination, but usually also provide protection from an employer taking an adverse action that would “dissuade a reasonable employee” from complaining about their legal rights. As a result, adverse actions can include termination, refusal to hire, denial of promotion, unjustified negative performance evaluations, or other threats or harassment.

Under civil rights laws, an employee engages in protected activity by opposing unlawful discrimination or harassment, or participating in an employment discrimination proceeding. An employee opposes discrimination when they complain about unlawful discrimination or harassment, threaten to file a complaint, or refuse to obey an order they reasonably believe is discriminatory. An employee participates in a proceeding when they file a complaint of unlawful discrimination or harassment, cooperate with an internal or external investigation of discrimination or harassment, or serve as a witness in an investigation or litigation. Each of these can amount to “protected activity” for the purposes of retaliation under county, state, and federal anti-discrimination laws, such as the District of Columbia Human Rights Act, Montgomery and Prince Georges County Human Rights Acts, Maryland State law, The Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”), the Civil Rights Act of 1866 (“Section 1981”), and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.

In the disability setting, employees can engage in “protected activity” by seeking accommodations for disabilities. Similarly, employees can gain protection from retaliation under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) by seeking or taking protected FMLA leave.

The number of laws protecting against retaliation for protected “whistleblowing” is very extensive. Those laws include the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989, the False Claims Act, the Sarbanes–Oxley Act, the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, and a host of other laws. State laws in the District of Columbia and Maryland also protect against retaliation in a variety of settings. Employees are protected from retaliation for collectively complaining about the terms of conditions of employment under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Importantly, public employees may not be retaliated against for exercising their rights to free speech under the United States Constitution. Employees are also protected from retaliation related to asserting their rights for health insurance or benefits provided under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2009.

Theresa Mitchell Dudley, president of the Prince George’s County Educator Association (PGCEA), who was recently elected as the first African American branch director from Prince George’s County of the National Educators Association (NEA) should show proper leadership and help address the local issues affecting staff at the area Laurel Schools. If there was any place to show proper leadership at the union level, it is here.

More to come!

Read more >>> PGCPS Teacher Under Fire Over Slavery Lesson – Administration is accused of cover ups.

Read more >>> Complaint From a Former PGCPS Employee

PTSA president Ronald Dortch for Dwight D Eisenhower Middle School (Shown here) has no idea on hostile work environment currently in progress at Laurel schools. The community should be concerned he is acting like a Principal while protecting illegal behavior currently in progress in the many PGCPS Schools. There are also worries that, he has been making wild allegations concerning a student without proper review of the issues affecting staff and students on rolling basis at Dwight D Eisenhower Middle School and at Laurel High School. Picture Courtesy Doug Kapustin / For Baltimore Sun Media Group

Dr. Monica Goldson is the current interim CEO and she is an unexperienced administrator in matters which involve hostile environment in a large school district. There are confirmed allegations of cover ups of many issues in progress in PGCPS.

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