Whistleblower found fake 'siblings'

Magnet Schools | Principal spotted application rigging, officials say -- parent group fears it's 'tip of the iceberg,' pushes for audits

February 3, 2008
BY ROSALIND ROSSI, Education Reporter - Chicago Sun-Times

A plot to rig applications for prized seats at a Chicago magnet school was detected by a rookie principal with “guts,” school authorities say.

Though suspicions have long swirled around how magnet schools select students, officials say the discovery marks the first indication of magnet application tampering in the 27-year history of the program.

A new report by school Inspector General James Sullivan says his office found “rigging’’ at Sabin Magnet, at 2216 W. Hirsch, in the West Town neighborhood.

Twelve applicants for this school year falsely claimed to have a brother or sister at Sabin, a relationship that gave them a clear edge over other applicants, Sullivan said. Five of them cited the same Sabin student — a school clerk’s niece — as their sibling.

'I did nothing wrong'

The clerk even added her niece’s name to one application, saying “this would help the child get into the school,’’ Sullivan said one parent told investigators.

The clerk denies any wrongdoing, and Chicago Public Schools officials called the case “an aberration.’’ They said no changes have been made in its wake.

Others contend the irregularities prove magnet applications should be audited.

“It’s likely this is the tip of the iceberg, based on all the rumor, whispers, winks and nods that have gone on around this program since day one,’’ said Julie Woestehoff of Parents United for Responsible Education, a parent advocacy group.

Sabin Principal Barton Dassinger blew the whistle last February, in time to place children claiming phony siblings in the correct admissions lottery.

But for almost a year, Dassinger said, he was told by CPS lawyers not to comment on his findings.

During that time, a mentor of Dassinger’s said, the rookie principal endured “public whippings’’ at local school council meetings by parents who rushed to defend the clerk, a 17-year Sabin employee and daughter of a CPS principal.

Finally cleared to speak last month, Dassinger told the Chicago Sun-Times he felt morally bound to report the irregularities.

“I believe in giving everybody an equal shot,’’ said Dassinger, 31, the son of an Alabama teacher. “Even though I knew it might cause problems and controversy, I did what I thought was ethically proper.’’

The clerk, identified in local school council minutes as Sandra Alverio, resigned Oct. 1, a day before her dismissal hearing, CPS officials said. CPS has flagged her as a “do not hire.’’

“I did nothing wrong,’’ Alverio told the Sun-Times. “I didn’t advise anybody of anything.’’

A diabetic, Alverio said she finally decided to resign because “my sugar levels were off the map’’ and she was “depressed.’’

‘I don’t have a sibling’

Magnets such as Sabin, which admit kids using computerized race-based lotteries, are among dozens of schools created after 1980 to attract citywide enrollment and promote diversity. Hundreds of children often apply for what can be as few as 26 seats per school.

At lottery magnets, having a sibling already at the school can put a virtual lock on an entry-level seat.

That’s because up to 45 percent of open slots can go to siblings — so many spots that CPS officials believe only Hawthorne Scholastic had to hold a “sibling lottery” for entry-level seats this school year because sibling demand in that grade outstripped its sibling allotment.

Neighborhood kids can claim another 30 percent of magnet-schools slots. The remainder enter a citywide lottery.

About six months into his first stint as principal, Dassinger said, he was trying to understand the arcane application process when he noticed some applicants had different last names than the siblings they were claiming.

Curious, he questioned kids.

“Five, six, seven kids I spoke to said either, ‘I don’t have a sibling,’ or, ‘I know that person, but it’s not my sibling,’ or ‘I don’t know who that person is,’ ” Dassinger said.

Dassinger alerted CPS, and the inspector general was called in. Sullivan said two parents clearly implicated Alverio, but the false-sibling claims extended far beyond them. He said his investigators found:

†Five applicants spread among four parents falsely listed Alverio’s niece as a “sibling.’’ This included one child who was in the same grade as Alverio’s niece, a kindergartner.

†A fifth parent said that, at Alverio’s suggestion, she listed her own three children’s cousin, who did attend Sabin, as the trio’s sibling.

“I don’t know what lies they are bringing up,’’ Averio countered.

“When you’re a clerk and everybody knows your name and who your family is, who knows who tried to get away [with something] by putting my niece down?’’

Other parents also tried to pass off cousins as siblings but didn’t name Alverio in any way, Sullivan said.

One said she thought sibling meant “relative,’’ even though applications request the name of a “brother or sister currently enrolled at this school,’’ Sullivan said.

The parent of three other applicants said the children’s cousin told them they’d have a better shot if they claimed another cousin, then a Sabin student, as a sibling, Sullivan said.

‘Related’ by graduation

During the investigation, Alverio’s supporters staunchly defended her at local school council meetings, saying Alverio was part of the “fabric of Sabin’’ and that Dassinger should have handled the matter “in his private quarters,’’ not by tipping off CPS, local school council minutes show.

“We have an entire school supporting Sandra. We are insulted, flabbergasted. We want this to stop,’’ one parent identified in the minutes as “Ms. Cao-Romero” told LSC members last February.

“If this continues, the issue will get much bigger,’’ Cao-Romero warned. “There are a lot of people out there questioning the credibility of the school. You [Dassinger] came into our community. We embrace you. You need to embrace us. . . .”

“We stick together,’’ the parent said at another point. “If you are not related, then by the time you graduate, you are related.’’

“You came here after six months and disrupted the family,’’ said another woman at the next meeting. “. . . It’s bad that you don’t have a conscience.’’

Not being able to respond took a deep toll, Dassinger said, causing stress and sleepless nights, and hindering his ability to build trust with his staff during his critical first year.

Dassinger’s former boss at Chavez Elementary, now-retired Principal Sandy Traback, called Dassinger a person of “high moral fiber’’ who “suffered terribly’’ by his required silence.

He took “horrible beatings . . . almost like public whippings’’ at LSC meetings, and “residual effects’’ lingered for months, Traback said.

Chicago Public Schools CEO Arne Duncan saluted Dassinger, saying, “He nipped this problem in the bud.’’

“Particularly for a new principal,’’ Duncan said, “I think he displayed great judgment. It took courage. It took guts.’’

‘This is Chicago’

Dassinger said CPS officials were eager to keep the selection process taint-free. However, several current or former principals described potential weak points.

Principals said they’d catch a false-sibling claim because they know their students. But otherwise, schools usually accept application information without question, particularly when it’s mailed in, they said.

“There’s no way you could verify all the applications,’’ said Amy Narea, recently retired principal of LaSalle Magnet. “Principals are swamped. They are constantly short-staffed.’’

At enrollment, winners bring in acceptance letters that do not say what lottery they sought. Usually, principals say, schools ask enrollees for a birth certificate and proof of city residence, such as utility bills, but they do not backcheck to see what address, race or sibling — all ways to get an application edge — were claimed on applications.

“We would not double check [sibling status] once they come in through the sibling bank,’’ said Disney Magnet Principal Kathleen Hagstrom. “I suppose they could cheat and have a leg up.’’

“What they put on an application, I don’t question,’’ said Murray Magnet Principal Michael Keno. “Once they show up, all they are told to do is bring in a birth certificate and proof of residency.’’

Plus, magnet application forms for admission in 2006, 2007 and 2008 did not ask parents to affirm that their information is accurate. But parents must vouch for accuracy when applying to CPS schools with admissions tests, such as schools for gifted students.

And although race can give kids a leg up, schools do not verify it. Said CPS attorney Sherri Thornton-Pierce: “We’re not going to challenge people. . . . We don’t police things by checking and saying on the first day of school, ‘You don’t look like what you put down on your application.’ ”

Some say the application process is vulnerable to clout because before lotteries begin, principals can handpick 5 percent of slots.

“This is Chicago,’’ Woestehoff said. “There are probably 100 different ways to insinuate your way into a magnet school.’’

Woestehoff called for written assurances from anyone handling an application, and annual magnet audits to check for accuracy.

CPS spokesman Michael Vaughn could not recall such an audit ever being done. He said principals are responsible for verifying all application information — before lotteries begin.

Magnet seats are so prized, Vaughn said, that if there were lots of problems, Sullivan would be swamped with calls. Instead, Sullivan said, he rarely receives magnet selection complaints, although he does get city residency beefs.

“This is the only time this has ever happened,’’ Vaughn said. “Our principals and our staff do a great job of verifying information and making sure the lottery process is handled the appropriate way. . . .

“We don’t consider this a widespread problem. It’s an isolated incident and an aberration.’’

Magnet concerns? E-mail rrossi@suntimes.com.