LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Jefferson County Public Schools removed an elementary school principal from his daily duties last month, forbidding him from having contact with staff, parents and students.
Hartstern Elementary Principal Duan Wright was temporarily re-assigned to the district's print shop Sept. 2, according to documents obtained by WDRB News. JCPS won't say why, and the district withheld documents from a public records request, citing "ongoing investigations."
While the circumstances that led to Wright's reassignment are unknown, the district previously investigated allegations of Wright's abuse of students six times from 2009-19, according to documents obtained under the Kentucky Open Records Act.
Each of the investigations concluded the allegations were "unsubstantiated" or "inconclusive." Still, in 2020, Wright's supervisor "strongly advised" that he ensure another school employee is present when interacting with students.
"This will ensure there is a witness present when addressing any student concerns," JCPS' assistant superintendent for elementary schools, Paige Hartstern, wrote in Wright's 2020 evaluation.
The school district prohibits educators from using corporal punishment as a disciplinary tool, which Kentucky law defines as "deliberate infliction of physical pain by any means upon the whole or any part of a student's body as a penalty or punishment for student misbehavior."
JCPS' student support handbook says staff "may use reasonable physical force to restrain a student if their behavior poses an imminent danger of physical harm to self or others."
In December 2020, Wright was notified that the Education Professional Standards Board — the body that governs educator certifications in Kentucky — was referring a report of educator misconduct against Wright to attorney review and investigation. It is unclear what came of the EPSB matter, as the Kentucky Department of Education has not yet fulfilled WDRB's open records request.
Hartstern Elementary serves about 475 students off Outer Loop in the Okolona area.
Wright, who has led the school since 2014, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
JCPS did not reply to numerous emails seeking an interview or comment for this story.
Previous investigations
The allegations within six previous JCPS investigations of Wright's conduct were each found to be "unsubstantiated." The investigations often involved allegations relayed by Kentucky Child Protective Services, whose records are not subject to public disclosure.
Most recently, in October 2019, JCPS was notified by CPS that a student claimed "Mr. Wright punched me" and was rubbing his shoulder following a visit to Wright's office.
According to JCPS' partially redacted investigative report, the incident started when Wright brought the student and another student into his office for behavior problems. The students each told JCPS that Wright presented what appeared to be gun, but they later concluded was fake and told them he "feed them to the wolves" if they did not get their act together. The students told JCPS they were both scared and cried.
One of the students also told JCPS that his mother had given Wright permission to "whip" him for behavioral problems and that Wright had whipped him with an orange paddle in the previous academic year.
JCPS found no gun nor any sign of injury of the student who was allegedly punched.
Harstern Elementary (WDRB photo).
Wright told investigators that both students had "intense behavior issues" but he denied hitting the student, pulling out any sort of firearm or yelling at them. He admitted being "stern" with the students.
In March 2018, CPS notified JCPS of an incident in which a student claimed he was called to the principal's office and Wright "grabbed him by the collar and dragged him back to class."
A former Hartstern teacher said she witnessed that numerous times. She claimed, "Teachers have been told not to report these kind of things so they are afraid to call."
JCPS found the allegations "unsubstantiated."
In February 2018, Wright was alleged to have picked up a student and threw him over his shoulder, carrying him and saying, "You better tell the truth or I will close the door and handle things my way."
A teacher told investigators she witnessed the incident, saying "he is an ESL (English as a second language) student and cannot speak English or understand anything being said around him." She said she was in the office when Wright was verbally abrasive and yelled at the student.
But, according to the investigation, the student said he didn't remember being picked up by Wright on his shoulders.
In 2017, the allegation was that Wright "popped" a student in the mouth while the student was having a tantrum. CPS reported that the child's mother arrived at the school to discover her daughter wearing only underwear and with a busted lip.
Wright denied hitting the student in the mouth and the school's assistant principal said the student took off her own clothes. The assistant principal also didn't see Wright hit the student, according to the investigation. Wright suggested that the child could have injured her lip by banging her own head against a door repeatedly.
In 2015, CPS informed the district that a student said she was having a tantrum and Wright "grabbed her by the wrist and side ... and threw her to the ground."
The student also claimed the teacher's aide in the school "threw her onto a table causing bruising on her lips and gums." JCPS found that the student was bruised, but it was "undetermined who caused the injuries."
The investigation said the "student was extremely physical and violent toward the staff and physical restraint was necessary to keep the student from harming self and others."
In 2009, when Wright was a teacher at Conway Middle School, a school staff member wrote, "I have observed him on multiple occasions threatening to hit a student or students with a broom stick."
The staff member continued, "I have observed Mr. Wright bonk students on the head with the broom stick or hit them in the butt region."
JCPS substantiated that Wright told the teacher students were misbehaving and "he had to whoop them." But the documents said there was no evidence he hit the three students inside a bathroom.
The students and Wright told investigators they were joking in the bathroom, and Wright admitted to using the broom to hit the wall as students made sounds as if they were getting hit.
One student walked out of the bathroom with a bruised knee and another needed a band-aid for a bleeding hand, but when they got those injuries or if they're related isn't clear, according to the investigation.
Performance evaluation
While JCPS never found Wright to have been at fault, his supervisor appears to have expressed concerns about the pattern of allegations.
JCPS' performance evaluation of Wright dated June 2020 references an Office of Compliance and Investigations Report regarding an allegation in October 2019. It's unclear which specific allegation the evaluation was referring to, but the evaluation said, "Because there were no other witnesses to corroborate either physical or verbal allegations of abuse, this investigation resulted in an inconclusive report."
Wright has been "advised several times to have another adult present during disciplinary issues with students," according to the performance evaluation.
The performance evaluation also dinged Wright for breaking protocol by speaking directly to parents and students involved in CPS investigations.
"You (Wright) were advised by the investigator that the practice of reaching out to parents to notify them that CPS had come to the school to speak to their child could be viewed as impeding an investigation and/or potentially putting a student at greater risk," according to the evaluation.
The evaluation discussed Wright's attitude regarding corporal punishment.
"According to the report, you (Wright) admit that you are aware and 'ok' with parents indicating that you will 'whip/spank' students if they act bad and, in the past, have used scare tactics when speaking with students."
Wright said he no longer uses scare tactics, according to the evaluation:
"Mr. Wright clearly stated that he does not encourage students or families to believe he would ever 'spank or whip' a student. He also discussed not having control over what parents discuss with their children."
While reassigned, Wright is reporting for work to the district's Material Production Department.
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