RUSS SHEPPARD HIGH SCHUUL June 18, 2012 Lynden Dorval Mr. Dorval, On May 24, 2012, the teacher replacing you advised the Science Department Head that a difficult circumstance had arisen in a Science 20 class he had inherited from you. You had left no plans for the class, so hc had to ask the students what unit they were currently studying. He was alarmed to discover that you had not even started the Biology Unit, leaving not nearly enough time to properly cover the Unit. Assistant Superintendent Mark Liguori received an email from parents of a student in this class expressing their grave concern about this. As an experienced teacher. you should have had plans and you should have had the class on schedule. On June. 5, 2012, the Department Head was advised by the supply teacher that the Unit Exams for two of your Physics 30 classes were missing. Apparently, students had been complaining about not getting back these exams, which had been written on May 11, 2012. Students had also been voicing their complaints that they would need to rewrite the Unit exam because the original exam was missing. Their concerns were somehow picked up by an intern with CHED radio and a reporter for the Edmonton Joumal. The intern emailed an assistant principal of the school on June 6, 2012, advising that she had interviewed you and that you had admitted that you had student exams and other work at your home. I therefore wrote to you on June 6, 2012. I pointed out that the Superintendent, in his May 18, 2012 letter of suspension, had directed you to retum all District property in your possession immediately. Clearly you had ignored his directive. I directed you to retum all District property in your possession immediately by COD courier. On June 6, 2012, I received some marked Unit exams for your Block 2 Physics 30 class, plus 18 unmarked Unit exams for the written component and one unmarked scantron answer sheet for the multiple choice component for your Block 4 Physics 30 class. This was shocking to me, given that the students had written the exam on May ll, and you therefore had sat on them for almost a month. These are students who within a very short time would be writing their Diploma exam, and I would have thought that the important feedback from a Unit exam would have been provided to them as soon as possible. turviorworsn Poetic scnoots -- 780.452.75B3 I On June 7, 2012, you delivered the following items to the school office: 0 unmarked Science 20 assignments and lab reports 0 unmarked Science 20 quizzes 0 unmarked Physics 30 lab reports marked Physics 30 quizzes The Assistant Principal and I noted that there was still student work missing. In particular, the multiple choice portion of the Unit exams were not included in the two packages of student work returned. The prospect of having to re-write this portion of the exam continued to cause the students considerable distress. Therefore, on June 11, 2012, I couriered a second memorandum to you indicating that 17 scantron answer sheets were missing for the Unit exams for your Block 4 Physics 30 class. I requested an explanation and confirmation that all other District property had now been returned to the School. As I had heard nothing from you, we had the class re-write the multiple-choice portion of the Unit exam on June 12, 2012. Then on June 13, 2012, you delivered the following: 0 16 unmarked Physics 30 Unit scantron answer sheets for your Block 2 class (written May 11) 0 17 unmarked Physics 30 Unit scantron answer sheets for your Block 4 class (written May 11) 0 2 marked Physics 30 Unit exams (written April 10) 0 4 umnarked Science 20 exams (written April 20) 0 2 student grade reports 0 2 student stat reports Class set of parent permission forms for tieldtrip The result for the students of your refusal to return their work was that they uselessly had to write the exam a second time. Your suspension did not relieve you of your duty as a professional and Board employee to remain concerned about your former students and see to the proper marking of these exams and assignments, or at least to return them to the school in a responsible manner. In fact, they should all have been marked and returned to students before the date of your suspension, given when they were taken. Ifind it utterly reprehensible that you would sit on these exams and assignments for weeks without alerting the school. Your behavior is unbefitting a professional. It is also ironic in light of your very public pronouncements about your concern for the welfare of your students. Your habitual refusal to obey lawful orders, your repeated insubordination, and your obvious neglect of duty force me to consider recommending termination of your teaching contract with Edmonton Public Schools. Mark Lrguori Assr ntSuper1ntendent Employee file 3