It’s “Back-To-School” Time for Background Checks on School Employees

With millions of students heading back to school around the country this week, millions of parents are focused on buying school supplies and learning new classrooms and  schedules. Something else parents should think about are background checks for all of the workers at schools, from the principal who makes announcements to the custodian who mops the floor.

While the majority of school workers are dedicated professionals, a recent article by The News Journal on DelawareOnline.com reveals the disturbing truth about how predators in schools show the need for extensive background checks in educational institutions.

Dana I. Goodman, 39, a former principal at Sussex Central High School in Delaware, pleaded guilty to two counts of fourth-degree rape and one count each of endangering the welfare of a child and official misconduct, and was sentenced to four years in prison and barred from having contact with the victim and her family, as well as the two other females, according to court records and an investigation by The News Journal. The story asks if a deeper background check could have raised red flags about Goodman since concerns about him were raised in at least one Maryland school where he previously worked.

According to the story, when Goodman applied to be principal at Sussex Central, officials failed to call two of the top administrators in the Maryland districts as part of a background check on his past. Without undergoing an exhaustive background check, Goodman was hired as principal of Sussex Central and began working in June 2006 and started a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old student in 2008, according to court records.

Even more troubling, Goodman's case is not unique to Delaware or his former district. In June, the story reports, two teachers at Sussex Central were arrested and are facing charges for inappropriately touching or having sex with a student, and at least six other educators at schools in Delaware have been arrested on similar charges since 2006.

Following Goodman's arrest, according to the story, the school district hired a firm to perform background checks of potential administrators, but because of cost issues it is up to the district and the school principal to perform background checks on prospective teachers in Delaware, who are required to submit to a criminal background check and fingerprinting.

According to a study commissioned by the U.S. Department of Education, it was estimated in 2003 that nearly 10 percent of American students across the county – or more than 4.5 million – were targets of sexual harassment or abuse by a public school employee between kindergarten and 12th grade, numbers that could be low because inappropriate behavior by educators is likely underreported, the story reports.

To keep predators out of schools, background checks should be a part of school curriculums as much as the "Three R's" of reading, writing, and arithmetic. Pre-Employ.com – a leading provider of pre-employment screening background checks – believes that schools can and should be kept safe and secure through an extensive background check process for all workers at educational institutions.

For more information on background checks in schools, please visit www.pre-employ.com, email info@pre-employ.com, or call 1-800-300-1821. To follow Pre-Employ.com on Twitter, visit www.twitter.com/PreEmploy.  

Related Blog: Random Background Check Reveals Convicted Murderer Worked At Florida School For Years

tahern@pre-employ.com

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