MEA defends Biddeford teacher
MEA retained legal counsel Howard Reben is defending a highly respected Biddeford teacher who was blamed in press reports for the state throwing out the district's Maine Educational Assessment middle school science test scores.
The teacher was part of a review panel last winter which reviewed proposed test questions to ensure they were aligned with the test subjects. The Department of Education (DOE) later claimed there were "irregularities" in how the test was administered, even though it had assigned teachers to the alignment process whom they knew would be administering the same test questions just weeks later.
Attorney Reben has advised both the school district and DOE that the teacher is without fault in the matter. Reben also demanded and received a retraction from the Portland Press Herald, which stated:
"A misstatement of the truth by the mayor of Biddeford has led to a newspaper article and editorial unfairly injuring the reputation of Barbara Fortier. The mayor told the press that Ms. Fortier had been suspended. That statement was false. The error has been confirmed by the school authorities. The truth was that Ms. Fortier had requested and was granted a leave of absence to return to graduate school."
"While the state has been investigating student test scores and invalidated some there has been no determination of any impropriety by Barbara Fortier. The Press Herald's claim that she was a cheater is unfounded. Barbara Fortier is no common teacher. She has been selected as teacher of the year in 2007 and has an unblemished record."
"Barbara like other outstanding teachers provided assistance to the Department of Education in creating student testing. The result of this unfortunate publicity will give teachers pause in engaging in such a worthwhile endeavor. The injustice to Barbara Fortier demands an immediate apology."
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