Disorder reigns at school meeting

Friday, Feb. 13, 2004 | 11:15 a.m.

A meeting at the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy Thursday was supposed to quell some parents' concerns about a high rate of teacher turnover, but the meeting degenerated into near-chaos when a longtime West Las Vegas community advocate was forcibly removed, handcuffed and arrested after striking a Metro Police officer.

Marzette Lewis, founder of WAAK-UP, refused to sit down after launching into an angry speech denouncing the school's administrators.

The disruption left some parents angry that Lewis, who does not have children or relatives attending the school, had distracted attention from the real issues at hand.

"This is a school night, they shouldn't be seeing this," said one parent as she hustled her three children from the meeting and away from the sight of Lewis being arrested. "A bunch of adults acting like fools -- what kind of example is that?"

Since its inception in 2001 the academy has been held up as a model charter school both locally and nationally. Rep. John Porter, R-Nev., has held field trips for his political colleagues to show off the West Lake Mead Boulevard campus.

The school supplements the per-pupil funding received from the Clark County School District with sizable donations from both local businesses and major corporations -- all eager to be associated with the tennis champion's endeavor.

Parents say the school has lost at least 15 teachers -- both full-time and part-time -- since the arrival of the school's new principal, Kim Allen, last July. Allen replaced Wayne Tanaka, a veteran Clark County School District educator, who retired from the Agassi organization in October.

Perry Rogers, president the Agassi Foundation and chairman of the school's board of directors, said it has always been the intent of the foundation's board to conduct national searches for teachers.

When Allen, who was hired from Arizona, became principal the board decided to renew that goal, Rogers said.

"Our job is to go out and get the best teachers in the country," Rogers said. " We're here to educate your kids. ... We're not here to put teachers over kids. It's not the Andre Agassi Teacher Academy on the sign outside. It's the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy. It's about getting your kids into college. That's what we're focused on."

The school is fully staffed in all of its core teaching classroom positions, Rogers said. Three specialist positions -- in art, music and Spanish -- are open and applicants are being considered, Rogers said.

"Have there been terminations at this school? Absolutely," Allen said. "That turnover is necessary for us to meet those clearly defined standards that are out there. Those standards are high ... when you fail to follow any standard at your own job, more than likely you don't have a job anymore."

Allen said employees who were not meeting standards were given fair warning.

"Everyone's been afforded the opportunity to show improvement and demonstrate the exact same excellence we require from every child at this school," Allen said.

Agassi Academy music teacher Jason Metzger said he was fired with no notice Jan. 23 soon after he arrived for the start of the school day. Metzger, who was hired in June, brought to Thursday's meeting his teaching credentials, license from the Nevada Department of Education and a copy of his college transcript.

"(Allen) is saying she fired people because they didn't have credentials and that's not the truth," said Metzer, who also had a certificate from the school proclaiming him as employee of the month last February.

Another teacher, Jenyan Martinez, said she resigned Tuesday after months of what she felt were increasingly hostile working conditions. Martinez, who expects to start teaching as soon as next week in the Clark County School District, said she was told that if she were caught talking to parents or other employees about the morale problem, she would be fired.

"You start to get paranoid," Martinez said. "People would disappear and be removed during the day and you would never find out what really happened. It was very upsetting for us and for the students."

While much of the discussion was dominated by angry parents whose children had been expelled or disciplined, Allen and the school's governing board had pockets of supporters at the meeting.

Connie Grimble, whose son is a sixth grader at the academy, said it's not an uncommon business practice for a new boss to replace employees when assuming control.

"When a new administration comes in they clean house. ... Maybe this house needed to be swept," Grimble said to a smattering of applause from the audience. "We have to let the children know this is a temporary thing and the transition isn't going to last forever. We have to give this administration a chance."

Still, some parents criticized Allen as being too harsh with students, telling them that if they did not like the strict rules of the academy they could leave. Others cited examples of what they saw as her insensitivity toward other races.

One mother expressed outrage that Allen would tell students "not to act ghetto" when criticizing their behavior.

Allen said she had used the word "ghetto" when telling students following a field trip to the Las Vegas Football Classic that their behavior had been "crazy." She apologized to anyone who was offended by her choice of language.

"I said, 'Boys and girls the next time we go out on a field trip we're not going to act ghetto and you know what I'm talking about,"' Allen said. "I apologize from the bottom of my heart. ... I love your kids and I want them to be here. You have my apologies."

Founded in 2001 the charter school serves about 250 students in grades three through seven. The school intends to add one grade level each year, with a high school program slated to open in 2005.

The charter school draws its students primarily from the low-income, high-minority West Las Vegas neighborhoods surrounding the campus on Lake Mead Boulevard.

While charter schools operate independently, organizers must get their plans approved by the school district. Craig Kadlub, director of public affairs for the Clark County School District, said he had heard from a few parents and community members about the situation at Agassi Academy.

"We've received some informal allegations, which we are looking into," Kadlub said. "If there are issues we believe are a potential violation of statute, then we have an obligation to point those out to a charter school and give them time to take corrective action."

The specifics of the allegations were not disclosed.

While the meeting was frequently punctuated by shouting parents who demanded everything from the return of fired teachers to Allen's firing, the interruption by Lewis and her subsequent arrest surprised onlookers.

With members of the audience calling for her to take her seat, two Metro officers at the meeting tried to escort her from the front of school's auditorium. She screamed and then slapped one officer on the shoulder -- eliciting gasps from the audience -- and was quickly surrounded by additional security guards and rushed from the building.

As she shouted that her rights were being violated, Lewis was pressed face-first against the building and handcuffed. Five Metro officers formed a circle to block her from the crowd of about 30 people who had followed the commotion outside. She then slid to the ground and refused to move.

"I'm an old 64-year-old woman and you're knocking me down," Lewis shouted. "I'm not going anywhere! You're gonna have to get a gurney!"

Lewis complained loudly that the officers had broken her arm and wrenched her back. Paramedics took her to University Medical Center, where she was treated and released. Police at the scene said she was being charged with assaulting an officer.

By the end of the 2 1/2 hour meeting at the school, the crowd of more than 200 had dwindled to about 40 parents, most of whom had the same question -- where does the school go from here?

"Where we go is forward," Rogers said. "We take the constructive criticism and try and build a better bridge of communication."