Teacher removed from classroom at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Douglas Anderson School of Arts sent out a phone call to parents about a teacher being temporarily removed from their classroom.

According to DCPS, Corey Thayer has been reassigned to duties without student contact due to a human resources matter.

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Action News Jax first told you in April when Thayer was under a professional standards review

The school is currently working on staffing Thayer’s classes with a long-term substitute.

Read: Douglas Anderson department chair removed from classroom while under professional standards review

Message from Douglas Anderson High School:

“Dear Families,

“I am writing to inform you that Mr. Corey Thayer has been temporarily reassigned to duties without student contact due to a human resources matter. We will work to staff Mr. Thayer’s classes with a long-term substitute, and my administrative team and I will provide additional support to ensure the best possible instructional environment.

Read: DCPS student arrested after a loaded gun was found in backpack

“While I am unable to provide any further details about this situation, your student’s experience at Douglas Anderson is important to me and our entire staff. If your child needs any assistance, we would be glad to help you arrange that support. Please let me know if there is anything we can do to help your child and ensure their continued success at Douglas Anderson.

“If additional information becomes available for dissemination, I will be sure to share it with you.”

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Duval County School Board Chairwoman Dr. Kelly Coker shared the following statement regarding Thayer:

“Thank you for the opportunity to provide comment on the matter regarding Mr. Thayer. Given that the Duval County School Board could potentially sit as a quasi-judicial body over any human resources matter, at this time, it would be very inappropriate and potentially damaging to the process for any board member to speak publicly about a matter that could come to the board in the future. Therefore, we must respect the confidentiality of the process and reserve any comment until the matter comes before us.”

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April Carney, who represents District 2 on the Duval County School Board, released the following statement on Thayer:

“After the arrest of Jeffrey Clayton, and the removal of 3 other teachers last year, I was surprised to see Mr. Thayer released back into the classroom without any notification to the Board, or the families at DA. The Duval County School Board promised accountability to the families of Douglas Anderson School of the Arts and the DCPS community. We cannot fulfill our promise if we are unaware of key decisions, such as returning Mr. Thayer to the classroom. We need to keep that commitment by continuing the conversation with DA Alumni, students and parents regarding the underlying issues that exist in our arts magnet. We must be asking the difficult questions about what has been transpiring at that school. The recent removal of Mr. Thayer deserves the same amount of scrutiny as Mr. Clayton.

“I applaud our General Counsel, Mr. Ray Poole for taking the time to listen and understand the gravity of the alleged situation. I will continue to push for accountability and transparency as the District conducts a fair investigation within our Office of Professional Standards. We must do everything we can as a Board to make sure that our students are in a safe learning environment every day.”

Superintendent Dr. Dana Kriznar notified school board members on Friday, Sept. 1 about the additional information the district learned about Thayer in a statement:

“The district has become aware of additional information related to an employee investigation involving alleged misconduct occurring in 2013-2014 by Douglas Anderson teacher Corey Thayer. As a result, he will be removed from contact with students and assigned to Bulls Bay pending the outcome of the investigation.”

Read: Calling all parents! DCPS wants your feedback on the superintendent search

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