A high school principal in Missouri has resigned after she was
accused of impersonating a student on Facebook in order to spy on
students and their parents, according to a news report.
Louise Losos, the principal of
Clayton High School in St. Louis, is
suspected of having created a fake Facebook account
under the alias Suzy Harriston and “friending” hundreds of students,
presumably in order to monitor their communications through their
Facebook postings.
The account, whose profile picture depicted a group of penguins, was
set up last year. More than 300 students accepted the “friend” request
from “Harriston,” many of them Clayton High School students, before a
student who received one of the requests posted a note warning others to
stay away from the account because he believed the principal was behind
it, according to the
St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
On Apr. 5, former Clayton High student and quarterback named Chase
Haslett wrote on a Facebook group page, “Whoever is friends with Suzy
Harriston on Facebook needs to drop them. It is the Clayton Principal.”
Shortly after he published his note, the “Harriston” account
disappeared. The following day, the high school announced that Losos was
taking a leave of absence. She handed in her resignation last Friday.
The school has not confirmed that Losos was behind the account or
that this was the specific reason for her resignation. In a statement,
school officials acknowledged only that Losos had resigned over a
“fundamental dispute over the appropriate use of social media.”
The
St. Louis Post-Dispatch conducted a search of public
records to determine if Suzy Harriston was a real person, but came up
with nothing. Clayton School District also acknowledged that no student
by the name of Suzy Harriston had been enrolled at the high school in
the last two years.
The outing of Losos might have been retaliation for the recent firing of a football coach.
Haslett posted his accusation on the page of a Facebook account that had been set up in support of the coach, according to the
St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
The account, called “Bring Back Coach Horrell,” was frequented by
students, parents and others who felt that former football coach Sam
Horrell had been unfairly fired last year.
Horrell lost his coaching position over a violation of the Missouri
State High School Activities Association bylaws, which regulate what
kind of contact high school coaches can have with middle school
athletes. The school district found that Horrell had “engaged in
strength and conditioning workouts with … students who attend Wydown
Middle School,” in violation of the bylaws.
Students held a demonstration on the front lawn of the school last
year in support of the coach, and some denounced Losos for Horrell’s
punishment. Horrell was allowed to remain at the high school as a
physical education teacher this year, but the school board voted on Apr.
4 to not renew his teaching contract.
A day after the school board announced its decision, Haslett posted
his accusation about Losos and the “Suzy Harriston” Facebook account. He
posted his warning after the “Harriston” account sent out a number of
friend requests to people who were expressing support for Horrell
online. Someone asked Haslett online how he knew Losos was behind the
“Harriston” account and Haslett, who is the son of former St. Louis Rams
interim head coach Jim Haslett, replied, “Can’t say who told me.”
Andy Brown, the parent of a Clayton High School student, was among
those who received a sudden Facebook friend request from “Harriston.” He
had been a public supporter of Horrell and a critic of Losos, the
newspaper said. Two of his children had already been “friended” by
Harrison last year. Brown told the local paper that if Losos or other
administrators were indeed using Facebook to monitor students online
without being truthful about their identity, it was a breach of trust.
Losos has been principal of the school since 2005. During her tenure,
the high school was ranked among the best high schools in the United
States by
Newsweek.
“Our high ranking is a tribute to the hard work of our students and
the dedication of our entire staff,” Losos said in a press release about
the school’s ranking. “I am proud of our Greyhound community for this
significant achievement. We will continue our work of holding high
expectations and striving to provide the best possible education to our
students.”
Schools around the country have been developing
policies that forbid teachers from “friending” students
on social media through personal accounts, in order to avoid the
appearance of impropriety. Recently, a New York City teacher wrote “this
is sexy” beneath the Facebook photo of a female student. Another
teacher reportedly sent a message to a student saying that her boyfriend
did not “deserve a beautiful girl like you.”
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