Former First Grade Teacher Indicted on Felony Drug Charges

Sarah Katherine Magid, a former first-grade teacher at Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), was indicted Thursday on felony drug charges and ordered held without bond.

Magid, 34, of Burtonsville, was arrested in August following the March 23 death of a Washington, D.C. man from fentanyl toxicity. She is not charged in the man’s death.

She is charged with distribution of a controlled dangerous substance, which is a felony, as well as five other drug charges. A scheduling hearing is set for Oct. 18.

Magid was taken into custody without incident following a search of her home by Montgomery County Police and special agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement (DEA).

According to a previous police report, Montgomery County police detectives and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration specialists learned that the victim was in Montgomery County “in the days leading up to their death” and that a person identified as Sarah had been in contact with him.

Magid remains on leave from the school district, according to a spokesperson. She is listed in the staff director as unassigned in human resources and development...

Former First Grade Teacher Indicted on Felony Drug Charges - Montgomery Community Media

O. Shannon Middle School Team Leader on Leave Following Indictment for Embezzlement

Erin Kelly is on leave from her position as an Odessa Shannon Middle School team leader for alternative programs, following her indictment by a grand jury for allegedly embezzling $161,000 from a dance studio in Rockville.

Kelly is listed with Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) as “unassigned” as she doesn’t have a physical location in the school system, according to a district spokesperson.

According to the indictment, Kelly is charged with stealing $161,986 between Jan. 1, 2017 and May 31, 2022 from the Dawn Crafton Dance Connection in Rockville.  Grand jurors believed that Kelly “fraudulently and willfully” stole the money “while acting in the capacity of fiduciary.”..

https://www.mymcmedia.org/shannon-middle-school-team-leader-on-leave-following-indictment-for-embezzlement/

Breaking: MCPS Chief Safety Officer Ed Clarke Removed from Position. Parents' Coalition had Exposed Failure to Report as Required by Law @mcps @mocoboe @pcmc1

In December of 2022, the Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, MD obtained documents from the Maryland Center for School Safety regarding MCPS' compliance with Maryland's serious school incident reporting requirements.  

The Parents' Coalition had filed a Maryland Public Information Act request and upon receipt of our request, we were contacted by the Center for School Safety for a telephone conference with their staff attorney Dawn Luedtke.  Dawn Luedtke is now a Montgomery County Councilmember.  

The documents we obtained showed that MCPS had not complied with Maryland law with regard to reporting serious incidents.  ABC7 reported on this revelation. 

MCPS gave the excuse that their Chief Safety Officer, Edward Clarke, was not aware of the filing requirements.  But Edward Clarke was formerly the head of the Maryand Center for School Safety and had lobbied for the creation of that office.  

Since the ABC7 news report aired in December, Edward Clarke has been removed from his position and placed in MCPS Human Relations Department with the position of Administrator Special Assignment. 

On June 27, 2023, the Montgomery County Board of Education appointed a new Chief Safety Officer, Pamela B. Wheeler-Taylor. 

Student journalists at NYC’s Townsend Harris HS help boot teacher with multiple allegations of inappropriate sexual interactions with students.

Pupil Power!

Thanks to intrepid student journalists, an English teacher and coach at prestigious Townsend Harris HS in Queens was yanked from the school this week after it came to light that city investigators confirmed he had sex with a former female student.

Joseph Canzoneri, 53, allegedly brought the girl to an apartment where he plied her with wine and marijuana before they had intercourse and oral sex, the Special Commissioner of Investigation for city schools found.

The SCI recommended Canzoneri be fired, and the Department of Education tried to do so. But the girl refused to testify at a hearing, so the case was dropped and he was entitled to keep his job under New York tenure protections.

After more than a year in a rubber room, a space where accused teachers await the disciplinary process, he quietly returned to Townsend Harris at the start of the school year in September. The principal kept him out of classrooms in an office.

The scandal remained under wraps until three weeks ago, when someone leaked the case to teen journalists at the school’s student newspaper, The Classic...

https://nypost.com/2021/11/20/townsend-harris-hs-student-journalists-help-boot-sex-teacher/