MPS substitute teacher imposter case; staff didn't follow protocol

MILWAUKEE - A woman with a history of mental illness is accused of posing as a substitute teacher and making lewd comments toward students at a Milwaukee high school. Milwaukee Public Schools said office staff failed to follow district protocol.

Charges filed

In court:

Amy Jones, 23, appeared in court Tuesday. She is charged with impersonating a public employee and five counts of exposing a child to harmful descriptions, all felonies. 

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Court Commissioner Rosa Barillas set a $5,000 signature bond for Jones, ordering her to have no contact with Rufus King High International School and students identified in the complaint.

"We don’t really want the jail to be used as an ad hoc mental health treatment facility here, your honor," said defense attorney Michael Cerniglia during bond arguments.

If convicted, Jones faces more than three years in prison and thousands of dollars in fines.

History of mental illness

What we know:

Michael Cerniglia, Jones' defense attorney, said during bond arguments that Jones "manages bipolar disorder and was experiencing an acute, manic episode caused by delayed home prescription delivery, and was off her meds during the time these allegations allegedly took place."

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Records show Milwaukee police arrested Jones five days after the incident at Granite Hills Hospital, a West Allis mental health hospital. Jones has no criminal history.

"It’s my understanding that Ms. Jones was picked up at a psychiatric facility, and she voluntarily admitted herself for inpatient psychiatric care after this incident," said Cerniglia, adding that if released from custody, Jones can return to Granite Hills for inpatient treatment.

Woman enters Rufus King

The backstory:

Court filings said Jones told police she snuck in with students on the morning of Sept. 24, went through security and walked around the school. Jones then went to the office – where she overheard staff talking about a substitute teaching company – said she was a substitute teacher with that company and signed the substitute teacher sign-in sheet.

Jones, a graduate of the school, was placed in a classroom with students despite not being employed by the substitute company, nor being on the list of substitutes hired by the district. Court filings said there were eight staff absences that day – with only seven having been filled – and Jones "got lucky" because there happened to be an unfilled position.

A real teacher set up class materials with Jones in a classroom for the first 20 minutes, and prosecutors said Jones began acting out when that teacher left the room.

Court filings said students told investigators Jones used profane and lewd language, racial slurs, made sexual comments to students – and also organized students by race and gender. Students also said Jones started playing rap music very loud and "dissed" kids for their weight, race, looks and money. She also asked if any students had a vape or marijuana because the class was "so f---ing lame and annoying."

After the students involved in the incident got out of class, they went to staff and told them about Jones. Ultimately, Jones "taught" two classes, and was escorted off school property before the third class began.

Office staff failed to follow protocol

What they're saying:

MPS provided an update on its internal investigation Tuesday, in which the district said Jones "did go through the school's safety scan" but "the office did not follow proper district protocol" when validating if she was a substitute teacher. 

"There is no excuse for it not occurring, and we take this matter seriously," a statement to school staff and families said.

FOX6 News reached out to Rufus King's principal, who declined to comment. The district has said that "supportive measures" are in place for students, but did not explain what those measures include.

MPS update to staff and families on Tuesday

Dear Rufus King International High School Staff and Families,

We value you as partners and want to continue to keep you informed about a situation we first told you about in late September (previous messages are below).

As we have shared, this matter is still under investigation. 

Our initial findings indicate that the former student did go through the school’s daily safety scan, but those same initial findings suggest the office did not follow proper district protocol in validating the individual as a substitute teacher. Across the district, substitute teachers are part of a system called Frontline and substitutes are tied to actual teacher absences, and assigned to those classrooms. Office staff validate that an individual coming for a substitute role is both within the system and assigned to the school based on a specific teacher’s absence. Offices must check that the person is in Frontline and assigned before permitting them.

This should happen every time a substitute visits a school. There is no excuse for it not occurring, and we take this matter seriously.

We are already in the process of reviewing our safeguards to ensure an incident like this never happens again. Our employees will be retrained and held accountable moving forward. And we are providing supportive measures for students in the affected classes. 

We understand how disturbing this is and we are taking every step to address where errors happened. 

Thank you for your continued support as we work to ensure our school community remains a safe and welcoming place.

Sincerely,
Doreen Badillo
Principal