Cobble Hill letter to klein - Special Commissioner of Investigation

Hon. J. I. Klein -52- June 26, 2007
removed from the classroom days before final grades were due because he would not
improperly inflate student grades. 178 At the time of his complaint, Nobile was in the
process of being terminated. Nobile ultimately received an “S” rating from Washington
Irving and, in September 2001, received a teaching position at Cobble Hill.
At Cobble Hill – the Capra Years
After Nobile was assigned to Cobble Hill, he frequently complained about
Assistant Principal Capra directly to Capra, to Principal George, and to others.
• October 28, 2002 – in a letter to Capra, Nobile questioned the students’
preparation for the Regents. 179
• December 14, 2002 – in an e-mail message to George, Nobile complained
about Capra’s treatment of him. 180
• March 10, 2003 – Nobile was observed by George and thereafter he
received a “U” rating. 181
• March 11, 2003 – Nobile was observed by Capra and thereafter he
received a “U” rating.
• March 11, 2003 – Nobile wrote to Capra regarding her observation of his
class and his expected “U” rating. In that e-mail, in an effort to deflect
Capra’s criticism of his lecture style, Nobile included an Instant
Messenger communication that he had with a student about his teaching
method. 182
178 We referred this matter to OSI which, in turn, sent it to DAA. From there, it went back to the
Superintendent’s Office. SCI investigators were unable to determine the outcome of Nobile’s complaint.
However, the subject of the allegation informed SCI investigators that no one ever spoke to her about it and
she was not disciplined.
179 This letter also was copied to George. There was no mention of Regents cheating.
180 Nobile compla ined that Capra told him to have his tests include all Regents questions and he did not
comply. There was no mention of Regents cheating.
181 In correspondence sent on May 14, 2005, to Deputy Counsel to the Chancellor Theresa Europe, Nobile
claimed that, in March 2003, George gave him a “U” rating because then Superintendent Carmen Farina
had “looked at [his] lesson (handout) and expressed discontent.” Nobile added that “[George’s] crash
reappearance in my classroom later the same afternoon and his unscheduled observation can only be
explained as an effort to appease Ms. Farina who was known to want more U’s [sic] distributed at Cobble
Hill.” In her testimony at SCI, Farina said that she did not insert herself into the rating process and denied
ordering the dissemination of “U” ratings. Nobile informed Europe that he was a probationary teacher who
received two “U” ratings in two days, but then was not monitored for the rest of the term. According to
Capra, Nobile asked George not to have Capra review him because of his wife’s illness. George granted
Nobile’s request.
182 Nobile claimed that the student initiated the correspondence; however, the issue of his teaching
technique was raised by Nobile.