{"id":122906,"date":"2025-07-31T00:30:10","date_gmt":"2025-07-31T00:30:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tvbrazilusa.com\/2025\/07\/31\/investigation-douglas-anderson-works-to-step-back-into-spotlight-for-the-right-reasons-jacksonville-today\/"},"modified":"2025-07-31T00:30:49","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T00:30:49","slug":"investigation-douglas-anderson-works-to-step-back-into-spotlight-for-the-right-reasons-jacksonville-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tvbrazilusa.com\/pt\/2025\/07\/31\/investigation-douglas-anderson-works-to-step-back-into-spotlight-for-the-right-reasons-jacksonville-today\/","title":{"rendered":"INVESTIGATION | Douglas Anderson works to step back into spotlight for the right reasons | Jacksonville Today"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-8864793242727901\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"ad6cc544-037d-4ed0-99b0-d4095f39bb37\"><em>This story is the last in a series, <a href=\"https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/category\/the-show-must-go-on\/\">The Show Must Go On<\/a>, examining who knew what, when, and what action they took\u00a0when confronted with reports of sexual misconduct by Jeffrey Clayton and other teachers.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"66582673-3557-4900-8284-092f944cfdb8\"><em>The series is based on tens of thousands of pages of public records and historical documents, as well as dozens of interviews with lawyers, local officials and current and former Douglas Anderson students, teachers and administrators.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<hr data-beyondwords-marker=\"090ad3fe-2514-458e-9202-767f87b3588c\" class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"a58460bb-30b5-4f19-8451-cd623e800acf\">Do we know there won\u2019t be another Douglas Anderson scandal?<\/p>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"0187e888-83dc-4fd4-a213-e7432a0310a1\">District administrators \u2014 including a new superintendent and new Douglas Anderson principal \u2014 say they\u2019ve made \u201csignificant\u201d changes to prevent sexual misconduct and ensure teacher misconduct reports are taken seriously. Parents of current students say they can see the results.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But some former students say they wonder if the changes will be enough to overcome what they see as a deeply ingrained power imbalance in performing arts culture.<\/p>\n<h3 data-beyondwords-marker=\"af6e2527-2cdc-406c-9480-84f86f9463ee\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">The \u2018transparent\u2019 investigation<\/h3>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"d030accb-1296-4a88-a16a-fca666bab25d\">A month after <a href=\"https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/2025\/07\/27\/investigation-douglas-anderson-teacher-received-mostly-unofficial-discipline-before-arrest\/\">Jeffrey Clayton\u2019s arrest<\/a>, the Duval School Board decided to spend $35,000 to retain an outside law firm to investigate \u201cwhat happened\u201d at Douglas Anderson, as well as what led to the district\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/2025\/07\/29\/investigation-was-douglas-anderson-worse-than-other-schools-district-data-issues-make-it-hard-to-compare\/?omhide=true\">misconduct reporting issues<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"a153f60b-4fde-4e54-9d0e-d2488d8bb794\">Since<a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/819871832\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> that April 2023 meeting<\/a>, the school board has said very little publicly about the independent investigation, and Duval Schools has yet to publish the resulting findings or alert parents to them\u00a0\u2014\u00a0even though email records show the district received the firm\u2019s final report in late June 2024.<\/p>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"f43dd900-6c48-47d6-80f5-2a3b1b616b23\">At that 2023 meeting, city of Jacksonville attorney Jon Phillips promised the process would be \u201ctransparent.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"9fc30db3-17e6-49c3-b1cd-160eeec97b20\">\u201cOnce the report is final, and we\u2019ve had the opportunity to fix the problems, that report would become a public record so that anybody who wants to know what happened and who did what to who and and who\u2019s been disciplined and who not \u2014 ultimately every bit of the investigation will be transparent,\u201d Phillips said.<\/p>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"96b1ebfe-8f87-49f1-b5cd-23278d1f759f\">Records show Duval Schools has since paid at least $102,625.22 to Weiss, Serota, Helfman, Cole + Bierman \u2014\u00a0the firm it contracted to conduct the investigation \u2014 beginning in November 2023. The district says it can\u2019t provide a detailed cost breakdown.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"45560793-959b-4444-8fd8-144524d4d83c\">When <em>Jacksonville Today<\/em> first requested a copy of the report in early February 2025, both a district records custodian and the city of Jacksonville\u2019s spokesperson said the requested record did not exist. Then, after <em>Jacksonville Today<\/em> received the report from two separate sources, the district produced it in mid-March.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"5723c026-c709-455e-8f23-076a9404354f\"><a href=\"https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Release-Weiss-Serota-Report.pdf\">The 1,095-word report<\/a> is three pages long. And a table of contents.<\/p>\n<figure data-beyondwords-marker=\"e61bb025-0ae9-4894-baf7-bffd30685b8e\" class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The district\u2019s independently contracted investigation into \u201cwhat happened\u201d at Douglas Anderson resulted in this three-page report. | Megan Mallicoat, <em>Jacksonville Today<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"4e5f1ac4-3b4d-4083-8ba8-e2e4846dc5ee\">In it, the firm says it interviewed 20 current and former district employees and reviewed thousands of pages of documents and more than 16,000 emails.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"c78328c4-f603-48bb-afc3-6a0d83ad5ab8\">The conclusions? Duval Schools struggled with a \u201clack of clarity in applying the progressive discipline policy and its interplay with (faculty members\u2019) collective bargaining agreement.\u201d Also, the district\u2019s professional standards office \u2014\u00a0tasked with investigating allegations of employee misconduct \u2014 was understaffed, and the office\u2019s reliance upon paper records and a single spreadsheet was inadequate. The HR Department was also undertrained and underqualified.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3 data-beyondwords-marker=\"9304f0ef-c90f-49f6-88bc-72c8863947bf\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Paying for it<\/h3>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"efdb4421-fa25-4f9a-978a-d2728f77c617\">Beyond the money paid to outside law firms to conduct reviews of its processes, the Duval School Board has so far approved more than $1.93 million to settle civil complaints with seven former students who accuse the district of mishandling reports of teacher misconduct at Douglas Anderson \u2014 most recently, an undisclosed amount they approved in July of 2025. None of the settlements admitted any wrongdoing. <\/p>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"152cfadb-4b4f-4e79-bb22-64a904c7d0f0\"><em>Jacksonville Today<\/em> requested all payments the district has made to settle litigation in the last five years. The district returned a list that did not include certain known cases and has yet to provide requested clarification.<\/p>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"c0b609fe-ec77-467e-95dd-e8155c1c6a10\">Duval Schools currently faces at least four more similar complaints, according to Chris Moser, an attorney representing some of the accusers. In a text message to <em>Jacksonville Today<\/em>, she calls the settlements a \u201cstark acknowledgment of systemic failures.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"f8de7c21-177c-46e2-a63e-963bd48fdbb7\">\u201cWe remain cautiously optimistic that the district will finally commit to transparent practices and robust reforms that safeguard every child, rather than continuing to protect its reputation or bad actors,\u201d Moser wrote.<\/p>\n<h3 data-beyondwords-marker=\"79c96062-0ada-49a9-9e19-7c931dba2141\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">What has changed?\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"14d2d023-28ae-410c-9cf7-0143c3c38f00\">\u201cWhat is the district\u2019s message to the D.A. community now?\u201d <em>Jacksonville Today<\/em> asked. A Duval Schools spokesperson said, in the last year, the district has \u201csignificantly expanded\u201d the training all staff receive on \u201cethics, reporting responsibilities, appropriate methods of communication with students, Title IX, and similar topics.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"0baacfb8-ea5c-4c44-ac56-805c7770bce5\">Policies now require administrators to immediately remove employees alleged to have committed certain infractions \u2014\u00a0and employees who fail to report misconduct are themselves subject to discipline.<\/p>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"d4f7d795-7947-4327-ae4c-55c124a123a9\"><a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/1046758625\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">At a school board workshop this January<\/a>, then-HR Director Vicki Schultz shared how the district has changed how it investigates allegations of employee misconduct.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"1e3110b3-e5bc-428c-a961-2e9f143e4e99\">A newly created committee evaluates all cases involving alleged child abuse, sexual misconduct, bodily harm or drugs \u2014\u00a0with representation from schools, the HR office, the district\u2019s legal counsel, Duval County School Police and a few other departments. Investigators formerly managed each case solo, but it\u2019s a group project now. The committee may choose to review other types of cases as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"d6a4afc8-c1b4-4815-b27f-9b2f6170ebab\">Schultz said the professional standards investigator presents cases to the committee, then leaves the room while they discuss. If they need more information, they can call the investigator back.<\/p>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"4dbc7bdd-64a5-41c0-87ca-e029175b264c\">When school board members asked whether misconduct could continue to fly under the radar, Superintendent Christopher Bernier said he believes the committee approach will help prevent cases like some he\u2019d seen \u2014 when an employee had multiple reprimands for similar offenses but was not progressed through the four official steps of discipline: verbal reprimand, written reprimand, suspension and termination.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"daffbf5a-b28e-49a7-a822-a97b878209c9\">\u201cDiscipline should be progressive,\u201d Bernier said. \u201cThere are safeguards in place, but there is also an expectation in (the Office of) Professional Standards of \u2018We just don\u2019t keep telling people \u2018don\u2019t.\u2019\u2019 We move things up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"db371a94-e749-4560-820b-6092e60367cd\">Bernier is now expected to review the committee\u2019s cases weekly instead of quarterly, as previous superintendents did. <em>Jacksonville Today<\/em> requested a sample of recent weekly reports given to Bernier. The district replied, \u201cThere are no records responsive to the timeframes specified. Please note that updates provided to the superintendent are communicated verbally.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"a9f05160-64b7-4365-b8e0-23bc26f20671\">The district says it\u2019s also erring on the side of caution when deciding what misconduct reports and incident reports are sent to the state.<\/p>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"cc35d8a4-45ee-4f06-b89d-451d2ecddcf0\">\u201cThe superintendent\u2019s preference for his team is to be asked to stop versus being required to bring more,\u201d Bernier told the school board, talking about his own philosophy about submitting cases to the state for review.<\/p>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"6574e8e1-e8b6-438e-b421-340a553f6638\">Schultz told the board principals are also now required to notify HR of any planned employee transfers \u2014\u00a0whether between schools or between positions at the same school. Her office then reviews the candidate\u2019s disciplinary record \u2014 including all reports of both substantiated and unsubstantiated claims.<\/p>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"31c84591-785d-49e1-bba2-2d8439236e9a\">\u201cSo even if you have five unsubstantiated [misconduct reports], and even if they\u2019re from 20 years ago, you\u2019re going to review them before you make a decision whether you want to move forward,\u201d Schultz said.<\/p>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"a999ef9d-41d8-45b3-b7f7-383e93217468\">Bernier said he put that procedure in place because he had \u201cuncovered a couple of interesting situations\u201d when an employee had transferred positions.<\/p>\n<hr data-beyondwords-marker=\"9b799555-deb0-42fe-aec6-0ba0f08c2682\" class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"975a73a9-e688-4f4e-9bff-924333f93941\">On her way out the door last summer, interim Superintendent Dana <a href=\"https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/2024\/06\/27\/duval-schools-releases-new-student-safety-plan\/\">Kriznar published a 20-point plan<\/a> to orient Duval Schools\u2019 practices more toward student safety. Her plan, published the same week that the district received the independent investigation report, echoes the law firm\u2019s recommendations. It\u2019s unclear which document came first.<\/p>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"1b4ecb08-fa2a-4389-abc3-cbc34a980a8e\">Last August, the district also rolled out a marketing campaign called \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.duvalschools.org\/page\/know-the-line\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Know the Line<\/a>,\u201d which is designed \u201cto help parents recognize the healthy boundaries that should exist between students and employees and how to report concerns,\u201d says district spokesperson Laureen Ricks.<\/p>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"008ec028-9be3-46bc-bf27-081295072e32\">Staff must now limit physical contact with students to handshakes, high-fives and fistbumps, and they are allowed to communicate with students only through the district\u2019s official channels.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"9a802e4c-bda3-4f51-ae8f-4f3343b40cd2\">Ricks says students can now <a href=\"https:\/\/dcps.duvalschools.org\/o\/humanresources\/page\/report-report-a-safety-or-security-tip\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">report concerns about employees<\/a> directly to the district through its website, too.<\/p>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"9e07f9b9-2863-4cf6-bac4-733be386318e\">Virginia Commonwealth University sexual misconduct researcher Charol Shakeshaft compares misconduct complaints to fire alarms: Yes, there is a possibility that students would falsely accuse someone \u2014\u00a0or pull fire alarms as a prank \u2014 but, \u201cWe haven\u2019t said, \u2018Oh, kids pull the fire alarm. We\u2019re not going to have any more fire drills\u2026No, we have them! We should be doing the same thing with this kind of harm to kids.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3 data-beyondwords-marker=\"da99e014-4439-42fd-9524-46a0c29183b0\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u2018Culture that always needed to be at that school\u2019<\/h3>\n<figure data-beyondwords-marker=\"423e6dc1-1755-4458-9185-1c74ad6e3541\" class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" color=\"746a5a\" transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #746a5a;\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/July-22-Dallas-Johns-and-Eden-Barfield-portrait-2-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-98455\" srcset=\"https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/July-22-Dallas-Johns-and-Eden-Barfield-portrait-2-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/July-22-Dallas-Johns-and-Eden-Barfield-portrait-2-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/July-22-Dallas-Johns-and-Eden-Barfield-portrait-2-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/July-22-Dallas-Johns-and-Eden-Barfield-portrait-2-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/July-22-Dallas-Johns-and-Eden-Barfield-portrait-2-2048x1152.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/July-22-Dallas-Johns-and-Eden-Barfield-portrait-2-800x450.jpg 800w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/July-22-Dallas-Johns-and-Eden-Barfield-portrait-2-1200x675.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/July-22-Dallas-Johns-and-Eden-Barfield-portrait-2-427x240.jpg 427w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/July-22-Dallas-Johns-and-Eden-Barfield-portrait-2-100x56.jpg 100w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/July-22-Dallas-Johns-and-Eden-Barfield-portrait-2-1650x928.jpg 1650w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Eden, left, is a rising sophomore at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts. Her mother, Dallas Johns, is a graduate of the school. | Will Brown, <em>Jacksonville Today<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"2cee0cdb-3c6b-415c-b31e-66f7abed0cfe\">Today \u2014\u00a0just over one year after its most notorious teacher was sentenced to a decade behind bars \u2014\u00a0 the district-level policy changes have some parents seeing a brighter future for the school, which hasn\u2019t seen its enrollment drop any faster than <a href=\"https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/2024\/06\/19\/duval-is-not-alone-in-closing-schools\/\">the district as whole<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"1a088938-f55b-4cdf-985e-63150bffc371\">Eden is a second-generation Douglas Anderson student.<\/p>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"09578b16-137b-4534-93a7-d29a1299302a\">Her mom, Dallas Johns, says she\u2019s talked with the rising sophomore, in broad terms, about why some teachers were removed from their classrooms. They\u2019ve talked about healthy boundaries.<\/p>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"85e13201-3c02-43a6-9ce9-6dc36fed9066\">Johns, who graduated from the D.A. vocal program more than 20 years ago, says, despite the headlines of the past three years, it was an easy decision to send her daughter to the district\u2019s flagship arts magnet.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"776242aa-19f0-4ec9-8e29-d6ae278ff302\">Eden is a creative kid, Johns says, and she knows that having a creative outlet helps her academically. And so she sent her to D.A. as a freshman last year.<\/p>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"e20a2f0a-cff1-4ff7-98ce-2fed57c617ce\">\u201cI would worry about their safety the same way at almost any school,\u201d Johns says of her two teenage daughters. \u201cStuff happens at a lot of schools \u2014 and it shouldn\u2019t be happening \u2014 but it seems like [Douglas Anderson] has taken a bigger hit in the social eye than other schools have.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"8d20a4fd-b367-42a5-a527-4f65ea44bfd0\">Johns says she remembers that while she was a student at Douglas Anderson, Clayton once threw a conducting baton at her,\u00a0prompting her dad to pay a visit to the school.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"7dcd0373-bd43-46c3-8597-d9e0eae927c8\">\u201cIt\u2019s amazing to me that [Clayton] lasted that long at all,\u201d Johns says. \u201cIf he had still been there, I don\u2019t think I would have wanted my daughter to go there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"ee9df52b-6095-4248-983f-808244725560\">But also, the school nurtured her creativity. Today, she owns two businesses \u2014 \u201ccreative businesses, and they have nothing to do with singing\u201d \u2014 and she says the school gave her the confidence to build them.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"81c51c06-c144-42bc-bd82-abade3f9dd7d\">Her new role as a Douglas Anderson parent gives her a front-row seat to the changes happening in the school\u2019s post-Clayton years. New Principal Tim Feagins is working to take mental health more seriously, she notes. She says she\u2019s noticed a \u201chuge shift in professionalism\u201d at the school, and Feagins is helping to create \u201cthe culture that always needed to be at that school.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr data-beyondwords-marker=\"f18f36f6-9edc-4ac4-ade2-d07aeca75cd2\" class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n<figure data-beyondwords-marker=\"5111fdef-f30f-4915-b18c-da6520836e9c\" class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" color=\"1a0c25\" transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #1a0c25;\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4-extravaganza.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-98795\" srcset=\"https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4-extravaganza.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4-extravaganza-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4-extravaganza-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4-extravaganza-320x240.jpg 320w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4-extravaganza-100x75.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Douglas Anderson Vocal Department students perform \u201cLeonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine\u201d at Extravaganza on Feb. 1, 2025. | Megan Mallicoat, <em>Jacksonville Today<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"17d3538c-1821-4ff9-a7c1-2eeb518061e4\">In February 2025, Feagins took the stage at the Jacksonville Center for the Performing Arts, addressing a packed house for Douglas Anderson\u2019s Extravaganza, the school\u2019s annual community showcase of students\u2019 talent.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"dac77304-6584-4c7e-8057-130b20094b5a\">\u201cMost of us say we have to go to work,\u201d Feagins told the crowd. \u201cI say I <em>get<\/em> to go to work.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"ec2e3d85-4054-49a5-a628-f260f4f42358\">Feagins, who was just named the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.floridapta.org\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Florida PTA<\/a>\u2018s Outstanding Administrator of the Year, is D.A.\u2019s third principal since Jackie Cornelius retired in 2017.<\/p>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"e29cfb78-3333-4185-b61c-cfc171bd1068\">Speaking to <em>Jacksonville Today<\/em> on the Friday before spring break, he gave a fast-paced tour around the campus, greeting students by name and offering fistbumps at every turn. Feagins\u2019 own daughter started at Douglas Anderson as a freshman last year.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"05baf4df-634e-40b2-8624-beca286b61a0\">\u201cThe school has had some perception challenges lately because of \u2014 events,\u201d Feagins says. \u201cSo how can we combat that?\u2026We know what Douglas Anderson is, and because of some select individuals\u2019 decisions, that doesn\u2019t define who we are as a staff and faculty.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"14914df3-c30e-48d8-a7d4-6fc579dffff6\">D.A. is Feagins\u2019 fourth principalship in the last 15 years. Before his transfer to the arts school, he was sent in 2019 to Riverside High \u2014 when it was still named for Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee \u2014 during a tumultuous period that included the school\u2019s renaming and the district\u2019s controversial <a href=\"https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/2024\/06\/17\/duval-teacher-wins-fight-over-black-lives-matter-flag\/\">disciplining of a teacher<\/a> over displaying a Black Lives Matter flag. Coming into Douglas Anderson, as at Riverside, Feagins says he\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.news4jax.com\/news\/local\/2021\/04\/12\/lee-principal-speaks-to-students-about-blm-flag-controversy-student-demonstrations\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">prioritized transparency<\/a> with students and staff.<\/p>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"6183747c-5b96-420d-ab3e-5a3fe3cb4b26\">\u201cThey need to see those little things along the way \u2014 when they bring something up, that\u2019s something\u2019s being done. And, if we <em>can\u2019t<\/em> do something, that actually I call them in and talk to them about why we couldn\u2019t do those things,\u201d Feagins says. \u201cThat transparency is extremely important \u2014 because once trust is broken, it\u2019s very, very hard to regain that trust.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure data-beyondwords-marker=\"fa150ab3-37c5-45b2-b733-da7ac8d1a655\" class=\"wp-block-image alignwide\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com\/docsz\/AD_4nXdi7-hXk18RICWjtO_8wD126gDGItXc_xvGkfJCW8jWAMGzKkXufZMET9ZFTsOZ2VfhIHCZHDh1bf3BIfM1_nERCcIWdUj53GgYPiS0R-02x_86TQuq0dIH_mXZyfv_KJzjtoM63w?key=uYqOEizxO7QgGa8Q2ptisjzq\" alt=\"\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Douglas Anderson Principal Tim Feagins in his office on March 14, 2025 | Megan Mallicoat, <em>Jacksonville Today<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"40c36601-2a4a-4ac3-b339-a32e37b59621\">Feagins had to send emails to Douglas Anderson parents twice during his first year at the arts school, announcing the removal of two teachers accused of misconduct. First, last August, he told them he\u2019d removed Craig Leavitt from the classroom for \u201cinappropriate communication with a student\u201d two school years prior.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"5a41fcc5-a8cb-4be5-b386-de27348c9465\">The principal told <em>Jacksonville Today<\/em> in March he never wants students or their families to suffer, \u201cbut also, the staff gets hurt too \u2014 because none of my staff here were responsible for what took place. But they still get the brunt of it, too, in a certain sense, because they come to work, and that name is still out there connected to what took place in the years past. So they\u2019re overly cautious to make sure that policy, the underlying policy, is being followed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"34ce24da-0aa7-49f8-b313-0ffd7142151e\">Then in April, he had to inform families that he\u2019d removed another teacher amid allegations of \u201cinappropriate conduct\u201d during a previous school year. The district has yet to release details of the complaint against that part-time teacher.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"23414928-38bb-4dd8-add6-384b24f5e79c\">Feagins says, while interviewing new hires, he asks teacher candidates not just about their arts acumen but their teaching style \u2014 like how they might react if a student misbehaves.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"0762198c-7535-44fa-891e-15813d59c3ff\">\u201cThat\u2019s extremely important to me \u2014 that we\u2019re not just looking at their ability; we\u2019re looking at what can they actually do as a teacher, as well, in the classroom,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3 data-beyondwords-marker=\"deabbbb6-94eb-48df-938d-0959e701503f\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u2018Casting couches\u2019<\/h3>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"e8d7dc6f-b5f4-4a2e-b14f-b035425aa388\">While some alumni and current parents applaud the efforts of the district and Principal Feagins, some believe the efforts might be upstaged by an industry culture that goes far beyond the campus.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"6134681d-a841-45fc-add4-49875f2f3e88\">Douglas Anderson\u2019s public reckoning with sexual misconduct in 2020 came amid a broader societal conversation about the entertainment industry. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/news\/news-desk\/from-aggressive-overtures-to-sexual-assault-harvey-weinsteins-accusers-tell-their-stories\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Harvey Weinstein<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.miamiherald.com\/topics\/jeffrey-epstein\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Jeffrey Epstein<\/a> dominated headlines, and actors began to talk openly about \u201ccasting couches\u201d \u2014 the idea that Hollywood and Broadway run on a system of abuse of power.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"804ff0c6-1b88-4440-ac25-f3a8bf1a535e\">\u201cNow does that mean it always has to be so?\u201d asks one D.A. alum, who is in the process of suing the school district over alleged \u201csexual abuse\u201d by ex-teacher Michael Higgins. \u201cNo, and there are certainly directors and people that are changing that. The casting couch is a thing of the past, but the fact of the matter is D.A. had casting couches\u2026And the more you visited those couches, the more you got cast.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"4de72885-3dbd-434e-beda-d67aebae417b\">Dani Burgess, who says <a href=\"https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/2025\/07\/28\/investigation-douglas-anderson-student-accusers-lacked-faith-in-schools-response\/\">she reported teacher Tim Kline for sexual misconduct<\/a> in the early 2000s but saw no changes, agrees.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"054f50fb-9333-4b41-b8d0-2e23dcfe86fc\">\u201cI don\u2019t know if D.A. can move past that until the industry does,\u201d Burgess says. I appreciate this principal\u2019s attempts,\u201d Burgess says. \u201cI really do. But we are not going to have healthy art academies without a healthy art industry. I just \u2014 it\u2019s a lot more work than just getting the creeps out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"fd0ac0f2-7aa7-44d8-97d9-4c0098fe8198\">Another former D.A. student, who settled a civil complaint with the district over her allegations against former film teacher Nicholas Serenati, pushes back on the idea that the people speaking up about D.A.\u2019s problems in recent years are \u201cdisgruntled\u201d and \u201cwant to see D.A. destroyed.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"b8af10c2-08d7-4420-9854-14886a64ebc5\">\u201cI want to see D.A. thrive. That\u2019s the whole reason I\u2019m talking about it \u2014 because if they can\u2019t figure out whatever this stuff has been for <em>decades<\/em>, then I don\u2019t know what they\u2019re doing,\u201d she says. \u201cI love Douglas Anderson. I want to see it succeed. That\u2019s why I think this is important.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr data-beyondwords-marker=\"c9ee2552-5db3-47ca-b5d9-35b67e4123ac\" class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n<p data-beyondwords-marker=\"d200c3e1-c1a4-4138-8539-a8e12f0f5f1b\"><em>This story is fourth and final part in a series, <a href=\"https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/category\/the-show-must-go-on\/\">The Show Must Go On<\/a>, examining the handling of reports of teacher misconduct at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts \u2014 and what\u2019s changed in the more than two years since Jeffrey Clayton\u2019s arrest. <\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/2025\/07\/30\/investigation-douglas-anderson-works-to-step-back-into-spotlight-for-the-right-reasons\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This story is the last in a series, The Show Must Go On, examining who knew what, when, and what action they took\u00a0when confronted with reports of sexual misconduct by&hellip;<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":122907,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-122906","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvbrazilusa.com\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122906","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvbrazilusa.com\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvbrazilusa.com\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvbrazilusa.com\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvbrazilusa.com\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=122906"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tvbrazilusa.com\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122906\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":122908,"href":"https:\/\/tvbrazilusa.com\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122906\/revisions\/122908"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvbrazilusa.com\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/122907"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvbrazilusa.com\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=122906"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvbrazilusa.com\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=122906"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvbrazilusa.com\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=122906"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}