Coach’s wife accused of changing students’ grades placed on leave

The Antioch High School teacher accused of changing student grades has been placed on administrative leave, Community School District 117 co-Supt. Michael Nekritz said.

Sara Glashagel, 27, of Elk Grove village, is the wife of the high school’s head football coach, Brian Glashagel.

She was charged Friday with computer tampering for allegedly changing the grades of several students, most of whom where athletes, Nekritz said.

She is a special education teacher in the district. Nekritz declined to say whether Sara Glashagel will be paid while on leave.

The incident in question happened about six weeks ago, Nekritz said.

Investigators determined that on five separate occasions Glashagel gained unauthorized access to the school’s computer database and on each occasion changed numerous students’ grades.

Glashagel is accused of changing the grades of 64 students, including 41 football players, WMAQ-TV reported.

Police said she inflated 240 grades over a weeklong period in September, the station added.

Authorities said Glashagel admitted she targeted students who were on the athletic ineligibility list.

School personnel locked down the computer system right away to ensure permanent grades were not affected, Nekritz said, and made sure the affected students’ grades were corrected and no ineligible students were allowed to play sports as a result of the grade inflation.

“The good news is that our technology worked. We were able to see where and when the grades were changed,” Nekritz said. All teachers have changed their passwords for the school’s system and their grade books, he said.

No other private information was accessed and the district contacted the Illinois High School Association, which oversees prep sports in the state, to report the tampering and that the changed grades had been corrected.

The IHSA said no further investigation was warranted.

The school said Glashagel was tampering with the grades remotely, and Nekritz said she was tracked down through the computer’s Internet Protocol address.

Glashagel will remain on administrative leave pending further action from the district school board, Nekritz said. He said he expected the board will make a decision within the next few weeks.

“We’re ensuring that due process takes place,” Nekritz said, adding Glashagel was placed on administrative leave as soon as the district received the police report on the grade tampering.

The high school contacted Antioch police on Sept. 27 to report that the grades in teachers’ electronic grade books had been altered without their knowledge. Police said Glashagel admitted she made the changes.

Glashagel, who is free on $1,000 bond, faces up to a year in jail and/or fines up to $2,500 if convicted of computer tampering. She is due back in Lake County court on Dec. 9.

On Sept. 28, school officials called police to investigate the possibility that the school’s computer database was being compromised. A teacher had notified school officials that several students’ grades had been changed. After a lengthy investigation, police arrested Glashagel, officials said.

She is scheduled to appear in Lake County Court on Dec. 9.

 

By beth Kramer Sun-Times Media November 22, 2011