THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, August 30, 1996 TAG: 9608300519
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JON GLASS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 90 lines
Connie Hindmarsh taught children plenty of song-and-dance numbers in her 10-year stint as director of the public schools' Performing Arts Repertory. This school year, she will be teaching numbers of a different kind.
Hindmarsh, suspended last March from her high school drama job amid allegations that students had sex and used drugs while under her supervision, said Thursday she has agreed to teach seventh-grade math at Rosemont Middle School.
Her new position is part of a settlement reached Thursday between Hindmarsh and Superintendent Roy D. Nichols Jr., who had recommended firing Hindmarsh.
Both Hindmarsh and Nichols said they could not provide details of the settlement, and both said the terms restrict what they can say.
As part of the agreement, Hindmarsh dropped plans to sue the school system. Earlier this month her attorney filed a ``notice of intent'' to sue on grounds that her reputation and standing in the community had been damaged.
``I'm just happy to return to work,'' Hindmarsh, 57, said Thursday. ``Let's put the past behind us and look ahead. I have many more lives to touch and a lot of work to do.''
Parents whose children participated in the repertory company said the settlement clears Hindmarsh's name.
``The fact that she's going back to teaching states that any improper action on her part was nonexistent,'' said parent Fran Parlett.
Another parent, Juanita Uransky, said: ``She deserves to stay in the school system, and whatever class she's teaching, those kids will be the luckiest in the world.''
Teachers at Rosemont Middle School gave her a standing ovation when she was introduced to the staff Thursday.
``I understand that Connie Hindmarsh is a wonderful teacher and we're really looking forward to working with her,'' Principal Melanie Yules said.
In a twist to the case Thursday, John Medas, a director of the Education Association of Norfolk, called on School Board chairman Ulysses Turner to resign. Medas alleged that Turner had ``advised and assisted'' a mother of a repetory student in writing a letter that alleged students in the company had used drugs and alcohol.
Medas alleged that Turner wanted to put someone else in Hindmarsh's job. ``The School Board is supposed to be neutral in personnel, and he would have been sitting as final judge,'' Medas said. ``We find that totally disgusting and outrageous behavior, and he ought to resign. He cannot expect the public's trust after this.''
Medas said the school system's investigative report stated that Turner had advised the woman.
Turner on Thursday denied any involvement in Hindmarsh's case.
``That's absolutely baseless and false,'' Turner said. ``I have not helped anyone write a letter or advised anyone on writing a letter.''
Nichols had few comments Thursday about why he dropped his recommendation to fire Hindmarsh and instead offered her another teaching job.
``I thought an agreement was in the best interests of the school system and in the best interests of everyone involved,'' Nichols said.
Nichols had recommended that Hindmarsh be fired after administration officials investigated the allegations that students had had sex and taken drugs when they were supposed to be under supervision from Hindmarsh.
At least one student in the repertory company made the allegations after a field trip last winter to Northern Virginia.
Parents who had chaperoned students on the trip dismissed the allegations, saying the mother who complained was upset because her son was not picked for a starring role in a play last winter.
In a parallel investigation, the city's Child Protective Services division ruled unfounded a complaint of child abuse filed by two former repertory students, including the student who made the allegations of sex and drug use.
Nichols wrote in a March 27 letter that Hindmarsh had ``failed to report in a timely manner the misconduct of staff members and students under your authority'' and also ``failed to provide appropriate supervision to staff members and students for whom you are responsible.''
Both Nichols and Hindmarsh said the settlement was intended in part to protect students in the repertory, avoiding a public hearing in which the students would have been called to testify about the allegations.
Hindmarsh, a 20-year veteran of Norfolk schools, said she is certified to teach math and most other subjects up to eighth grade. She is certified to teach performing arts through 12th grade.
Hindmarsh is known by many as Miss Connie, former host in the 1960s of the syndicated television show ``Romper Room'' for young children.
Nichols said the Performing Arts Repertory company will continue this year at Lake Taylor High School under new leadership. School officials said a search for a new repertory director has been narrowed to five candidates. Students will be recruited after school starts next week.
``My vision is for the repertory company to continue pretty much as it has in the past, still putting on fine performances, still drawing students from throughout the school system,'' Nichols said. ILLUSTRATION: Connie Hindmarsh was suspended from her job as
director of Norfolk schools' Performing Arts Repertory in March.
KEYWORDS: NORFOLK SCHOOLS by CNB