A former Long Island school principal allegedly had a sexual relationship with a student “inside the classroom” at the high school where he taught nearly 20 years ago, according to a new state investigation released in 2007. .
Jessica Bader was promoted to principal of East Norwich's James H. Vernon School last September, but abruptly resigned the following month. Encourage concerns and questions From parents in the district.
Friday News 12 Long Island investigation He exposed a decade-long scandal behind his short stay as the school's principal.
Bader, 51, is suspected of having a sexual relationship with an 18-year-old East Meadow High School student in 2004 and 2005, according to a state investigation.
This included kissing and fondling “inside the classroom,” state investigators found.
She was reassigned to an administrative position away from students and resigned in 2005 shortly after.
Her teaching license was suspended for four years, but in 2013 she became assistant principal at George J. Ryan Middle School 216 in Fresh Meadows. According to his online profile.
In 2022, Bader applied for the Oyster Bay East Norwich District.
News 12's investigation revealed that she removed East Meadow from the application and lied about the certification not being revoked.
After her mysterious resignation in October, North Shore parents demanded answers from the school district.
The East Norwich district did not say whether it knew about the previous allegations before hiring her, according to the report.
At a state hearing in 2007, Bader, who was not criminally charged because the student was not a minor, said the relationship was consensual and the student was of legal age and not a student in any of his classes. He claimed that the relationship was not inappropriate. On the document.
“It is appropriate for a teacher to kiss or caress a student in the classroom, regardless of whether the student was in the classroom being taught by that teacher or whether the student is technically up to par.'' It was a grave error in judgment to believe that the age of majority was “the age of majority,'' State Public Hearing Officer Patricia Rodriguez wrote.
Bader testified that she had poor judgment and was “stressed by the birth of twins and the demands of her personal and professional life.”
Bader did not respond to requests for comment.
