SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) — The former principal of a Massachusetts charter school has pleaded guilty to charges related to her efforts to help students cheat on a statewide standardized test.
Janet Henry entered her plea to a charge of mail fraud in U.S. District Court in Springfield, Massachusetts, on Wednesday.
Prosecutors say while Henry was the principal at Springfield’s Robert M. Hughes Academy in 2009, she told teachers to give clues and other tips to students taking the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System exams. She then falsely certified that the tests had been administered honestly.
Henry said she was acting under pressure from a member of the school’s board of directors who demanded a boost in test scores.
She faces probation and a fine at sentencing on Jan. 3.
The school has since closed.
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