Police say they are investigating after an adult woman allegedly faked her credentials and was able to enroll in multiple Boston high schools.
Boston Public Schools Superintendent Mary Skipper said in a statement that she is "deeply troubled that an adult would breach the trust of our school communities by posting as a student," calling it "a case of extremely sophisticated fraud."
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She said that as soon as school personnel identified the irregularities with the student's enrollment, the case was referred to Boston police, "who are now undertaking a criminal investigation."
Boston police confirmed Tuesday that there is an active investigation, but said no arrests have been made.
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In a letter to parents, Skipper said the woman as been "discharged and is being ordered to stay away from Boston Public Schools (BPS) facilities." She said "at various points during the 2022-2023 school year," the woman attended the Jeremiah E. Burke High School, Brighton High School and English High School using the student transfer process and enrolling under different names.
She said a staff member noticed irregularities in the paperwork on file last week and reported it to district leadership.
According to a police incident report, the school first began looking into the records when someone came to the school to report that the student, whom he called his daughter, was being bullied at school and that he wanted to pull her out. This seemed odd to the school because the student had just been enrolled on June 8. Upon reviewing the student's paperwork officials noticed some concerning discrepancies, including incorrect information on a Department of Children and Families form. They called 911 to report their concerns on June 14. Parents were notified about a week later.
The woman is a former employee of the DCF who worked there as a social worker on and off between 2016 and this February, the agency confirmed.
NBC10 Boston is not publicly identifying the woman because she has not been charged with a crime.
“It’s just horrifying to me that school can be a place where children aren’t safe. It’s just unacceptable," Boston City Councilor Erin Murphy said.
Skipper said in the letter that though the investigation is still in its early stages, school officials have not identified any incidents of harm to students or staff. Families of students who might have interacted with the woman are being contacted directly by school officials and investigators.
