Mayor Michelle Wu gave an update Monday on the investigation into an adult woman and former Department of Children and Families employee who allegedly faked her credentials and was able to enroll in three Boston high schools.
Speaking on WBUR's "Radio Boston," the mayor said the investigation is still ongoing, so she cannot reveal the woman's name or any other details about her. She said the families and students who might have come into contact with the woman are still being interviewed, along with school leaders and others.
"It's extremely disturbing," Wu said. "If someone told me that an adult, decades removed from being in some of these age-appropriate settings, was back in school, it's concerning."
She said there is no evidence any students were harmed, but investigators are still digging into the situation.
"Of course there's shock and frustration," Wu added. "[But] it seems that everything that BPS could do, they did right along the way."
She said the investigation has also shown that the woman took advantage of resources meant for Boston students, and said examples will be made public as the investigation unfolds.
"The types of supports this person used, or activities they participated in, it all has costs attached to it. There are resources being deployed that are intended to give every child every possible opportunity in front of them and are meant for our children and our students."
The situation was made public last week, when Boston Public Schools Superintendent Mary Skipper released a statement outlining the deception, calling it "a case of extremely sophisticated fraud." She said 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 that there is an active investigation, but said last week that no arrests had been made.
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 two weeks ago 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.
