Image Credit: Google Earth & Anderson County Sheriff’s Department
The Tennessee Conservative Staff –
After a year-long investigation into suspected grade tampering at Clinton High School, a former guidance counselor has been arrested.
According to Anderson County Sheriff Russell Barker, former school counselor Carrie Jenkins was arrested on two charges of destruction/tampering with government documents in connection with the grade changing scandal. She was later released on bond.
Court documents allege that Jenkins logged into the Anderson County School Information System on May 17, 2023, using two-factor authentication, to access student transcripts. After locating the transcript of a specific student, Jenkins altered the grade in a dual credit course taken in 2023 from a “48” to a “90.”
The affidavit goes on to say that Jenkins pulled up the transcript for the same student on January 9, 2024, and changed a grade for a chemistry course taken in 2022. She changed that grade from an “F” to a “D.”
Following Jenkins’ arrest, her attorney released a statement:
“Mrs. Jenkins is an upstanding and dedicated community member of Clinton. She has lived here her entire life and has invested more than 20 years in the school system. She is a loving mother, supportive wife and friend and proud to call Clinton her home. We absolutely refute the alleged charges against Mrs. Jenkins and look forward to clearing her name. We welcome transparency through this process as more details emerge.”
Jenkins is the latest in a series of employees at Clinton High School to be fired or even charged in connection with the changes. Teacher and assistant baseball coach Clay Turpin was charged on May 8 with 24 counts of tampering with or destroying government documents. Turpin allegedly changed more than 1000 grades when he was supervising online credit recovery classes.
The investigation began in January 2024 after a juvenile court raised concerns when a student claimed to have “graduated” from Clinton High School, although Anderson County Schools’ Director of Student Services Paula Sellers had just informed them that the student was still enrolled at the school. The school system then launched an investigation into the high school’s grade practices.
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