There have been multiple debates recently as to how teachers and students should (or should NOT) interact through social media sites. Although most rules are just forming as teachers and students have set new precedents for what it “right” and “wrong,” one high school principal clearly left her own principles at the door when she created a fake Facebook profile to spy on her students.
Louise Losos, the principal at Clayton High School in Missouri, created a Facebook account under the name “Suzy Harriston” and became “friends” with approximately 300 students. Using a very generic penguin photo as her profile picture, students began to question the legitimacy of the account, and suspicions were confirmed once Clayton alum, Chase Haslett posted “Whoever is friends with Suzy Harriston on Facebook needs to drop them. It is the Clayton Principal.” Although Haslett would not reveal how he had gotten that information, clearly it must have struck a nerve with Losos, since she has decided to resign. The school cited that her resignation was due to a ““dispute concerning the appropriate use of social media.”
The accusation from Haslett came on April 5, 2012 and the Facebook profile belonging to the elusive “Suzy Harriston” was deleted. The school district put Losos on a leave of absence soon after. Although the district has refused to comment on whether or not Losos was actually behind the Harriston account, her final resignation this past Friday certainly seems to affirm her involvement.
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