HOUSTON – Residents are voicing their shock after learning a Houston ISD coach could be the “kingpin” of a million-dollar teacher-certification scheme that allowed nearly 200 unqualified teachers to work in local school districts.
BACKGROUND: 200 unqualified teachers certified in $1M Houston-based cheating scheme
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It wasn’t just any coach though, this was Vincent Grayson, who was nominated for High School Coach of the Year at the Houston Sports Awards and was said to have an impact on the basketball court at Booker T. Washington High School by leading their team to the first ever UIL state tournament in 2023.
HOW DID IT HAPPEN? Step-by-step process: How alleged $1M Houston-based teacher cheating scheme worked
The scheme, reportedly worth over a million dollars, involved securing teaching positions for individuals who did not meet certification requirements and falsifying their credentials, according to the Harris County DA’s office.
Records showed about 430 fake tests were taken and more than 210 unqualified teachers were certified in this scheme, who are now practicing or practiced at Texas public schools and in districts across the state.
Along with Grayson, several other educators — most from Houston ISD — were arrested and a couple of them, including Grayson appeared in court Tuesday morning. Those who were practicing educators named in the investigation were fired, HISD confirmed.
RELATED: HISD leaders say they had no idea this was happening
Here’s a full list of the educators charged with two counts of engaging in organized criminal activity:
- Vincent Grayson, 57, the head boys basketball coach at Booker T. Washington High School in Houston ISD for nearly 20 years. Grayson was charged as the organizer of the cheating scheme.
- Tywana Gilford Mason, 51, the former director/VA certifying official at the Houston Training and Education Center. Mason’s role as test proctor allowed her to keep the proxy scheme undetected.
- Nicholas Newton, 35, an assistant principal at Booker T. Washington High School in Houston ISD. Newton is alleged to have participated in the scheme as the proxy test-taker.
- Darian Nikole Wilhite, 22, a proctor at TACTIX who is alleged to have taken bribes to allow Newton to act as a testing proxy.
- LaShonda Roberts, 39, an assistant principal at Yates High School in Houston ISD. Roberts is charged with recruiting nearly 100 teachers to participate in the cheating scheme.
“Greed knew no boundaries in this case,” Harris County DA Kim Ogg said in a news conference Monday. “If you’ve got an assistant principal, a head coach, and others posing as certified teachers, we just aren’t going to be able to calculate the damage there. But we know that further investigation is needed and we look forward to the teacher taking the responsible and necessary approach to getting these teachers out of our schools and away from kids.”
EXPLAINER: What certifications do aspiring teachers in Texas need to get?
Many Houston residents took to our comments page to voice their shock, frustration, and disbelief in the matter. Here’s a look at just some of the comments we received in our various articles:
“This is just a needle in the hay stack. This kind of stuff probably happening all over the country. There needs to be a NATION WIDE investigation,” one commenter said.
“And people wonder why hisd can’t get its act together,” another commenter said. “This is just another example.”
“And all the Fake teachers that benefitted from the scam knew about it, hope they charge all of them.”
“Well yet another Houston city department is corrupt!!! Who is doing all of this crime!!!! Unreal. Teachers failing their test!!! Have no business teaching. Wonder who??? The level of corruption in Houston is unreal.”
About Coach Grayson, one commenter said: “He trashed his career and tossed it in the can. Shame on him. What a slap in the face of those who helped him get to this status.”
And all the Fake teachers that benefitted from the scam knew about it, hope they charge all of them.