Ballou Principal Yetunde Reeves is Removed After Graduation Scam is Exposed

The District’s top school official removed the principal at Ballou Senior High School from her post Monday amid allegations the Southeast Washington school graduated students who were chronically absent and others who could scarcely read and write, officials announced.

The action came less than a week after Schools Chancellor Antwan Wilson had given Ballou Principal Yetunde Reeves a vote of approval.

An article published last week by WAMU and NPR said the school awarded diplomas to seniors who did not meet graduation requirements and that administrators pressured teachers to pass students. The school system and the Office of the State Superintendent of Education are conducting investigations to determine what potentially went awry at Ballou.

“We take this issue very seriously, and we know that policies must be explained clearly and implemented with fidelity,” Wilson wrote in a Monday news release. “This investigation will restore integrity to the process by providing students, parents and the broader community with answers.”

Reeves has been assigned to “another function in the district,” according to the news release.