Ex-con Marc Antonio Jefferies hired as aide at NYC school
A former criminal convicted for carrying a firearm in 2010 is currently working as a full-time substitute classroom aide at PS 35, an elementary school in Queens, according to sources. Marc Antonio Jefferies, 56, was hired by principal Aneesha Jacko and has been assigned to help teachers in special-ed classes since February. Teachers have reported that Jefferies has acted erratically in classrooms and used inappropriate language with students. He also allegedly takes photos regularly at school events, despite not being a school photographer, and told multiple staffers that he is making a documentary on Jacko. In response to accusations of misbehavior, Jefferies has denied any wrongdoing.
Videos obtained by the press show Jefferies taking photographs of students during a mural unveiling ceremony on March 31, which was attended by hundreds of students. Under DOE rules, permissions slips must be signed by parents or guardians before their children can be photographed for any outside use. Insiders at the school also claimed that the DOE’s Office of Special Investigations is looking into Jefferies’ role and conduct.
Jefferies was convicted for throwing a man against a wall and drawing a gun on him back in April 2010. In September of the same year, he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor making terroristic threats and was sentenced for up to a year in jail. Jefferies had claimed that the man he attacked had robbed his nearby home and he threatened to kill him when he caught him there. Following complaints about Jefferies, the principal has not taken any disciplinary action against him.
When asked about Jefferies’ qualifications to work with children, a spokeswoman for Mayor Adams, Amaris Cockfield, stated that state law prohibits the DOE from discriminating against a person with previous convictions. Despite the accusations of misbehavior, Jefferies has not been suspended by the Department of Education.
FAQs:
Who is Marc Antonio Jefferies?
Marc Antonio Jefferies is a former criminal who was convicted of carrying a firearm in 2010.
What is his current occupation?
Jefferies is currently working as a full-time substitute classroom aide at PS 35, an elementary school in Queens.
What has he been accused of by faculty members?
Jefferies has been accused of acting erratically in classrooms, using inappropriate language with students, taking pictures regularly at school events, and claiming to be making a documentary on the principal.
Has any disciplinary action been taken against Jefferies by the school?
Despite receiving complaints about Jefferies, the principal has not taken any disciplinary action against him.
What did the DOE’s Office of Special Investigations say about Jefferies’ role and conduct in the school?
Insiders at the school claimed that the DOE’s Office of Special Investigations is looking into Jefferies’ role and conduct in the school.
What did Amaris Cockfield, a spokeswoman for Mayor Adams, say about Jefferies’ qualifications to work with children?
Cockfield stated that state law prohibits the Department of Education from discriminating against a person with previous convictions.
Former inmate Marc Antonio Jefferies employed as an assistant at a New York City school.
An ex-con who was convicted in a 2010 gun case is now working as a full-time substitute classroom aide at a Queens elementary school, according to a report by The New York Post. Marc Antonio Jefferies, 56, was hired by Aneesha Jacko, the principal of PS 35, and has been working nearly every day at the Hollis school filling in for absent aides, teachers said. Jefferies, who started the job in February and has been assigned to help teachers in special-ed classes, is alleged to have acted erratically in classrooms and used inappropriate language with students, including a gay slur. However, Jefferies denied any misbehavior, calling the accusations “lies”. Since starting at the school, some faculty members have questioned why Jefferies is regularly taking photos at school events and why he snaps photos in school so regularly. Jefferies has denied any wrongdoing, saying that he turns over all photos to whoever asked him to take them. DOE paraprofessionals make an average $30,000 a year. Faculty members have raised concerns that Jefferies is a convicted criminal working closely with children, and the DOE’s Office of Special Investigations is looking into his role and conduct in the school.