A Philadelphia teacher is under investigation for allegedly requesting gift cards in exchange for improving students' grades.
Approached by one student who was concerned about her grade at the end of the marking period this week, Samira Mack, a science teacher at the Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts, made an offer, the student and her parent said.
"I said, 'Is there anything I can do?' and she said, 'I take gift cards to Starbucks, Target, Dunkin', etc.," said the student, a CAPA junior who asked that her name be withheld for fear of reprisal. The student said Mack told her she had made the offer to others, and said every $10 gift card would get her grade raised 5 points.
An 80 — the grade the student was looking for — would cost $20 in gift cards, Mack told her.
At first, the student wasn't sure if it was a joke.
Several classmates, desperate to raise their grades, did bring gift cards, the mother and daughter said.
"Most of them were scared of failing, or their parents finding out," the student said. "When your teacher tells you that's your only opportunity, some people would do anything to fix their grades."
The young woman said she was deeply unsettled over the incident. She did not entertain the idea of swapping a gift card for a better grade; instead, she told her family what had happened.
Her mother reported it immediately — to the school principal, to state authorities, to city officials. She filed a complaint with the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
Principal Joanne Beaver acted swiftly, the parent said. The principal told the parent that actions had been taken, but that they were confidential.
Mack gave the students back their gift cards on Wednesday, the parent and student said. She asked them what they had told the principal.
"She said, 'If I don't end up getting fired, I might just quit," the student said.
By Thursday, Mack was not at school. A substitute taught in her place.
Reached by phone on Thursday, Mack offered little response to questions about the gift cards or parents complaints.
"I'm not speaking to anyone right now," she said, before hanging up.
Philadelphia School District spokesperson Monique Braxton said once notified of the alleged incident, officials launched an immediate investigation, and that if the students' accounts are substantiated, it "would be a violation of the implementation of our grading policy."
Braxton said she could not give more details of the personnel matter, but said the district has created a plan to address the situation at CAPA.
"We value our partnership with staff, students and families, and are working with any student who may have been impacted," Braxton said.
Typically, when serious allegations are leveled against teachers, they are paced on paid leave while they go through due process hearings.
The parent said she was speaking out because she did not want this teacher or anyone else to get away with egregious acts.
"We live in a don't snitch culture," said the parent. "If I hadn't done this, this woman would still be collecting gift cards. This is bullying, this is illegal. You don't get to keep your job for extortion."
On the surface, Mack, 25, had a largely unblemished background and a seemingly promising future in education.
She obtained an undergraduate degree from Morgan State University, in Baltimore, and graduated with a masters from West Chester University last year, after receiving the prestigious Pennsylvania Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellowship.
"Beauty and brains, that's a combo," wrote a cousin in an Instagram post about Mack's graduation from West Chester.
An online resume states that she wanted to work as a teacher in Philadelphia "so that I can support students in their learning, bring out their full potential, inspire an interest in the (science, technology, engineering and math) field, and make learning fun."
The district issued her an emergency certification to teach high school level biology in August 2022.
