Bill from downtown...

remember "Let the person among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her."

So does that mean noone gets punishment because we may have sinned? OMG! Remember forgiveness does not mean you do not serve justice! They wanted to kill her Mary Magdeline (sp) I believe is what it referred to. No one is trying to kill him...want to use this for a blog on the death penalty? See if others will agree Ha!

Steve...

"Take credit" means when you are taking the credit for coming up with the words & yes then what they may additionally be reinforced for but even if someone says "great speech" it was not your own speech. You need to give the credit to the person who wrote those words! It is not like we know he has a speech writer like the president! He is stating he wrote it if he does not credit the person. Do you not know what Plagiarism is? It does not matter what level of status the speech is or if you make money off it or win an award or not. None of that is in some clause under Plagiarism! In that case, students could plagiarize all they want because they "just write it for a HS teacher" and are not entering it into a contest or for acceptance into a college etc. Heck, then college students could do it. Let them just use all previous students work because hey it is just for this "stupid class" right?

Upton 1878...

Oh my goodness if you use that broad literal definition then to think what all will qualify. When people use "Tabloid" most know what is meant by that...gossip, untrue etc. So where do you draw the line? I mean the newspapers still do have to print stories to make a profit & not break even. They bring us "the news"! Is this news? YES! Is it worthy news...YES! It affects the leaders in our community influence on our children. Why would shouldn't this be in the newspaper? Many companies would not & that is why their employees get upset & do leak it to the press! Many companies also do as evidence with the examples I presented earlier in the posts. There are many that do fire! Heck, look at all the tv & radio announcers getting fired for saying just a phrase or word that is not acceptable to society!

To the sun editors...yes that is what I meant by literal but I don't think most people use it in that sense. They think of Supermarket Tabloids when they use that term. How many people who use that term know that literal sense? So therefore how are they most likely using it?

Pat M....

Perhaps you are not aware of what happens to college students & other corporate people when they plagiarize...how do you think they continue to do this when they leave HS? Because they were not punished appropriately! They think I'll just get some light punishment I can handle...no biggie! Yes your town makes mistakes like other towns but how you handle it is the difference. If you say this is no big deal...that is what students will learn!

203 Watcher...

Now see this is what I am saying. If the Valedictorian plagiarized & this is your cream of the crop then what is everyone else doing? This is what I mean...what are they learning there with a principal that does it! That means everyone under this student is likely even more confused or misguided. Now I'm not at all saying the English writing faculty are not explaining this to students etc. I'm sure they are but what are the consquences when they actually do it. Why not do it if I just get a slap on hand & there is not a severe consequence. If I get to rewrite my paper or do extra credit & it makes up for it then big deal. If it goes down a letter grade...big deal I can still keep my A or B? There is just something severely wrong when you have a principal & a Valedictorian plagiarizing! And a principal that does not know he simply had to say "As Ms. X said 11 yrs ago..." instead of give excuses that he did not have time to ask permission, like that is an acceptable excuse even!

The plagiarism events are very unfortunate. However, I would guess that this has got to be one of the top 10 reasons that academics are let go around the country and rightfully so. The only things that would be bigger would be sexual harrassment, outright incompetence and financial malfeasance. To hear that the Valedictorian also plagiarized is also distressing. How do our kids get these 4+ grade point averages in their classes? You would think that someone at the head of their class would have higher ethical standards. The whole thing is horrendous, but I agree that they must pay the price.

Eds:

It would be more appropriate for the editors to respond in a separate post, not as an addendum to my original post. Why ride my shirttails?

Yes, there is the printing definition of tabloid that you refer to, however, let's not redefine it--spin it if you will.

"Tabloid" is what it is and by all accepted definitions (in major dictionaries no less) it is more than a reference to the size of the publication. In this case, size isn't everything and I think you all know that. ;)

I'm happy to read the voice of reason popping up in the last few comments - that Jim Caudill's mistake was a stupid one, but not one for which he should lose his job. I have been surprised to hear so many expressing the view that he should be fired. Their reasoning? "We have standards to uphold, examples to set." And while this is true, I wonder if the folks who are thinking this are paying attention to the fact that perhaps what they may really want to uphold is an image of Naperville as pristine, unable to be besmirched, making us (oh, no!) look bad in the eyes of the outside world. Reality check time, folks: Naperville is a great community with very good schools, but it's not perfect. We have an administrator who made a mistake, and who should somehow be reprimanded for it (but that's between the school board and him, by the way, since he's not an elected official), but we need to put our indignation away and get on with life, channeling our energies into something worthwhile, something that shows a real need - earthquake victims in China, anyone? Cyclone victims in Myanmar? And a host of others, even closer to home...

Plagiarism is rampant at NCHS. How low for Leis to bring up the student in the same commentary as Caudill. Using a student’s indiscretion to deflect attention.

Better yet, shouldn’t Caudill be digitized out of the graduation ceremony as well? Like they do on Cops?

Jim Caudill - reassigned (aka some tolerance - still drawing a paycheck)

2008 NCHS Valedictorian - stripped of medal and deleted from videotape (aka zero tolerance)

Is it any wonder people are critical of the 203 Administration and 203 School Board.

Does anybody have any details regarding the plagiarized section of the valedictorian's speech?

Actually, TABLOID fits the Sun quite nicely:

"a newspaper about half the page size of an ordinary newspaper containing short often sensational news stories and many photographs"

or

of, relating to, or resembling tabloids; especially : featuring stories of violence, crime, or scandal presented in a sensational manner"

From the Merriam-Webster regular and student editions. If you want more detail, ask Jim Lynch, I believe he knows the term well.

The principal's infraction is serious, but not sensational. A front page editorial, a subsequent front page acknowledgment of your own purported impact and a full page of quotes from anonymous sources, now that's what I would call sensational. Let's call it what it is: tabloid journalism to help resurrect a struggling paper.

It is naive to think that the school board & administration lives in a vacuum and does not understand the importance of being a role model and upholding those standards. Minimally, it is something that is pounded into the head of every student teacher in the state. I know of few companies that would approach this level--as evidenced by all the unpunished accounting and stock manipulation "errors" of the past several years.

The Sun has demonstrated smart and pertinent judgment presented in a sensible manner in the past; however, this time I think they have missed the mark and might have sprained their shoulder patting themselves on the back.

The Sun should stick to good reporting not the knee jerk reactions of anonymous bloggers of questionable credibility. Unless, of course, they truly want to become Naperville's tabloid.

Let's all take a step back, breathe and let the board do it's job. Then, if you are all unsatisfied, go back at it.

Response from Naperville Sun editors:

Actually, in newspaper terms the definition of tabloid has nothing to do with content. There are only two types of newspapers: tabloids and broadsheets. Tabloids (Sun, Sun-Times, New York Post...) are smaller and easier to read, less folding. Broadsheets (Tribune, New York Times ...) have bigger pages are require folding.

Did the valedictorian plagiarized the valedictory address?

A phrase I would like everyone to examine in this whole ordeal is the phrase "take credit." What credit did Caudill get for delivering this speech? In the grand scheme of things, it wasn't a big speech (it wasn't even the commencement speech, it was at a smaller assembly). He didn't publish this speech as his own, and I don't think he was looking to receive plaudits for a wonderful speech.

He really gained nothing from his mistake, so let's slow the judgement train down a little bit.

i hear it doesn't matter any more, hee gone...
but always remember "Let the person among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." ~ John 8:7

I have to agree with Follow the Policy and NCHS Parent...

People are too quick to want to crucify this man who most would agree has done an otherwise outstanding job for his school. The letter to the editor written by the NCHS Student Paper's editor in chief was laughable. You may feel loyalty to your former advisor, but anyone who wants to equate Caudill's lapse in judgement with Watergate has obviously got a lot to learn.
This reeks of a vindictive former advisor eager to even the score with the Principal. My question to her would be this: Does the Naperville Sun or the Chicago Tribune allow profanity in it's newspaper? I certainly think not.

Caudill deserves a rebuke, and a harsh one at that. Strip him of some of his bonus or incentive money, make him issue a public apology, and move on.

And to the Sun, and it's editorial board-Let the school board do it's job. Don't try to fan the flames to push forward your own agenda, whatever it may be.

Bravo Anonymous! Right on the Money & we should be able to demand this excellence when you are paying for it!

To Follow the Policy...that is for students & quite frankly they can be expelled in college! Look at the examples I provided at the beginning of comments on other professionals fired for plagiarizing! This is a very different level & if you can't understand that then I wonder what else you do not understand. It is for entertainment is your excuse. First, I don't find commencement speech's main purpose to be "entertaining"! They are to be "inspiring"! In fact, the quote from the principal was "he was looking for inspiration" not entertainment. How can students be inspired by unethical behavior? Next, even if it is some entertainment...a comedian...if he steals a joke and says it is his own that is unethical & there are consequences! A musician uses enough of another's piece of music guess what...major consequences!

It is not blown out of proportion when so many college professors are talking about this & are well aware of what is going on. It is not blown out of proportion when other professionals are fired for similiar unethical behavior! This man KNEW what he was doing was wrong & still did it! He did not MAKE the time! What else would he not MAKE the time for? You need to know how to prioritize & this should have been one of them. So what you are saying is that just because you work 60-80 hours a week you do not have to be ethical? Hmmm lets see there are so many people are know that work those hours that would still never do such a thing because they take pride in their work & know those hours will all be for nothing if they do something unethical! I'd rather him work 40 hours a week & be ethical!

And to Denny who thinks this type of behavior is "laughable"....wow! It is not laughable to those who are professionals in the academic and literary world! This is one of the most serious crimes. It may not be to others but next time they take your words and get credit for them & you do not see how you feel! This is also a bigger issue of role models & teaching our own children what is ethical behavior & preparing them for the future!

I rarely end up right on the fence on any issue, but this plagiarism issue has got me stumped. I can't even bring myself to vote (up or down) on the Sun's webpage! At first glance it might seem that Jim should retire. This is underlined somewhat by the fact that he probably is old enough and solvent enough to do just that. On the other hand his "crime" is almost laughable. If this has been a solitary faux pas it seems kind of forgivable. I just don't know!

From The NCHS Handbook:

"Cheating or plagiarizing at any level, at any time, will not be tolerated. Consequently, when evidence of cheating or plagiarism exists, the assignment will receive no credit, the student has no opportunity to make up that work, and the deans will be notified."

There are certainly repercussions expected from this incident, but clearly the policy is NOT that plagiarism results in expulsion. In line with the policy, Mr. Caudill has certainly received no credit for his speech, and will have no opportunity to make up the work. The deans ( community ) have certainly been notified.

This speech was not "faking" of academic credentials - it was a few minutes of entertainment at a gathering of 300. Thanks to a disgruntled ex-Journalism teacher this has been blown ridiculously out of proportion.

And as much as we might like to think otherwise, Naperville public high schools are not elite academic sanctuaries that will have their reputations smirched by this incident. It's not the Latin School.

If Mr Caudill's job performance was otherwise marginal, I could see using this as the "last straw" and give him the boot. But everyone I have talked to has said that his performance is exemplary and they wish they had more like him. He is said to regularly put in 60 and even 80 hour weeks - he has given his whole life to these schools.

Naperville is supposed to be a community - and a community should be able to give a second chance to someone who has served the community for so long. Give him a punishment and move on.

If one thinks of all the professions... medicine, law, accounting, and so forth; every single profession has ethical standards that guide practitioners in their conduct. Some are oaths, some are canons, some are rules. Regardless, if someone commits an offense they can and will loose their ability to practice or to otherwise serve as a member of that professional community.

Yes we have also have criminal and civil laws. But that is not what is being discussed. We are talking about the voluntary code of conduct held sacred within a given group of professionals.

Plagiarism has always been and, most likely, always will be the worst possible offense one could possibly commit within the academic community. By and large the academic community depends upon personal integrity, honor, and truthfulness in upholding their collective values. And the academic community has never been forgiving to those who plagiarize because it violates the values and moral integrity of everyone in the educational community, not just the school or person in question.

At a very young age we start teaching our children right from wrong. As children get older they are introduced to the concepts of responsibility and accountability along with many other values. They learn to understand reward and punishment. Some of this takes place at home and some of it at school. In school they are taught what is right and what is wrong. Sharing class notes is ok. Cheating on a test is not. Typing a term paper is ok. Writing it is not. Along the way they learn all of the fine points of what is considered acceptable and what violates the rules.

Children learn about quotation marks. They learn about footnotes. They learn about how and when to quote their sources. They learn about bibliographies. They learn how to do their own research. Along their academic journey they learn more and more of the rules of academic life and what is acceptable and what is not. All of this is preparing them for college level work, possibly advanced degrees, and in some cases careers in academia or research in various professions where this knowledge will be useful throughout their career.

For anyone to have been a student for all the years it takes to accumulate advanced degrees and to then have spent many additional years working their way up thru the ranks of the academic profession only to basically say at the pinnacle of their career that they forgot how to use and apply the most important rule within their entire profession is simply unimaginable.

No words can defend such conduct. No words can explain such conduct. No words can rationalize such conduct. No words will ever make such conduct acceptable.

It is commendable for friends, relatives, neighbors to be quick to jump to the defense of Mr. Caudill. That is what friends and neighbors are for; to support you through tough times and he will need their friendship and support in the days and weeks ahead.

We as a community though are not obligated to support Mr. Caudill. Our obligation is to support the academic integrity of our educational institutions and the values our children learn from these institutions. I value the academic integrity all of our schools have spent decades developing and maintaining. I for one hope that we are not about to see a chipping away at the moral fibers that holds these values sacred.

Resign? He should be fired for his lack of integrity and his display of ignorance as a role model and leader in the community. There is no other acceptable course of action other than to remove him from his position.

Do you live in a Glass House...

Termination is very appropriate. It happens in education & business all the time for Plagiarism. Please refer to my previous post with examples!

Becky...

I agree with you on extentions of asgn. While I won't say it never happens at the college level, typically you have it done on the date & time or no credit or a severe penalty like 50% reduction etc. They need to learn what they will have later or it will be a rude awakening/shock when they get to college. You miss a bid...sorry you don't get the contract!

Big$Education...

I'm not sure where you are talking about but many schools do expel and at college you will receive a F in a class or even be expelled from the school! There are some variance but you will see very severe penalities. It is a lie to claim someone else's words as your own! I'm not sure what you were getting at with your newspaper editor's article? Are you saying it is ok to lie? What message are you sending to our students?

Naperville Central Parent...

Where have you been the last 25 years? All of this is concern for our community! Any unethical behavior, whether intentional or not, should be of public interest. Do you think someone who unintentionally runs a light & hurts someone should not be in the news then? If my dog unintentionally gets outside & mauls a kid should that not get in the paper? It doesn't matter if he does other good things, he still has consequences for the bad things he does. Do you not punish your children for bad things they do even if they do other good things? Now you can "forgive" but that doesn't mean there should not be consequences. I may forgive someone for killing my child while DUI but there still should be consequences...even if it was a priest or an officer & they have done MANY wonderful things! If anything, like the principal...they should know better! We hold them at higher standards! Yes, they are human but they are our examples we are to model. Also, I'm not sure how you think of the National Enquirer but my dear that is a TABLOID...which means it is rumor & untrue the majority of the time. I'm sorry but the Naperville Sun does not qualify as that.

Thank you for an insightful editorial Jim!

It really is about values. It really is about living those values every day as an exemplary role model. Not just when it is easy. Not just when it is convenient. And most especially when it is hard and difficult and just plain easier to do something less.

Making sound decisions based upon values is something upon which a person of true integrity never, ever wavers or compromises.

If we don't hold our community leaders accountable for their actions and the values that they choose to live by then what does that say about us and our own values? What does that say about us as a community?

That was a great editorial, Mr. Jim Lynch!

You are showing some courage! East Coast courage that is non-existent in the Mid West!

I expect Mr. Lynch to soon run edtiorials holding many City Officials in Naperville accountable for many different improprieties and corruption in government.

Mr. Lynch, deserves our support, from turning the Naperville Sun from a tabloid newspaper into a top notch city newspaper doing its duty to society and humanity!

It is about time someone in this town showed the courage of the Napergate Man to call it as it is.

Mr. Lynch showed that courage today with his editorial and I commend him for calling for the resignation of Principal Jim Cuadill!

It is about time the Naperville Sun took on its watch dog duties. This is a big city....big government and school administrators need to be watched and held accountable!

City Officials are today being put on notice that Mr. Lynch will call anyone out who dares to bring cronyism and corruption to town. School officials no longer have immunity and soon City Officials will lose the immunity Harold and Eva White bestowed to City Officials early this century!

A new era has started! Everyone be on notice and do your job the way it was meant to be done...especially if the taxpayer is paying you!!!

I don't think Principal Caudill was trying to get away with something as people are accusing him. He knew the speech writer was a teacher at the school and would be present at the commemorative ceremony. I believe he is a good man who had time get away from him - haven't we all! I have personally observed him putting in many late hours for school activities, parent meetings, renovation plans... and wonder how he finds time to do it all. Why are people so anxious to crucify someone who has acknowledged his mistake. There is such a thing as forgiveness and grace. Most people can think of a time when they were given grace. I think that's what Principal Caudill deserves from this community.

I agree that referencing the author would have prevented this situation. People are human. People make mistakes. Principal Caudill is doing good things at Naperville Central. Furthermore it isn't the Editor of the Naperville Sun's place to decide a District 203 personnel issue. To use this situation to sensationalize the newspaper is disgusting. Over the past year, I've watched The Naperville Sun go from my community newspaper to a local version of The National Enquirer with one sensationalist headline after another. Maybe THE EDITOR SHOULD GO from The Naperville Sun to preserve the paper's reputation of integrity!

One would rather think it is obvious Tim West, the Opinion Editor is on vacation even without the Sun announcing it where I usually find his column. We would suspect if he were here, he would not approve of the front page proclamation that the principle must go to preserve academic integrity. I don't either. We think he would have insisted on a more balanced viewpoint of the matter. By the way Editors, we spend lots of money on our schools and academic integrity probably pales when balanced with all the things that public education is costing us: meals, transportation, before school programs, after school programs, buildings, facilities, salaries, benefits... What is more irritating is the letter from the former editor in chief of the school paper entitled "Leaders who do wrong deserve no second chance". She equates harsh penalities for plagiarism with improper conduct by the former chief CEO of Enron or former president Richard Nixon. They did not get a second chance. I hope she understands there is a difference and does not really equate a lifted commencment speech to the aforementioned. Otherwise, our high school of academic integrity has failed to teach her reasoning skills. It would seem that plagiarism is really the same as lying. You simply took the thoughts and or words of someone else and claimed they are yours. People lie all the time. Mrs. Clinton ducked sniper fire in Bosnia. A lie, only one of many and she is continuously held out as potential national leadership material. Barrack Obama claims his uncle liberated a concentration camp. Actually the Red Army liberated that camp and Obama was simply exhausted and mis-spoke too. Yeah, right! Another lie, only one of many and he too is held before us as a very intelligent national leader by thousands of people who also lie to us about him. Change we can believe in! There are others, in both political parties, in all walks of life. We are talking about in this case one of our own. A human being in our own community who we know and who has demonstrated to us who he is. He has admitted to his mistake, accepted responsibility for it. Academic integrity stands on its own. How this matter is resolved will not in my opinion greatly impact overall academic integrity in our great public school system contrary to many of the assertions on this blog or in the editorial. Caudill was wrong and there should be punishment however even students who lie, cheat and plagiarize are not expelled from the school. Nor should he be.

It seems some people think that losing a job over this incident is a little severe, so I have been trying to think of examples where a single mistake has far-reaching consequences. Perhaps one might be a moderate drinker who has too much one time then causes an accident. Or the star athlete who tries drugs one time a over doses. I think the basic difference between those mistakes and plagiarism is that the former have a physical impact, while the latter has only a mental impact so it seems less bad. Mental products in general are less valued in our society, which is why Napster was so popular and accepted, for example.

In fact, many of the issues in education can be traced to valuing mental products. Teachers are defensive about the fact that they don’t produce a physical, quantifiable product (“What do I make? I make a difference”), not to mention concerns over testing (“How do you measure how much someone has learned?”) and merit pay (“Why should my pay be based on someone else’s effort?). So how much worse is it when a teacher himself abuses or at least takes for granted the very product of his profession?

It doesn’t matter how this became public. Now that it is, one man’s mistake has a far-reaching impact on both the students and staff. And yes, it is not easily quantifiable, but people in education should understand that. A few examples: in one of my child's classes, instead of a final test they were assigned a final project that was due last Thursday, then they wouldn’t have to come to school for their final period this week. One group wasn’t finished in time, so the teacher moved the due date to the final period. One of my child's friends has a teacher who assigned a project to be due the Monday after spring break. Her family had already planned a trip, so she spent a good amount of time on her vacation working on it, only to arrive in her class on Monday to hear the teacher give them until Friday because some people weren’t ready. My child has also had other due dates extended, which is frustrating to say the least. Does this lack of holding students to a standard reflect an overall culture at Central?

The tone is set at the top. What kind of tone do we want at our schools? If we truly want to parallel what would happen in the business community, Mr. Caudill should be “kicked upstairs” and offered a non-supervisory position in the central office.

To: "Tired .... anonymous....,"

You couldn't be more misleading in your post -- talk about looking dishonest!

First, if you read the original post closely, you will understand that the writer was clearly referring to the aftermath of the referendum. The reactions listed all apply to Leis.

Second, once the commission of the class A misdemeanor by a union negotiator and employee was noted and reported to the District, it was requested that the District look for more violations. They looked briefly, immediately found more, than they shut down any further investigation PRONTO. They did NOT want to find out the extent of the violations as it was clear they were being abused by the union. The results of the one incident that started it all was than sealed under the guise of negotiated contractual HR issues with the union (that is exactly what Dr Leis forwarded).

As a final note, please DO understand that it was admitted to as a class A misdemeanor by the perp.

Third, a second set of architects (versus the original ones) was hired. Perhaps you don't like the word "fired" ---tomato, tomahtoe. However, given that the school needed something done, I don't think anyone cares much on this one as long as a good job is done in the end!

Oooooooooo what a judgemental and sanctimonious group of posters! You people need to stick to the facts surrounding this issue and stop attempting to muddy the water with irrelevant BS.

The facts are that Mr. Caudill made a serious mistake in using Ms. Nowicki-Plackett's speech. He immediately admitted his mistake and apologized. (Life lesson - Take responsibility). There should be consequences for his actions.

Termination is inappropriate and not warranted. Period.

A reprimand is necessary.

Mr. Caudill works tirelessly for the school and the district and always has the best interests of the student in mind.

I hope the Naperville 203 Board of Education does the right thing here and reprimands Mr. Caudill. Anything more is completely out-of-line.

I would also hope that those of you who have been heaping all of the anonymous vitriol on Mr. Caudill, never experience the withering onslaught he's endured over the past week. It likely would crush a lesser person.

Anyone else laughing at the irony of TIRED OF ALL THE ANONYMOUS POSTERS posting anonymously!!! LOL!!! Sounds to me like he just might be the teacher that was caught sending union messages about the last school board election using District 203 computers!!!

Honesty works both ways. Wednesday's Sun has a letter from the student who is editor of the Central Times. She lambasts Caudill for his dishonesty but does not mention that she is extremely biased against him for his ousting of newspaper advisor Linda Kane. It's called full disclosure, and as a newspaper editor, even a student editor, you should follow the rules. They're iron clad.

The most honorable thing for Caudill to do at this point is resign and save the district the angst of deciding how to handle the situation.

1. Leis implemented the over collection. If he had integretity, he would not have played the "bait and switch" tax ploy.

2. Could you cite the public record. Send it to the moderator to forward. It would be nice to publish this. By the way, the State's Attorney has no knowledge of this issue.

3. Why is Wight now performing the architectural services? What happened to long term District architect Healy Bender?

Anonymous 11:35pm

What a bunch of BS

1. Leis wasn't here when the referendum was passed. He inherited it.

2. The teacher was identified and disciplined for this one act of sending a document over D203 servers. There is a public record of it. There was an attempt by critics to get the County prosecutors involved and they declined to. No other activity was found.

3. This is complete BS. The amount of documentation was extensive. No one got fired. There was no misrepresentation.

The Caudill matter is a very serious one. But trying to blow it up into a bigger issue by making a bunch of false accusations only makes you look dishonest.

To Anonymous 5/27/08 6:56 PM

The City of Naperville fully intended to increase taxes by 8 to 10% on this year, following a 6% increase last year.

That is to pay for those high pensions and salary increases. Even when the City is mismanaged.

You can make a difference. Start a petition drive to take away Naperville's home rule powers. They lose the power to tax and would have been limited to 3% (or so) the last two years.

You lose powers when you abuse them. This happened to Rockford in the 70's.

Is it true that the person at the center of the election coverup is a sports coach (in a running sport) at the 203 high school on the north end of town? Is this same coach also a key union steward in 203? Is he worried that the statutes of limitation might not have expired and that legal action could still be brought against him, both criminally and civil?

Inquiring minds would like to know. Illegal actions are worst than plagerism. Is that the integrity of the school system? Is it time to "clean house"? Start at the top with Leis and work down.

Great example for the students.

Integrity starts at the top, not Caudill, but rather, Alan Leis. Let’s look at his record.

1. Tax overcollection. First reaction, ignore. Second reaction, deny. Third reaction, recreate numbers. This is not multivariable calculus. This is simple math.

Promised tax increase $511
Actual tax increase $1,200

2. During the 2007 school board election, an attachment to an e-mail criticizing certain candidates and promoting union backed candidates had electronic encoding that the document was prepared on school district computers by a specific teacher. THIS IS A CLASS A MISDEMEANER.

The following questions were posed to Leis

1. Was this indeed processed on school district computers?

2. Could you search the districts computer data base for other illegal campaign activity?.

Leis’s report back to community--NOTHING (unless we missed it).

Besides this document, there are rumors of other illegal activities. What would a person of integrity do? Turn the materials over to DuPage States Attorney or Illinois Attorney General for appropriate legal action. Has that been done?

3. During the entire capital plan, it was always touted that the architects had done a “needs analysis.” When this was pointed out as untrue, rather than admit the misrepresentation, Leis changes the “spin” and fires the architects.

Do you see a pattern here? The only reason he will fire Caudill will be to protect his job.

And the school board also lacks integrity. They act in private session. If they really feel that people should move out of town if they do not like the tax increases, why not have the INTEGRITY to say it in public?

Most important question that 1Prof infers--Why would you want to risk sending your children to a school system run by people such as these?

To the anonymous poster who posted this;

It should be held in the public domaine out in the open and not hidden from the public like the Class A misdemeanors (with a punishment of one year in jail) that occurred recently IN 203 BY 203 employees yet were concealed from public view by the Board and administration.

Just who, and what, you are you talking about?

Please tell us.

I've never seen a Principal's contract without a morals clause.

NOW is the time for the School Board to invoke that clause and terminate employment.

If the School Board fails to invoke the clause it seems we will soon have much bigger issues to deal with than just the Principal.

Blog Master Jim Lynch has got his hands full with the ridiculous pensions police are earning off taxpayers' backs.

Let him concentrate on eliminating these dinasauric pensions that are making taxes unbearable to the residents of Naperville.

He can not be dealing with this principal if the Board does not want to fire him. That is their duty to fire him. Not Mr. Lynch's! I hope they fire him and save their reputation as a top school district.

Let Mr. Lynch focus on these police pensions and the double dipping of City Manager Bob Marshall who is about to make $260,000 dollars of our taxpayer money with little to no experience in even running a village in a third world country.

Mr. Lynch is doing a great job exposing corruption and cronyism in City Hall that will save us potentially thousands of dollars in taxes per household. Please let him remain focused so he concentrate! We all win if he can CONCENTRATE!!!

Note to editors and blogmaster Jim:

This fraud and theft would seem, on many levels, to be a very important issue for the community with wide-ranging ramifications.

Why doesn't the Sun pick-up the ball on this and formally ask (insist?) 203 for an official inquiry into this issue?

Such an inquiry should involve folks OUTSIDE of the cozy 203 structure, possibly using a citizen's review board with NO connections to the school system (ie no admin, teachers, and comprised of less than half parents from the system).

It should be held in the public domaine out in the open and not hidden from the public like the Class A misdemeanors (with a punishment of one year in jail) that occurred recently IN 203 BY 203 employees yet were concealed from public view by the Board and administration.

In other words, I am asking the Sun to move forward and represent the public, and the students, in furthering this matter.

Posted by Anonymous on May 27, 2008 1:38 PM:

"I don't appreciate some of the racial tones in these comments"

HUH!!!!!???? Racial tones? What are you smoking, dude?

Another question that has not been asked and to which students and parents deserve an honest and truthful answer is whether or not this was his first act of plagiarism?

Sooo, was this the first incident or not? And if it was not, how many other incidents have there been... when, where, why, etc?

An in-depth investigation into everything he has written, published, or presented as his own material or work should be conducted as well as a full investigation that will also determine if he was ever previously disciplined for plagiarism either professionally or as a student.

Call me cynical if you want to, but for this to be a first offense at this age of life is, in my opinion, highly doubtful. Was this really the first time he plagiarized or just the first time he got caught?

Check out what this new site is saying about Caudill.

http://napervilleschools.freeforums.org/fire-caudill-t2.html

Hmmm!! Wonder where Mr. Higgins is on this issue?

I don't appreciate some of the racial tones in these comments. Especially some of the people here, making implications about social status.

It's rude and it negates your arguments.

You people don't get it. If you want integrity, leave 203. Just like those who don't want to pay higher taxes so we make more money, leave the District.

The District did not hire a speech writer for Jimmy. He does not make enough money to hire one himself.

Just send the money and shut up!

By 1prof on May 27, 2008 12:28 PM "What I teach should not matter!" Gee, no need to get upset...I was just wondering what you taught...you said it is good to wonder in your previous entry...By Anonymous on May 27, 2008 9:35 AM "It is not a fool to "wonder" when you have some reason to wonder more than before the principal did this." I was just more curious than anything else as to what you taught, it had nothing to do with our debate...

By 1prof on May 27, 2008 12:28 PM "What I was concerned is you were saying I was "typcasting" or "labeling" them as "unethical" and I was not." Again, show me where I was directly saying you (not what you thought I was implying) called them "unethical". I still can't find it in my entries.

I'm going to forward this to Jay Leno.

I can imagine him saying, "..the former/now teacher who's speach he copied was in the audience, what an idiot and he's the principal. I want to know who's resume did he copy to get that job"

What I was concerned is you were saying I was "typcasting" or "labeling" them as "unethical" and I was not. No, I didn't think you were saying I was unethical. I said I would "wonder" once I knew they were from NCHS and that is not a bad thing. You want to make sure...think of it from an educating idea. Lets say I know a student is from NCHS...it would be of great benefit of the student that I do have the red flag go off. That way I can speak to them ahead of time & make sure they are clear since I may be concerned they were allowed to do something that was unethical with a principal who does it himself. Now again, it is just the idea that why have a headache if you can avoid it. I would want to avoid that headache even. I would not want to even wonder or worry about this. What I teach should not matter!

I agree with 203parent...this was a public speech, he is a public employee by the state...it is not just an inhouse thing! In addition in private industry is not always inhouse. It does influence the community at large! These students are our future employees and voting citizens of our community. We need to take pride to tell our students we are getting you the best to educate you. I do not say that this principal has not done other wonderful things, but this needs to be dealt with. How can the school district fully support him and take pride in him. Those who say it should just be inhouse are just upset because it made them look bad and they didn't want others to know of the wrong-doing. When you act inappropriately you take that chance. It is like those who are in the blotter each week for wrong doing...sure they will say this should not be in the press this is personal to me but we the community have a right to know.

I was glad to have this opportunity to share my feelings on this blog. Unfortunately, this past weekend there was nothing more written in the Naperville Sun nor any other newspapers on the misconduct of Principal Jim Caudill at the NCHS 2008 Commencement.

Trying to justify his actions by given excuses as to why he had yet to speak with the NCHS teacher who was the author of his intended Principal's Address at the 2008 Graduation Ceremony. He realized all too late that he had forgotten to speak with the author of his speech prior to the ceremony. Yet even after this realization did Mr. Caudill give credit to Mrs. Nowicki-Plackett for the use of her speech. His admission as being a "knucklehead" in not speaking with Nowicki-Plackett just doesn't work for this parent and the many others' who I have spoken with. We, as parents of District 203 know the high standards to which our children are held to in the ownership of their work. So far what I have seen with the handling of this matter is very hypocritical for the District Administration. Once again, the issue at hand here is - plagiarism.

One comment in this blog especially caught my eye with their concern for the person who contacted the local media/newspapers about Caudill's blunder and their implication that it may have been the disgruntled teacher from Central who, Caudill and the District Administration, removed her from her position as the teacher/facilitator for the Central Times Newspaper is once again an example of ignoring the real issue and chastising the "tattletale". Should someone be labeled a "tattletale" for bringing this situation to light? Why should the District being exempt from the public scrutiny and exposure of case of alleged plagiarism that in the corporate world would be most likely be dealt with disciplinary action let alone the legal ramifications such an action holds. Dr. Leis had commented in the Central Times situation that he was disappointed that the teacher (Mrs. Kane) had contacted the media in regards to the handling of her situation. I ask, why shouldn't she contact the media? Her point was that this was violating the students' right to Freedom of Speech. Why wasn't the end result for Mrs. Kane's error/wrongdoing the same as what looks like may be the end result for Caudill - a slap on the wrist? Wasn't she just being a "knucklehead" in her judgment? Unfortunately the powers' that be in District 203 didn't see it that way?

What example is the district setting by turning their head to the actions of Mr. Caudill? We pay high enough taxes in this town with a large portion going to District 203. There are many people in the community who are not parents of current District 203 students who are upset by the latest problem at Naperville Central High School and do feel that they are owed information as to the handling of this situation. This may be an in-house situation and the administration feels that they need to deal with it as a in-house situation but unfortunately for the NCUSD203 administration and school board we are a part of that group and need to remind you that ultimately it is the taxpayers who pay your salary and who you need to answer to.

We as parents support the district, not only at home in the education of our children but with many, many parent volunteers who involve themselves in the schools during the day to assist the teachers and faculty with the education of our children. The enormous amount of help from the Home & School Association in bringing in additional revenue from their fund raising efforts provides additional items to each of the individual school for the end of the year "Wish List. With that being said the education of a child is a team effort Would taking the teacher out of this district and placing them in a school district where there is very little parental support be as successful in their teaching as they are in District 203? I don't think so. Over the past few years our District has gotten continued financial support from the taxpayers/parents yet they feel in this situation they don't have to explain themselves for the actions and misdeeds of their administrators to the community - I beg to differ.

Accountability is a must in all situations. Mr. Caudill's admission to his mistake isn't enough. He holds a title in which he should lead by example and with that in mind he needs to adhere to the rules he sets in place for his teachers and the students of NCHS. Would a student's admission of cheating or copying another student's work be dismissed? I highly doubt it. When an error of this magnitude is made and especially done at such a public and important event for some 700 graduating seniors and their families, disciplinary action is a must. It is a must because they need to show to the current and future students of our highly-acclaimed District and their parents that the District demands honesty and integrity from not only their students but also from their administrators, teachers and staff in their performance and when submitting one's work.

By Anonymous on May 27, 2008 9:35 AM "That is saying I would type cast them as unethical". 1prof, saying to "type cast" someone is not the same as saying someone is "unethical". I don't think it is unethical what you are doing, I just think it is not fair to pre-judge your students before meeting them in person based on something their Principal did at their high school. I would put the words "type cast" in the same category as "labeling" and not as unethical. I think what you are doing is labeling these graduates from NCHS, which in my opinion is wrong in this case. Labeling isn't always all bad though...for example, I am labeled as a "Generation X" person since my age falls into that age category...is it unethical to call me a part of Generation X? I don't think so. Hey, next time just ask me what I meant by my statements and don't assume I meant something that I didn't. I am sure you are a very ethical person as I have no reason to believe you are not.

1prof, I have no issues with you personally, we just don't agree on this topic, which is fine. It is actually refreshing to have a debate on these blogs with someone that doesn't turn it into petty name calling exchange or in the end just getting upset with each other. So I hope you are not offended by our debate or upset with me as I am not with you. You never did say though, what is it that you teach? I am curious.

Kevin this is what you said...

"you are going to type cast anyone who graduated from NCHS over what their Principal did? ....Don’t cast judgment on them for what their Principal did as that is not fair to the graduates and current students of NCHS."

That is saying I would type cast them as unethical. I said I would question their work & that is not typecasting them. Questions is finding out one way or the other. I would not "cast judgment"...casting judgment would mean stating they are unethical & I was saying I never said I would do that. I was saying I would question them...they judge whether they did. I said, " I would be certainly wondering about the integrity of their work & that is so sad he has done this!" What does "wondering" mean....does not mean I judge them to be unethical...to have plagiarized! It is not a fool to "wonder" when you have some reason to wonder more than before the principal did this.

By 1prof on May 26, 2008 9:06 PM "I never made the judgment statement that every one of the students in the school are unethical. Do not put words in my mouth..talk about going to extremes. Again, I never said I would judge them & say "They are unethical" or "They will be unethical" Look at my first post. You are placing words in my mouth".

1prof, show me where I said you said the statements above? I must not be reading the same thread as you...I don't recall saying that you said anyone was "unethical". Actually, in all three of my entries the word "unethical" never came up...you are putting words into your own mouth. I appreciate you citing your source...but let's give the credit to the correct person as I never said those things you said above. So I guess we are not going to agree to disagree?

Oh my...I'm more concerned about you Belinda. Try reading what I said in my first post! I did not state all were unethical! And yes...they are a victim...that is what I am saying....he has done this to them & thus must be punished as an adult. He has stained the reputation of NCHS now. It is not different than the schools who had teachers who helped their students cheat on their ACT/SATs, any student then at those schools would be "questionable". There is doubt in the mind of the evaluating institution. If you do not see that then you are the fool. I NEVER said all would be unethical, so you are the ones who we all should be concerned about! It is not stupid but perfectly logical to question how a principal evaluates & punishes his students when he doesn't even act ethically! If he doesn't understand what should be done & take the little time it takes to credit someone then does he care when his students do this? You want to think I am a fool for making a statement like that, that is fine, but many of the professors are discussing this now & one is more of a fool if they are not concerned at all. A principal represents the school and when they do not represent them well they do not speak for the quality of education the students have earned. Professors have been fired for Plagiarism...principals should be also!

Kevin,

I agree with you fully. 1 Prof made an extreme fool of himself when he brought the innocent students of NCHS into the picture. If he had half a brain he would have left them out in his comments.

After all it was a young NCHS girl with talent who wrote a great speech in 1997 and was the victim of PLAGIARISM. She speaks very highly of the former students who she represented in that speech. Her speech was so awesome the Principal stole it. She is a victim. NCHS former and current students are also victims.

I think 1 Prof and the Principal of NCHS both do not belong in our educational instituions. They are both ignorant and borderline stupid.

Both need to be canned in the nearest garbage dumpster that could fit their humongous egos.

For this principal to have spent all this time looking up this speech from 11 years ago and to not offer credit to this girl in the 2 seconds it takes to mention her name is despicable and unconsionable.

Fire him and don't give him a pension. I would like to see the tax portion of my real estate taxes reduced by eliminating many of these incompetents who are not worthy of a pension.

City Manager Bob Marshall who is double dipping while implementing and executing 15-20% annual increases on our City of Naperville real estate tax bills is not the only one who needs to go...this principal needs to go with him.

Send them both to Siberia where they can learn to fetch for themselves and learn the true meaning of independence....dependence on others has to stop for such highly paid individuals.

As Blogger Liebert once said, it is time to get a lot of employees in the city and school district off breast milk and into becoming productive members of society.

__________________________________________________________________

Ps. Was it that hard for me to mention that I stole the breast milk comment from Blogger Liebert. It took a few seconds. If I did not give him credit, I would have plagiarized him. It is a simple concept! Principals should understand it. I am a lowly secretary and understand it.

Kevin,

I agree with you fully. 1 Prof made an extreme fool of himself when he brought the innocent students of NCHS into the picture. If he had half a brain he would have left them out in his comments.

After all it was a young NCHS girl with talent who wrote a great speech in 1997 and was the victim of PLAGIARISM. She speaks very highly of the former students who she represented in that speech. Her speech was so awesome the Principal stole it. She is a victim. NCHS former and current students are also victims.

I think 1 Prof and the Principal of NCHS both do not belong in our educational instituions. They are both ignorant and borderline stupid.

Both need to be canned in the nearest garbage dumpster that could fit their humongous egos.

For this principal to have spent all this time looking up this speech from 11 years ago and to not offer credit to this girl in the 2 seconds it takes to mention her name is despicable and unconsionable.

Fire him and don't give him a pension. I would like to see the tax portion of my real estate taxes reduced by eliminating many of these incompetents who are not worthy of a pension.

City Manager Bob Marshall who is double dipping while implementing and executing 15-20% annual increases on our City of Naperville real estate tax bills is not the only one who needs to go...this principal needs to go with him.

Send them both to Siberia where they can learn to fetch for themselves and learn the true meaning of independence....dependence on others has to stop for such highly paid individuals.

As Blogger Liebert once said, it is time to get a lot of employees in the city and school district off breast milk and into becoming productive members of society.

__________________________________________________________________

Ps. Was it that hard for me to mention that I stole the breast milk comment from Blogger Liebert. It took a few seconds. If I did not give him credit, I would have plagiarized him. It is a simple concept! Principals should understand it. I am a lowly secretary and understand it.

Kevin,

I agree with you fully. 1 Prof made an extreme fool of himself when he brought the innocent students of NCHS into the picture. If he had half a brain he would have left them out in his comments.

After all it was a young NCHS girl with talent who wrote a great speech in 1997 and was the victim of PLAGIARISM. She speaks very highly of the former students who she represented in that speech. Her speech was so awesome the Principal stole it. She is a victim. NCHS former and current students are also victims.

I think 1 Prof and the Principal of NCHS both do not belong in our educational instituions. They are both ignorant and borderline stupid.

Both need to be canned in the nearest garbage dumpster that could fit their humongous egos.

For this principal to have spent all this time looking up this speech from 11 years ago and to not offer credit to this girl in the 2 seconds it takes to mention her name is despicable and unconsionable.

Fire him and don't give him a pension. I would like to see the tax portion of my real estate taxes reduced by eliminating many of these incompetents who are not worthy of a pension.

City Manager Bob Marshall who is double dipping while implementing and executing 15-20% annual increases on our City of Naperville real estate tax bills is not the only one who needs to go...this principal needs to go with him.

Send them both to Siberia where they can learn to fetch for themselves and learn the true meaning of independence....dependence on others has to stop for such highly paid individuals.

As Blogger Liebert once said, it is time to get a lot of employees in the city and school district off breast milk and into becoming productive members of society.

__________________________________________________________________

Ps. Was it that hard for me to mention that I stole the breast milk comment from Blogger Liebert. It took a few seconds. If I did not give him credit, I would have plagiarized him. It is a simple concept! Principals should understand it. I am a lowly secretary and understand it.

Anonymous 3:17...Excellent point! Hasn't he really had a whole academic year to write this? I mean come on! He could jot down some notes each month of some of the significant moments...heck he should each month of each class & by the time this years freshman are seniors he would have so much he would have to eliminate stuff rather than search for stuff!

Kevin...

I used the extreme to try to get you to understand what I was stating because apparently the previous did not. I keep attempting to explain why...that unethical behavior or any type can be modeled & it does make one stop & have red flags! The benefit of the doubt is to all students who have not plagiarized before nor been associated with anyone who has plagiarized before or any other unethical behavior. There is another great example...hanging out with the wrong crowd. If you hang out with a bunch of students who are known to use drugs or any other kind of harmful behaviors then sorry you do not get the benefit of the doubt...don't you have red flags about those students. Don't you look at them with more concern. Do you give them the benefit of the doubt? Ask any parent, teacher, officer, neighbor. I never made the judgment statement that every one of the students in the school are unethical. Do not put words in my mouth..talk about going to extremes. I'm not sure what more I can say to get you to understand, doesn't seem like the examples I'm using help...perhaps one day you will see it differently when you are the one evaluating the student, employee etc in some manner. And as a matter of fact, I know many on both ends, employees who have had a great deal of trouble & others who outright told me they will not even give a look further down a resume when they see those (and other) companies listed. Academia is not much different for other issues. There are certain characteristics where one's vita is just passed by. Do not forget...many professors have worked for many years and then gone into education, some are in education for many years & then go into industry, and of course we just have many collegues & connections. I know who has had trouble. I'm certainly not talking about lower levels staff, the mail person, administrative assistants at lower levels, etc. You get to mid & upper level...trouble. Do I know some who did not have trouble...sure because people knew them personally to be ethical. Also keep in mind another possibility...just because other companies have not been in the media caught does not mean they are not unethical themselves & quite frankly may really like someone they question or "know"...it can be labled as other things..."know how", "go getter" etc. Now those who are ethical know who these people are, where they went & are cautious themselves not to do business with them. There are many combinations...do not think just because you know some that did not have trouble none did not have trouble.

Again, I never said I would judge them & say "They are unethical" or "They will be unethical" Look at my first post. You are placing words in my mouth. I said I would not want them in my classroom & perhaps I should have been clearer why in that post, but then I explained why, you just seem not to want to accept that. I just don't want to even have the red flags go up like any other red flags...many that can go up in a classroom....to many these days! Students do not need role models of what not to do...they need more role models of what to do. As I mentioned before, many have been fired for this behavior so it is not unusual. And students do suffer the consequence of receiving an F in the course, or being expelled from school so this is not unusual or extreme. It just is not right to have a principal, who has no excuse not to know and is a role model to students get off with less of a consequence than students would have practically the next week if they started summer college classes or some other adult employee in industry.

Also, for those who make light of how serious this is versus the corporate world - this sort of playing fast a loose with the rules and ethics by a few people is the reason we now all have to suffer through Sarbanes-Oxley and Ethics classes to reinforce rules and guidelines that seem so patently obvious to honest people they can't understand why that have to take the course in the first place. Cheaters make things worse for the rest of us.

To Spanky: When you produce something in the corporate world, you are doing so as a paid employee. The products of your labor on behalf of the company are owned by your employer. As such, any other employee can use that information without your permission or citing you in any way. You probably signed something to that effect when you joined the company.

Anything you produce outside of work, belongs to you. So if you write a book about your favorite hobby, then that's yours.

This speech was written by a student while she was a student. That work does NOT become the school's property.

Sadly, this principal knew what he was doing was wrong, hence his guilty excuses after the fact. Since the speech had her maiden name on it, he probably forgot who's speech he was using. He knew it was wrong, but he did it anyway.

I'm no stickler on this, so all he had to say is "In the words of a former NCHS student..." would've taken less than 5 seconds. But he didn't even do that. That's a very weak character and not the caliber one would expect of a Naperville High School principal.

1Prof, you go from plagiarism of a speech to violent fathers in the classroom to sexual predators being in my town. Wow, you have quite the imagination...what is it that you teach? You seem to be the king of "what if's"...your examples have nothing to do with what we are talking about here and they are pretty extreme. Do realize that there are over 3,000 students at NCHS and the Principal is one person who most students don't even have any contact with? All I am saying is don't type cast them because of the high school they came from, give the kids the benefit of the doubt.

Regarding your corporate America comments, have you worked outside of a college or university? When was the last time you worked in a non-teaching role? When was the last time you interviewed for a job in corporate America? I know people who worked for Arthur Anderson and they had no issues getting jobs, in fact they were highly sought after because of their experience and skill set. Those who worked at Enron that were not involved in that situation were seen as victims as they lost their pensions over what happened. I think at this point, we can just agree to disagree on this topic.

BTW, I am not saying what Jim Caudill did was right, I believe what he did was wrong and there should be some punishment for him. What I am doing is sticking up for the many graduates of NCHS who are good people and deserve to be given a fair shake and should not be judged based on what their Principal did.

Now imagine that you were a member of the senior class. Not only is this fiasco going to be forever engraved upon your memory of your final days in high school, but what does this tell every member of the senior class who has been busting their tail every day for the last four years?

It tells them that despite all their hard work and dedication to being the best students possible their principal didn't give a damn about them. He was too busy to schedule some quality time to sit down quietly somewhere and write something good and meaningful, something uplifting and motivating, something that would carry these kids forward into the next chapter of their young lives.

But no, their principal was clearly so out of touch with this class of graduates that he was at such a loss of what to say about any of them that he claims to have "writers block". Here this guy has been a central figure in the lives of hundreds of children for four years and he can't come up with 15-20 minutes of genuine heartfelt comments about all of their collective accomplishments?

I do not for one minute condone the plagiarism. In the bigger picture though not only does this man fail to pass a moral and ethical example test but he also is clearly devoid of any real and meaningful leadership skills if he doesn't have a clue how to say thank you and good bye any better than this to a graduating class of high school seniors. This is a stinging insult upon this class that will never go away regardless of how he is disciplined for plagiarism.

A principal is there to serve the entire student body. Part of the paycheck and part of the reward is taking pride in sending off the product of four years of your handiwork, your influence, and your example. When you fail to do your job, or forget how to do your job, or simply do not do your job you no longer deserve the job. Yes, being a principal is a tough demanding job. Clearly we need to find someone who is up to meeting the challenge of the position and will not disappoint another graduating class. This is a sad chapter in our school's history and the sooner we can start a new chapter the better off we all will be.

Kevin...

Sorry not backtracking....I would have an open mind if they were in there & I explained that. I said I would not want them in my classroom in the first place because I would have to be more concerned. I just don't even want that headache! That does not mean if they WERE in there I would not have the open mind but I would be more alert to them just like I explained my examples. I just don't want to even have that concern. Like the parent child example I had. I would not want that headache to even wonder, question etc.

No, open mind does not mean you are not concerned if you have reason. A closed mind would equally not being cautious if there is a need. An open mind is saying...you know they come from this family or school there is a reason to be suspecious! Again, think of the company examples I gave. You want the companies to place an astericks by their posted applications to say "If you worked for Enron or Arthur Anderson or Price Waterhouse (previous sexual harassment case...Ann Hopkins...so for women) we will ask you even more questions in the interview." They will I assure you if they do even get an interview. This is what I'm saying...just like the interviewer that now has to ask more questions & wonder & be concerned about this "potential" employee...they would rather not even have to worry about that. That is what I was saying. When I said, I would not want them in my classroom...you interpreted it to mean that I assumed they would be unethical, where I am saying...I would not know & would be more concerned & just would rather they not be in my classroom to have to worry about it.

I agree with the Anonymous right after you Kevin, when he/she gave as an example officers having their bar of ethics held even higher. To use some other criminal examples, lets say a student's father is in my class and got violent, then next semster I have his son...I would wonder & be watching him from day one. I would rather just not have him in my classroom so I didn't have the concern. Could he be perfectly fine...sure. That is all I was saying. Lets say a sexual predator moves into your town...don't you think you are going to be wondering & more cautious & concerned about your children? Wouldn't you just rather not have the concern...or lets say to keep it similar the older teen children of a predator is there...doesn't guarantee they will do the same thing at all, but it is a concern when they grow up in that environment.

There are many times good people do bad things & vice versa (think of the movie Crash) but that does not mean they should not be held accountable & set examples. It is like a parent saying, "Do as I say & not as I do"...that is just so wrong! At the same time, sometimes children learn what not to do from what they parents have done wrong in life...this could be the case here...it will all depend though how the board handles this. What message do they want to send to their students?

It doesn't matter how many good decisions you have made in the past or what a great guy you are ---- all that matters here is that the Principal, the highest authority in the school system, outright STOLE someone else's work. The fact that the work was stolen from a past student only makes it more egregious.

Admitting to it after-the-fact does not excuse it in the least. It was, perhaps, meant to ease the detrimental affect on the community's psyche, but it does nothing to soften the sting of the fraud perpetrated by this figure of extremely high authority.

It is a simple matter of fairness & magnitude: Fairness - What would happen to a student caught cheating on a finals test? Would that student be given a bye for admitting they did it? Would their grade on the test hold up? Of course, we all know the anser to all of the above ---the student would be condemned without a"jury", most likely by Mr Caudill himself!!! The punishment would ripple through their young life (failure, miss a semester of college, forever demonized by the NCHS teaching clan, summer school at best...)

Magnitude - The above scenario for a student should serve as the beginning point for an authority figure. Like a cop caught in a crime, the Principal IS held to a much higher bar of ethics. He missed badly on this one, and all the apologies in the world will NOT fill the void caused by his fraud.

It does NOT matter at this point what he does, the District needs to assure he is materially punished for reasons of simple fairness to all of the students and other faculty. Without such punishment, we would be teaching the students that cheating isn't really that wrong, it is only slightly wrong IF you are caught, and if you have connections and smile a lot and bully people rules do not apply to you.

Parents in Naperville (not just 203), make no mistake --- your children are watching this fiasco very, very closely!

I was approached by a NCHS student and asked to write something on this issue. The student felt this was a terrible situation, that Mr Caudill would NEVER be held accountable in any meanignful way, yet was afraid to write themselves as, as they put it. "...I know he would find out and make my last year, at best, unbearable!"

1prof...wait a minute...you are now back tracking after taking some heat for your previous comments...how is the following statement an open minded statement? By 1Prof on May 23, 2008 10:53 PM "At this point I would not want to see any NCHS students in my classroom". You claim in this entry By 1prof on May 25, 2008 1:30 AM "I did not say I would not have an open mind...open mind means also questioning...that is not a closed mind to say I would question it". You go on to say in the first entry after the first comment above By 1Prof on May 23, 2008 10:53 PM "I would be certainly wondering about the integrity of their work." So I guess this is what you mean by asking questions? The way I read it is you seem to have made up your mind on all NCHS graduates even before meeting them in your classroom. You have already agreed in your mind to question them based on what school they graduated from. That is not being open minded in my eye's. Being open minded is giving them the benefit of the doubt that they are their own person and not judging them based on someone else's actions.

Would you consider putting an asterisk next to your name when the students are signing up for your class stating that "if you have graduated from NCHS I will question your work based on your Principal plagiarizing a speech in 2008. It doesn't matter what your accomplishments are personally, you will be branded by your Principals actions and your own personal identity doesn't matter". That would be the fair thing to do so they know what they are in for before signing up for your class.

Our students must get permission to submit a paper they have previously used (their own) for another class. If they use any portion, but not the whole, they need to cite themselves just like a researcher who mentions any portion of previous journal publications he/she has published in a new publication.

From 1prof:
"I wonder if the principal (or students) are aware that they can also plagiarize themselves?"

Actually, last year a student reused large portions of a previously written essay in a different writing assignment for a subsequent class without attributing it. The teacher gave him an F, but the administration wanted to talk about it and "clarify policy." There was an article in the Central Times about it. I never heard how it was resolved.

To Sun Editors...

Yes I saw that but I just thought it was quite ironic (perhaps something else as well) that the stoppers one was not working! HA! I guess he could not be stopped then...that would be his excuse! HA!

I wonder if the principal (or students) are aware that they can also plagiarize themselves?

The most important words contained in the policy are: "Cheating or plagiarizing at any level, at any time, will not be tolerated."

At any level.

At any time.

Will not be tolerated.

It is simple. It is black and white. There is no ambiguity. There are no justifiable excuses, plagiarism just will not be tolerated. There are no extenuating circumstances. There are no errors in judgement, plagiarism just will not be tolerated.

The school board has no choice other than to enforce their own policies. To do otherwise who demonstrate a lack of leadership. To do otherwise would be to condone anyone to flaunt school district policies. To do otherwise would set a wrong moral and ethical example for all of our students.

OK, so the above link may not work, but we found this under the A+ Style Manual guidelines for students:

Plagiarism Academic Integrity Naperville Central students are challenged to address the academic process enthusiastically, diligently, and most importantly, honestly. The Naperville Central community expects that students do their work honestly, without cheating or plagiarizing. The integrity of the academic program depends upon an honest approach by our students. It is the responsibility of our students, teachers, and administration to protect the integrity of our academic program. Cheating or plagiarizing at any level, at any time, will not be tolerated. Consequently, when evidence of cheating or plagiarism exists, the assignment will receive no credit, the student has no opportunity to make up that work, and the deans will be notified. In addition, any student who chooses to share his or her work with another will also lose credit. That credit will be lost even if the student claims to have no knowledge of the other person’s using the original paper. The Naperville Central Discipline Policy in the student handbook (the Redbook) states that cheating is a Classification #1 violation. Plagiarism is cheating. It is the act of using another person’s ideas or expressions in your work without acknowledging the source. In other words, to plagiarize is to give the impression that you have written or thought something that you have in fact borrowed from someone else. Plagiarism is essentially theft – the stealing of someone else’s intellectual property.

Hmmm...I wonder why their following link does not work?

http://www.ncusd203.org/central/where/plagiarism_stoppers.html

Another personal example, I always ask in writing permission to use any comments a students makes of me for future publications or any of their work to use as examples in class, at a conference etc. If I were to write a paper using some of their thoughts or ideas from a paper they wrote for me, I would have to cite my source!

The NCHS board will have to make a decision on what message they want to send the world and their students about this very soon. What side of the fence do they want to be on? Just a few examples to think about...

Piper Kansas case:

http://media.www.dailytexanonline.com/media/storage/paper410/news/2002/02/07/News/Teacher.Resigns.After.Plagiarism.Controversy-503374.shtml

CBS News Producer Fired for Plagiarism:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18045526/

DT Columnist Fired for Plagiarism:

http://media.www.dailytoreador.com/media/storage/paper870/news/2008/02/05/Opinions/Dt.Columnist.Fired.For.Plagiarism-3187801.shtml

Chronicle Writer Fired:

http://media.www.dailyutahchronicle.com/media/storage/paper244/news/2006/11/30/News/Chronicle.Writer.Fired.For.Plagiarism-2514689.shtml

In addition...on the district's own website they even cite their own posting of the code of conduct education policies...as I am here!

http://www.naperville203.org/board/BoardCodeofConduct.asp

The role of the superintendent...

"Comply with all laws, rules, regulations and policies; and model ethical behavior at all times."

I would think if the superintendent is held this standard those under him/her should!

Also under the Board Policies

http://www.naperville203.org/board/Policies.asp

http://nt5.scbbs.com/cgi-bin/om_isapi.dll?clientID=131102144&depth=2&infobase=naperville.nfo&record={1584}&softpage=PL_frame

" Publications having a high quality of editorial content and effective format. All publications shall identify the School District originating school, department, or classroom and shall include the name of the Superintendent, the Building Principal, and/or the author and the publication date, and"

I suppose you only have to do this for some internal things & not in the case of the principal since they did not specifically spell out any other case?

To Kevin...

"you are going to type cast anyone who graduated from NCHS over what their Principal did? Come on, that is not the right thing to do and you know it. I am surprised that a college professor would say such a thing.

So let me see if I am getting this correct, no matter how good your students work is, if they once were a Redhawk (NCHS mascot) you would question the validity of their work based on what their Principal did? I thought teachers and professors are supposed to have an open mind when grading their students work, I guess you don’t fall into that category…"

I did not say I would not have an open mind...open mind means also questioning...that is not a closed mind to say I would question it. That is not saying I would not accept or give the student an A...it means if I got a paper from them it would perk my attention as I read it. I would not want to worry by having a NCHS student. I think what I am trying to express can best be explained with examples. Let me try these...first, lets say I have a student who is a parent who plagiarizes in my classroom. Next term I have a child of this parent. Don't you think that might perk my attention. If the parent believes this is ok, then what values have their taught their son or daughter? Do you think any employer would be quick to hire a new employee from Enron or Arthur Anderson after their publicized problems? I'm sure they did not say...go hire a bunch of them they will be out of jobs. Now, we know many of the employees there may have been ethical employees, but they would be questionable after the company fell into ethical problems. It may not be fair, but it definitely is understandable that one would be leery with a company culture they would be coming from. The culture of the company trickles down & you just don't know who may also be unethical from working in that culture. Another example perhaps to use for many of you concerning the seriousness of this is the former Harvard president who made very bias remarks toward women. He was fired...why? Because with attitudes & behaviors like this he creates a culture in which women are not viewed appropriately. It questions every decision concerning women and those who make decisions under him...women or men. This is the same concern with the principal here. And quite frankly, usually if a person has one major flaw in critical thinking and values it is not usually the only one.

To 204 parent...I assure you writing via email & postings is nowhere near writing for a professional journal. This is much more informal. I also do not use a much higher level of professional jargon typically. On occasion I will but this is just more like a conversation...passionate & free flowing it may be. I also am not using email/posting jargon as some may in a casual electronic discussion as others do. I'm not here to prove my credentials...and the credentials do not matter really...one does not need a PhD to know this is unethical behavior. One does not agree with someone simply because they have an advance degree or not. I'm sure there may be some with PhDs who may not agree with me, but there are equally those who would, and some of my colleagues would be even harsher than I have been. In fact, professors who have taken credit for their graduate student's work have been sued & lost their long existing tenure positions...this is no different.

To those who think it is just a "human mistake"...many human mistakes are made but the principal should be held to the same standards these students will be held to later in college at the very least. Ask yourselves if someone at your work took credit for your idea & made money off it would you just say "it was a human mistake?" If someone made "a human mistake" while you building your car & you suffered because of it would you be so unconcerned? Careful how you describe this. When students see adults being unethical it is very dangerous.

If you did this in another business setting, I can assure you, you would not just be reprimanded. This is what we are trying to teach these students, they can get fired if they are out there in the business world taking someone else's words as their own. To the person who comments on "not owning your words" that is typically if you put together training manuals, pamphlets etc which are general for the company. That is not true of speeches. If one president uses a part of a past president's speech & passes it off as his own idea this would be unethical. It also does not matter if it is internal speeches versus external...expect that if it was external I assure you there would be a major lawsuit! It should be no different in severity just because it is internal.

It also does not make the behavior any more ethical depending upon whether he was caught or who turned him in. It is unethical period! If someone steals from you but is not caught that does not mean it is not a crime. If someone steals and his ex-wife turns him in it does not make it unethical if he indeed did it...lets say a video from the home she turns in.

I also assure you that a union would not be able to protect unethical behavior as this. There have been professors fired for plagiarism in the past.

Sun Editors:

Can you post the speech, and highlight the parts that were borrowed?

Does this guy have a history or integrity lapses? Or was this a dumb mistake?

Did someone challenge him or was he the first to announce his mistake before the whistle was blown?

My comments:

If this is a blip, an honest mistake the guy deserves a pass.

If he is imitating his school board, who understated the devastating effects of the tax increase in the referendum a few years ago, then he should show some integrity and fall on his sword.

Looks to me like Dan Denys was right about this Caudill dude all along! Good call Dan, you nailed it!!!

I wish I were as perfect as those here who demand perfection of others working in difficult jobs. Too bad the the principal isn't in a union, then he would be protected from just about all aspects of job reality.

What a fine kettle of poison this is!

This was NO MISTAKE. Not even close. Merriam Webster defines a mistake as "a wrong action or statement proceeding from faulty judgment, inadequate knowledge, or inattention"."

If the Principal of a high school in Naperville has faulty judgement or inadequate knowledge then we all have grounds to question his competence to continue to serve. If it was a matter related to say accounting or human resources which are areas he is responsible for, but are not central to his skill set as a Principal then maybe some strong discipline might be appropriate.

However, when the Principal of a high school in Naperville has faulty judgement or inadequate knowledge on something like plagiarism, which is expected to be part of his critical skill set, then he is obviously not fit to serve.

There is no other way out of the box on this one if the school board intends to maintain the reputation of the school, the faculty, the students, and the administration. If the school is allowed to develop a bad reputation in terms of scholarship and academic integrity everyone who is associated with this school will suffer the consequences for years and years to come.

We must all stand up and defend the honor and integrity of everyone who are innocent in this unfortunate event and not allow any of there good names be sullied by the unprofessional and misguided actions of one person.

The school board has no option other than to stand tall and speak with a united voice that they will not tolerate any form of plagiarism by students, faculty, or administrators.

Do all D203 students now get 1 "free plagerism pass"
with an apology? Caudill deserves more than a reprimand

As an employee of the corporate world for a couple of decades, I have never "owned" any of my work, and if some executive higher up the food chain wanted to present it - fine! That happened quite a lot when I was on staff as an analyst.

Things are different in academia, however.

If this is a pattern by the principal, then larger action is required. If it's a one-time event, just grow up people, and take out your frustrations on someone else.

Being a principal is probably one of the more difficult jobs there is in education.

Dealing with students is much easier than dealing with

parents who can't be fired :D

faculty who are almost impossible to fire and

the main administration who for the most part are not protected by tenure

I would not be surprised if those calling for his head bear a personal grudge against him and are

students - who were disciplined or denied privilege

parents - stuck in the "Not My Kid" syndrome

staff - who either just dislike all administrators or have had some individual issues with him.

Why is an educated Principal lifting a speech from students? Did he flunk speech writing?

I would bet he only 'fessed up when someone caught it and pointed it out.

What would happen to any student that did that in a paper? Would saying "sorry" be ok for a student? Nope! Zero tolerance should mean ZERO TOLERANCE. That's the BEST EDUCATION to give our children is that it's NOT OK!

Caudill let one of his JV coaches get away with swearing at a WVHS coach in front of both teams over at WVHS several years ago and when notified, Caudill did nary a thing. I guess the "f" word is A-OK at NCHS. It's not at WVHS. Jim Schmid, our Principal, has standards he enforces. New idea for Caudill, eh?

Caudill is not a man of character - he just looks good. When someone shows you their true character - believe him. NCHS, he just showed you his true character!

Lose Caudill, NCHS, and get someone who is truly worthy of your school. He's taking you down!

Hey, I wonder what the EX-HS Newspaper Teacher has to say about this?

He's not a leader I would want for my kids!

"Grammar". It's spelled "grammar".

I'm not surprised - when a Naper. Central HS coach was caught swearing at another school , he sat on his hands and did nothing. He has not protected the students. He looks good, but his character is finally showing! We need to callfor ZERO TOLERANCE! He needs to move on!

Jim Caudill makes thousands of good decisions each and every day for the students at Central - he is fair, balanced and an amazingly hard worker. Yes, he stumbled, yes, he has made a mistake but he acknowledges it and admits it. Why hang the guy for being human? This is not his regular "MO" just a terrible misstep. Don't you have anything else to do with your time then pounce on a good person? Shame, shame, shame on you. Have you ever made a mistake? Yes, we are all human give him a break.

Het 1Prof,

I think you've exposed yourself as a fake. You're no more a college professor than I am! Your spelling (or lack thereof), grammer, and punctuation are a dead giveaway as they are horrible.

If by a remote possibility you ARE a college prof, I don't think you'd need to worry about an NCHS student showing up in your classroom. They're all smart enough to go to better schools than the one you'd "teach" at!

I think the whole situation is being blown way out of proportion. Caudill obviously made a mistake, and was man enough to call the Superintendent and inform him immediately. He's put in a lot of good years as an administrator and principal, and just like the rest of us, does not deserve to be judged on the basis of one mistake.

Give him a formal reprimand, have him publicly apologize to the students and staff, and move on past this. The world has far more pressing issues than a high school principal who made a stupid mistake.

Some people here seem to think that the Principal is widely respected and looked up to in these matters at Central. I assure you this admiration is reserved for the teachers who actually spend their time directly influencing us.

I wanted to comment on 1Prof's comment posted on May 23,2008 at 10:53 p.m. The quote I want to comment on is this one..."At this point I would not want to see any NCHS students in my classroom. I would be certainly wondering about the integrity of their work."

Now I don't agree with what Jim Caudill has done and I think what he has done is unacceptable and he should face serious consequences for his actions...however I also think what you are saying is also unacceptable too...you are going to type cast anyone who graduated from NCHS over what their Principal did? Come on, that is not the right thing to do and you know it. I am surprised that a college professor would say such a thing.

So let me see if I am getting this correct, no matter how good your students work is, if they once were a Redhawk (NCHS mascot) you would question the validity of their work based on what their Principal did? I thought teachers and professors are supposed to have an open mind when grading their students work, I guess you don’t fall into that category…

I understand that you were probably outraged as are most people who read this story, but can you honestly say that you feel every student who graduated from NCHS should have their integrity questioned based on what their Principal did? Most students go through that school in four years with little to no contact with their Principal…let’s keep an open mind for their sakes and let the students work speak for themselves. Don’t cast judgment on them for what their Principal did as that is not fair to the graduates and current students of NCHS.

As a college professor I just can't believe this! He does not have to ask for permission & should know this. All he has to do is give her credit by stating her name in the speech. He is suppose to be a role model of what TO DO not what NOT to do! No wonder so many college freshman do not even understand what plagiarism & copyright is! At this point I would not want to see any NCHS students in my classroom. I would be certainly wondering about the integrity of their work & that is so sad he has done this! He should be fired! We should be holding Adults at higher standards than children. He should know better! Childern & young adults are just learning, but he is well beyond this. Adults do make mistakes but they pay the adult level consquences when they do! This is not a mistake! All he had to do is place her name in the speech. How is he holding his students (AP or not!) accountable when they do not provide credit? If they do not fire him then all the students will learn is you get a slap on the hand. College students can be given an F in a college course even if they have an A & this is their last paper they are turning in. They can also be kicked out of some colleges! When his students will pay this kind of consquence perhaps the next year, then he need to be held to even higher standards than they will even receive.

To those defending him that he is a good man...ya...good men & women do make mistakes & still have to pay the consequences. If you are an educator saying this I think you should be fired as well if you do not understand this. Just because you do good things does not mean you should not be punished. If anything, if you are such a good person you should know better & you still did it...punishment should be even more severe!

I don't know, is anyone keeping an official tally?

Put me down as in favor of firing him immediately.

We simply must demand the school board has Zero Tolerance for a principal with an ethical lapse of judgement.

All he had to do was give her credit and there would be no issue.

He did not want to give her credit but wanted to give himself the credit for a speech he did not write. He wanted the glory he did not deserve!

There was no mistake here. He prepared and planned. It was pre-meditated.

He was hoping he would not get caught.

Well, he got caught.

He took a chance and the price for his consequences must be paid.

My suggested price is termination...teach the rascals a lesson and let it be a deterrent to other City Administrators and Principals.

How shameful when they have to copy the speech of a student while making 150k and more in annual salary...disgusting...despicable!!!

Can these school officials stay focused and out of trouble a bit longer so we can first try to clean the mess at City Hall?

If Jim had gotten around to ask Megan if he could use her speech and she had said "No." then what would he have done?

What if Caudill asked for permission to use Nowicki-Plackett's speech and she said no?

Obviously Ms. Nowicki-Plackett has class. There is no indication that she has been involved in this coming to light and she has had no comment on the issue to the press. Maybe this isn't THAT big of a deal.

I'm sure that the person that contacted the press is a particular disgruntled employee. Wasn't the high school's newspaper sponsor - also an English teacher - just ousted from her position due to a First Amendment disagreement? Seems like she might be trying to make a point here.

Who had an axe to grind? That is the best thought question you can ask? It doesn't matter how it came to light. The fact that it happened is all that mattered.

He is the principal. He is at the top of the food chain for making a lasting impression in terms of example and character in front of these students. He is responsible for enforcing discipline upon the student if one of them is found to have been cheating.

Let's not forget that he made a conscious, premeditated decision to plagiarize. It wasn't spur-of-the-moment... he had to go find a copy of this old speech and I'm willing to bet he read it a few times and maybe even practiced it some so he wasn't tripping over the words as he read it.

Let see, a couple of years ago a real dumb ass cop left his firearm in a 203 elementary school bathroom and he got off scott free for his stupidity and incompetence. Last week a real dumb ass student brought an air soft gun to a middle school and 203 is ready to expel him. Seems like 203 has a real big problem being able to hold adults accountable for their actions the same as they are able to hold students accountable.

Kids make mistakes and are expected to pay the price. Adults make mistakes and sometimes the stakes are much higher, especially for someone who is in a position of being a role model.

The school board should immediately remove him from his duties and begin whatever steps are necessary to fire this creep and keep him as far away as possible from our students.

There are lots of things kids don't get a second chance with. There are also a lot of things adults don't get a second chance with. For a principal this is one of them.

This is not even a Commencement speech, it is a speech delivered at the Senior Commemorative! Lighten up for Pete's sake!

Did Caudill make a mistake? Yes.
Did he own up to it? Yes.
Did he apologize? Yes.
Should he be fired? Are you kidding me?!

Great observations by "203 Parent". Something more stern than an apology is warranted. A reprimand? Possibly. But to fire someone over something like this is ludicrous.

I too, would be curious to know who called both the Sun and The Daily Herald to report this. Who has an axe to grind with him? Hmmmm.

People don't like tattletales!

Jim is a good man and has the students best interest in mind. He puts in countless hours and his heart in his job. We are all very quick to judge when it is someone else on the line. We all make mistakes. It is sad that someone who truely cares about every student at Central is being attacked. How many stories have been written about the countless students and staff Jim has helped. It makes me sad that we highlight his mistake instead of the many positive things he has done for Central and Naperville. I am behind Jim, maybe it is because I know he is a good man with a good heart.

This dude sounds like he would fit in nicely with the fine leaders in 204.

I'm a healthy participant on the Sun Metea blogs so I feel I can make this statement with some authority.

It seems a shame to lose your job over a commencement speech, but I really think the District is going to have to do more than force Mr. Caudill to "publicly take responsibility for his mistakes." How easy it would have been for him to start his speech saying "At 10:30 last night I was looking through past commencement speeches for inspiration and realized that the words of Ms. so-and-so are as appropriate today as they were in 1997 when she graduated. By the way, she's sitting right there, so if you like what I'm about to say, please tell her so afterwards."

I would be curious to know who called him on it and told the Sun.

He must be fired immediately for stealing a student’s speech, which indicates his total disregard for the education system. A principal who can’t come up with a speech without plagiarizing someone work doesn’t deserve to continue employment in School District 203.

Seems like Mr. Caudill should be subject to the same treatment that one of his students would receive for doing the same thing; an F. An F in the real world = you're FIRED.

How much are we paying Mr. Caudill? Isn't the speech part of his job description? Didn't he anticipate that he would have to write a speech each year or at least use the same one that he himself authored? What an example! Give him the axe. He will probably collect a sizable pension just the same. Genesis hit the nail on the head.

Give him a zero.

He should find another line of work in which children are not made to bow to his authority or show him repect. Children should be allowed and encouraged to be true to themselves and not to blindly follow an authority figure who demonstrates deceit, laziness, and cowardice as an example.

As the parent of an incoming Freshman I attended one of Caudill's recommended discussion groups. His sage advise was to get your child to take as many AP classes, stating that this was a way to keep your child 'away' from the average and below-average students!! My child is B-C, not part of the 'holy-gifted', therefore, one to be avoided? Looks to me like Caudill is one of the types to be avoided!
Let's talk a moment about plagiarism, Mr. Caudill... Can't write your own original thoughts, or re-use one of your own earlier papers? Well, then, it's o.k. to plagiarize from one of your 'gifted' students, right? Just another case of a teacher riding on the coat-tails of their students. "Push, push, push-make the kids do the work so I look good as principal of the high school with the most AP students" What about setting an example of how to be a real adult-a man of character?
Phoooey. Keep your arrogance. I teach my kids to do their own work, be honest and proud of their own work. The world is changing. These kids can see right through us all. Are we teaching them how to get ahead no matter who they step on (this true author) or are we teaching them to be people of character? I think what the principal is is just as important as what he turns out.

The blind can't lead the blind.

He should find another line of work. He had numerous oppportunities to rectify the situation, but didn't. You just can't have that lapse in judgment.

Excuses:

I'll call her - its after 10:30 pm
I'll email her - forgot?
Next day - couldn't catch her

How lame!