Posted on 05/26/24
| News Source: FOX45
Baltimore, MD - May 26, 2024 - An investigation into the former Pikesville High School athletic director is raising serious questions over why he was hired by Baltimore County Public Schools in the first place.
Dazhon Darien was arrested in April and charged with theft, retaliating against a witness and stalking.
He’s accused of trying to frame Pikesville Principal Eric Eiswert using a fake recording of racist and antisemitic comments that police say was created with artificial intelligence.
On Thursday, Baltimore County Schools Superintendent Dr. Myriam Rogers faced questions over the school system’s hiring practices, which have come under scrutiny following Darien’s arrest.
As first reported by The Baltimore Banner, and independently confirmed by Project Baltimore, Darien appears to have misrepresented his credentials to get the BCPS job for which he was not qualified.
Darien had been at the school less than a year when he was arrested. He was hired as the athletic director in July 2023, earning an annual salary of $102,824 according to district records.
But Project Baltimore’s investigation is raising questions over how Darien got a six-figure job with Baltimore County Schools, when according to the Maryland State Department of Education, he didn’t even have a teaching certificate.
“It appears he did not meet the minimum requirements to be an athletic director in Pikesville,” Project Baltimore’s Chris Papst told Dr. Rogers at a press conference Thursday.
To work as an athletic director in Baltimore County Public Schools, a teaching certificate is one of the minimum requirements, along with graduation from an accredited college or university with a bachelor’s degree.
Project Baltimore obtained a copy of Darien’s resume through a source inside the school system.
According to the resume, he attended Langston University in Oklahoma, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in history education in 2011.
A campus newspaper article from 2011 identifies Darien as a student radio host. Another local newspaper article from March 2012, identifies Darien as a sophomore education major, but according to his resume, he earned his master’s degree from Langston that year.
And he didn’t stop there, his resume shows he earned another master’s degree, just one year later in 2013, from Southern New Hampshire University.
That would mean he earned three college degrees by the age of 21. Darien’s education history would be impressive if it were true.
In an email, Langtson University confirmed to Project Baltimore “Darien did not graduate from Langston University and did not earn a bachelor's or master's degree.”
As for Southern New Hampshire, it appears he was not a student there in 2013. Project Baltimore checked, and according to the university’s records, he was only enrolled half time for about two months in 2016.
Despite what his resume shows, Project Baltimore found Darien’s work history is checkered with mostly short-term jobs across at least five states.
“Can you explain to taxpayers how Mr. Darien was hired for this position and does BCPS check resumes for accuracy?” Papst questioned Dr. Rogers on Thursday.
According to Dr. Rogers, the school system’s hiring process includes checking references and credentials in addition to a criminal background check and fingerprinting.
“Those steps are a regular part of our process as a school system to hire individuals,” said Rogers. “Those steps were followed with this individual. But that doesn’t mean, even if any individual passes through successfully all of these steps, that there can’t be misinformation.”
But the red flags apparently missed by Baltimore County Schools are glaring.
In 2021, his resume says he was employed as the Dean of Student Engagement at Earlham College in Indiana. At the same time, his resume says he was also working as a high school football coach in Texas.
In a letter introducing himself to the Texas high school community, he says he spent “the last 8 years in Higher Education as an Administrator in Student Affairs.” He also references his master’s degree and claims to be pursuing a Doctorate in Educational Leadership.
That doctorate, according to the resume he gave BCPS, was obtained in 2023 from St. Edwards University in Austin, Texas.
According to university records, Darien did not earn a doctorate from St. Edwards University in 2023.
But he did land a job with Baltimore County Schools that year, earning a six-figure salary for a position he was clearly unqualified for based on the district’s own requirements.
“Just as a quick follow up, Mr. Darien went to Paint Branch High School. You were a principal at Paint Branch High School?” Papst asked Dr. Rogers on Thursday. “Did you know Mr. Darien prior to him being hired at BCPS? Did you know any of his family members?”
“No. He's much older. Or maybe I'm much older, but no,” replied Dr. Rogers.
Dr. Rogers said she had no role in hiring Dazhon Darien, and the school system is investing in tools to prevent something like this from happening again.
“We are closing those loopholes, and we're working together across agencies, to cross-check and, you know, minimize the occurrences that if someone does make a poor choice, for us to catch them as soon as possible,” explained Rogers. “Parents can be assured that the Department of Human Resources does its due diligence.”
The superintendent says school officials are recommending terminating Darien’s employment. He is currently out on bond awaiting trial, which is scheduled for June 11.