Rawlings Elementary Assistant Principal moved to Talbot Elementary after committee finds that he violated ACPS policy by removing pants during a weigh-in

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Dr. Dakeyan “Dr. Dré” Graham, former Assistant Principal at Rawlings Elementary and Director of Educational Equity, has been moved to the Assistant Principal role at Talbot Elementary after an employee at Rawlings reported that she felt uncomfortable when he removed his pants during a weigh-in at the end of a weight loss challenge. Graham is also on probation in Hillsborough County after pleading to reckless driving with alcohol as a significant factor after a February 2024 arrest on a DUI charge. Graham was Florida Teacher of the Year in 2020, and, according to his email signature, he is the Conductor and Musical Director of the Alachua County Youth Orchestra.

According to a report filed by an investigator hired by Alachua County Public Schools (ACPS), Rawlings Elementary held a “Biggest Loser”-style weight loss challenge between August 12 and October 4, with prizes for the top three “losers.” The weight loss challenge was organized by a clerical assistant in the school’s main office.

“I was in shock and I didn’t know what to say.”

The employee reported to her supervisor that on October 4, the final day of the challenge, Graham came in at about 7 a.m. to weigh in; she said she followed him into the school’s clinic, where the scale was on the floor, facing the back of the clinic. She said Graham removed his shoes and jacket, and then he unbuttoned his jeans and placed them on the clinic cot. In a written statement, she said, “at this time my mind was thinking, maybe he has on work-out clothing on [sic] underneath, as his pants were completely off it appeared as a man’s undergarment.” She said she squatted on the floor to read his weight off the scale and then recorded the weight. She wrote, “At this time Dr. Graham put clothes back on quickly and walked out of the clinic.” She said she was busy all day, but the incident bothered her, and she decided to “bounce it off” her supervisor.

In a written statement, her supervisor wrote that she asked the employee to come by after school, and the employee came to her office at 1:55 p.m. The supervisor said the employee told her that when Graham got on the scale, “I was in shock and I didn’t know what to say.” The supervisor wrote that the door to the clinic was open the entire time and the scale was not visible from the hall. She wrote that there were “no students or anyone else in the clinic, and no one walked in during the incident… [T]here were no suggestive words or inappropriate gestures from Dr. Graham. There was no eye contact or anything that would suggest an alternative intention. Per [the employee], ‘he seemed to think that he was in a doctor’s office and that this is just what you do at a doctor’s office. It was very innocent and without any action or words that would make me think otherwise.'”

Supervisor found action “inappropriate”

The supervisor said she told the employee that Graham’s action was “inappropriate” and that the incident needed to be reported to Exceptional Student Education Director Kathy Black. Black was not in her office at that time, but the supervisor wrote that she reported the incident to Black about 30 minutes later. Together, Black and the supervisor contacted then-Superintendent Shane Andrew, who told them to report it to Human Resources, and they did that.

Graham: “Having been an athlete who weighs in before competitions, when cutting weight this has been the protocol for final weigh-ins.”

The investigator reported that he interviewed Graham, who said he had gone to the clinic at about 7:10 a.m.: “I distinctly remember before any students were allowed on campus.” Graham said participants only weighed in once, at the beginning and the end, and this was the final weigh-in. He said he was the first to weigh in, so the employee was not set up yet, and she went to get the scale. Graham said several others were in the main office and were talking about the weight loss challenge before he entered the clinic. He reportedly said, “I stated that I was going to do a proper weigh in and removed articles of clothing to weigh the least.”

Graham reportedly told the investigator that while chatting with the employee, he “removed articles of clothing leaving on my undergarments. Having been an athlete who weighs in before competitions, when cutting weight this has been the protocol for final weigh-ins.” He said he lost six pounds, and they talked about his weight loss while he was putting my clothes back on.

The investigator asked specifically which articles of clothing he took off, and Graham reportedly responded, “My jacket, my shirt, my jeans, my shoes.” The investigator asked which articles of clothing remained, and Graham reportedly responded, “My socks and my undergarments… My boxer shorts.”

When the investigator asked why he took his clothes off, Graham reportedly responded, “To maximize my weight loss and to do what I know to do for final weigh-ins when cutting weight.”

Graham disagreed with the employee’s statement that she squatted to read his weight and said she did not. He said the employee did not indicate that she was uncomfortable: “We continued to have conversations as I was taking my clothes off and it was a joking, casual conversation… If she felt uncomfortable, all she had to do was tell me and I would have stopped if I was making her feel some type of way.”

Office employee: “She would jokingly be like take off your shirt or your pants… everyone laughed and was like well your clothes do make you weigh heavier.”

An employee who works in the office said she was in the office when Graham came to weigh in and said she and other employees weighed in after Graham. She said she was standing “Up against the wall inside the clinic” when Graham weighed in, countering other witnesses who said Graham and the employee who recorded the weight were the only people inside the clinic. She also said the employee who recorded the weight “would say take off whatever you need to do your weigh-in. She would jokingly be like take off your shirt or your pants… everyone laughed and was like well your clothes do make you weigh heavier.” The office employee also said Graham only took off “his shoes, blazer, and walkie-talkie,” also countering other witnesses, including Graham’s own account that he had taken off his jeans.

Graham later submitted an “additional detail” that “I was the first to weigh-in on the morning of the 4th of October. This is a significant fact to reinforce that the weigh-in area was not set up upon my entry into the clinic.”

Investigations Review Committee: “probable cause for disciplinary action”

The investigator found that the Investigations Review Committee had to determine whether or not a preponderance of evidence indicates that Graham violated two school board policies:

• 1210 – [A] district administrator shall “not engage in harassment or discriminatory conduct which unreasonably interferes with an individual’s performance of professional or work responsibilities or with the orderly processes of education or which creates a hostile, intimidating, abusive, offensive, or oppressive environment; and, further, shall make reasonable efforts to assure that each individual is protected from such harassment or discrimination. “
• 1362 – Anti-harassment (full policy here)

The committee met on October 31 and “found that there is probable cause for disciplinary action against Dr. Dakeyan Graham.” The committee recommended a written reprimand and reassignment, and according to a reassignment document, he was moved to the Assistant Principal position at Talbot Elementary, effective November 15. The reassignment document notes that this is a “lateral move: location change only.” According to the document, Graham makes $75,224 per year.

DUI arrest leads to plea on reduced charge

Graham, formerly the ACPS Director of Educational Equity, was assigned to Rawlings Elementary beginning July 1, 2024. He was arrested in Hillsborough County for driving under the influence on February 3, 2024, with two breath samples reportedly measuring  0.125 g/210L, well over the legal limit of 0.08 g/210L. On September 10, he entered a plea of nolo contendere to reckless driving with alcohol as a significant factor, a reduced charge, and was sentenced to 12 months of probation with adjudication of guilt withheld. Additional conditions of his probation include being evaluated for alcohol abuse and obtaining treatment if recommended, no possession of alcohol or illegal drugs, and a prohibition on visiting any location whose primary source of income is from the sale or distribution of alcohol. He must complete 50 community service hours and a victim impact panel, and his vehicle was impounded for 10 days. When we asked whether ACPS had conducted an investigation of his DUI arrest, the response was, “There are no other investigations on Dr. Graham, active or otherwise.”