Reporter Went Undercover in a High School, 32 Years Later They’re Still Dealing With the Fallout

Shann Nix, a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle took on an assignment that would change her life forever. Instead of hopping on a flight to her honey-moon, the 26-year-old stepped back into the classroom for a chance at a breaking story. 

Although the reporter was terrified of being outed by the students, she now has no regrets. She tells the San Francisco Chronicle that while it may not have been the most ethical undercover mission, she’s proud of her exposé, citing rats running around the halls and the change that came out of it. 

Until the 23-year-old intern snuck into a Playboy Mansion party during Hugh Hefner’s second wedding to dish on the salacious event. 

A vote in 1978 to limit property tax increases was the original cause of the school-wide budget cuts. Since property taxes fund public schools in their district, the decrease of money coming in a few years later started to have dramatic consequences. 

On top of the faculty reduction, updates and maintenance were forgotten at schools, and extracurricular activities took a hit. Test scores began to decline, and California’s students were soon well below the national average.

Thankfully, the district Superintendent at the time, Waldemar “Bill” Rojas, allowed the reporter into the school with a few stipulations to protect the students’ safety.

While it was the reporter’s job to fit in and get the inside scoop from fellow students, she was strictly forbidden from engaging in any delinquent behavior. This caused Nix to straddle a fine line between seeming cool to the other students but not aggravating the already tense situation.

She was given a measly $100 to find clothes that would help her fit in. She recounts that the hardest part was remembering to leave her wedding ring on her dresser at home. She even wore it at once and felt mortified while looking down at her hand during French class. 

However, this part of the job started to cut into her personal life. Her real-life husband had to stop answering the phone all together in case her “boyfriend” called her, looking for a date. 

From English teachers scouring used book shops in their off time with their own money in order to get every student a book, to the French teacher who taught three different levels of the language in a single period to accommodate multiple splits in one classroom. 

As the school was infested with rodents and couldn’t afford an exterminator, one student used a dead rat to play a nasty prank on American democracy teacher, Dennis Gregg. Instead of shying away from the incident, he took it as an opportunity to teach about criminality and intent. 

While some teachers refused to believe Nix’s true identity, others were grateful the hardships that they were facing would finally be placed in the public spotlight. Unfortunately, the wheels of justice turn slowly, and many students at Washington High became even more unruly and restless, as nothing was being done during their tenure to improve the school.