Haverhill High biology teacher terminated after 10 days

Sep. 16—HAVERHILL — A former Dracut High School science teacher who left his job after distributing a controversial sex survey deemed "very highly inappropriate" was hired to teach freshman biology at Haverhill High School one day before the start of the new school year.

Haverhill School Superintendent Margaret Marotta said the teacher, Eric Jackson, was hired Aug. 30 and then terminated Sept. 10 after it was decided he "wasn't a good fit for Haverhill."

"We learned about what happened on his last job after he was hired here and since we have 90 days to terminate an employee under the Massachusetts employee probationary period, we terminated his employment with the district," she said.

"There were no incidents of concern while he was here," she added.

Jackson was placed on administrative leave at Dracut High in May and later resigned after distributing a "Sexual Temperament Questionnaire" from the 2015 book "Come as You Are: The Surprising New Science That Will Transform Your Sex Life," according to widely published news reports.

The survey, which has been reviewed by The Eagle-Tribune, was handed out to students in his honors anatomy class, Dracut school officials said, and included questions about sexual arousal.

Students were asked to rate how much a prompt applied to them on a scale of 0 to 4, answering statements such as, "Unless things are 'just right' it is difficult for me to become aroused," and, "Having sex in a different setting than usual is a real turn on for me."

Marotta said it is unclear how Jackson made it through the standard employee reference check process, but acknowledged that his direct supervisor in Dracut was not contacted as is required by School District policy.

"We are reviewing and revamping as rules only work if they are followed," Marotta said.