A former Brooklyn after-school director allegedly wrote herself 153 checks over six years from a program meant for elementary schoolers. She spent the money on hotel stays, liquor and a real estate firm that specializes in luxury properties, prosecutors said.
Shalisha Jackson, 37, from Short Hills, New Jersey, was arraigned last week in Brooklyn Supreme Court on an indictment charging her with second-degree grand larceny, third-degree grand larceny, petit larceny, second-degree forgery and second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said in a press release.
Justice Danny Chun released her without bail and ordered her to return to court on Aug. 12.
Jackson began working for the city Department of Education as a paraprofessional in 2008 and served as the director of the afterschool program at P.S. 146, from 2016 to 2024, prosecutors said. The school, located at 610 Henry St. in Carroll Gardens, is a “lottery-admission” school and enrolls about 640 kids.
Between June 4, 2018 and Oct. 9, 2024, Jackson allegedly wrote 153 checks from that account to herself, totaling roughly $77,000. She also allegedly routed roughly $33,000 or more from parents’ checks and Zelle payments meant for the school, to herself.
Investigators also alleged that Jackson deposited two checks meant for Madiba Prep Middle School into her personal checking account; one for $714 dated June 9, 2022 and the other for $320 dated June 11, 2022.
The District Attorney’s office did not explain how she came to possess checks for Madiba Prep, a high-needs Bedford-Stuyvesant middle school where more than 90% of students are economically disadvantaged.
In total prosecutors allege Jackson stole about $111,000.
“For more than six years, this defendant allegedly used her position of trust to systematically steal money meant to support the education and well-being of Brooklyn children,” Gonzalez said. “We will continue to hold accountable those who opt to line their pockets with money meant to enrich our communities.”
The indictment is the latest regarding thefts from school-level accounts that the Special Commissioner of Investigation for the New York City School District has flagged as a recurring problem. In its 2025 annual report which was released in March, they said they identified nearly $2 million in losses from the DOE and city retirement infrastructure. This number is roughly double that of the prior year.
Special Commissioner Anastasia Coleman, whose office helped investigate Jackson’s activity said funds are meant to serve students and families, “not to be misappropriated for personal benefit.”
Senior Assistant District Attorney Pamela Lowe of the office’s Public Integrity Bureau is prosecuting the case. An indictment is not proof of guilt and Jackson is assumed innocent unless and until proven otherwise.
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