The Conestoga Valley School District says it did not pressure Millersville University to punish a student teacher from Strasburg for alleged unprofessional conduct.

Stacy L. Snyder, a former student teacher at Conestoga Valley High School, filed a lawsuit against Millersville University after the university declined to award her a teaching certificate and a degree in education.

She did not name CV or any of its teachers in the suit, but school district attorney Howard L. Kelin said criticism of CV teachers in the suit was unfair.

Snyder, a 27-year-old single mother of two sons, spent about three months in 2006 working as a student teacher at Conestoga Valley High School before controversial photographs posted on her MySpace Web site came to light.

A photograph showing Snyder, a dean's list student, wearing a pirate hat and drinking from a plastic cup was released along with the lawsuit.

A caption reading "Drunken Pirate" appeared underneath the photograph.

Shortly before graduation in May 2006, Snyder said, she received a review from her advisers at the high school that gave her an "unsatisfactory" rating in "professionalism."

The teachers gave the university a copy of a photograph that was posted on Snyder's Web site, she said.

Kelin said the photograph released along with the lawsuit was not what was submitted by the teachers. The photograph they submitted, Kelin said, shows Snyder holding a plastic cup and making a hand gesture while wearing the pirate hat.

The college subsequently declined to award Snyder a teacher certificate or education degree and gave her an English degree instead.

Kelin disputes the allegation that the teachers, Deann Buffington and Nicole Reinking, influenced the college to withhold the degree.

Snyder was given a poor evaluation based on her performance at the high school and was warned not to direct students to her MySpace page, Kelin said.

However, Kelin said Snyder continued to direct students to the Web page.

"Snyder required 'significant remediation' as a teacher, and her evaluation reflected serious performance problems," Kelin said. "Contrary to what is alleged in Ms. Snyder's lawsuit, nobody from the school district threatened that it would not accept any more Millersville University student teachers unless it punished Ms. Snyder."

Snyder mentioned on her Web site she had been warned about posting online messages to students, Kelin said.

According to a statement issued by the school district, "Snyder's Web site invites students to continue looking at her page, and in apparent response to Ms. Reinking's advice that such an invitation was unprofessional says, 'I don't think that they would stoop that low as to mess with my future."

Snyder submitted an apology to the high school and university after being told she would not receive an education degree or teaching certificate.

In the letter, released by the district, she wrote, "This incident has caused me to open my eyes and realize that I am the only person to blame."