There was a rally yesterday at Bronxdale High School to protest the DOE's refusal to remove its principal John Chase, despite his horrific record of sexually harassment; this follows last week's rally at Bronx Science, of former students protesting the egregious behavior of principal Valerie Reidy, which has led to a steady exodus of teachers leaving the school. (See also the NY Magazine article about Reidy's mismanagement of the school, especially the hundreds of comments from former students and teachers.) Below are the comments of Lynne Winderbaum, former Bronx UFT HS district leader, about how DOE protecting abusive principals is standard operating procedure:
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| John Chase |
Following the deplorable moral standards of his predecessors under Bloomberg, Dennis Walcott staunchly asserts that he will not remove principal John Chase from his leadership position at Bronxdale High School.
I represented teachers for many years as a UFT chapter leader and borough representative. Given the unique position of teachers and the damage done if they display immoral behavior in front of children, there has been no tolerance for them to remain in the classroom after even an allegation of misconduct. Teachers are immediately removed pending a hearing to err on the side of safety. Yet the Department of Education does not apparently see the need to protect staff or students from abusive principals.
As far as school staffers wanting him to remain in his post, his entire teaching staff consists of eight untenured teachers (another good argument for tenure). They can be fired for any reason at any time while on probation. So their position must be taken with a grain of salt until they can speak without fear of consequences.
But this is just the latest example of the practice of DOE ignoring abusive and even illegal behavior on the part of principals:
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| Iris Blige |
- When 400 people marched outside Roosevelt High School in support of teacher Raqnel James, a respected and beloved tenured teacher on March 13, 2009, the Department of Education stood idly by as she was shipped to the rubber room and arrested.
The principal, Iris Blige, had fabricated charges to have her removed from the school after James had taken the principal’s friend to court for unpaid rent. It cost James her job, three years of salary and legal battles until she was finally found “not guilty” last month in a trial. Previously, the Special Investigator had reported that Blige had told assistant principals to give teachers “U” (for Unsatisfactory) ratings, which can imperil their careers, on the basis of personal grudges. And yet DOE has done nothing but fine her a measly $7500.
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| Richard Bost |
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| Valerie Reidy |
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| Barbara Kirkweg |
- The NYC DOE keeps Barbara Kirkweg, principal of Bronx Aerospace HS, in place even after numerous complaints by parents of harsh and unfair disciplinary practices, teachers accusing her of falsifying grades, and a finding by the Air Force that $66,800 in ROTC funds were unaccounted for.
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| Anthony Rotunno |
- Despite five years of allegations about the misrule of Anthony Rotunno, principal of Kennedy HS, including changing test scores, he remained in his job until the state comptroller found him guilty in 2010 of allowing staff to misuse $90,000 raised by students. Then he finally forced to resign.
The protection of abusive principals at all costs appears to be the unwavering policy of the Department of Education. It is again time to fight back against this policy and demand the removal of John Chase. -- Lynne Winderbaum
10 comments:
Add Nancy Gannon to this list, former Principal of School for Democracy and Leadership. Ran a failing school now is a Quality Reviewer in Tweed.
I was told by a UFT official that former Bronx District Representative David Shulman is now involved in the mess at Bronx Science. If so can you find out what he and the UFT have been doing to help rid the school of this tyrant.
Its fair to focus on ineffective principals, but if if this is an "independent" blog by parents than I am confused on why individual teachers are not named and pictured as well. While the majority of teachers work hard and are effective, there are many many teachers in NYC that are abusive to our children. In certain cases you may even call it educational malpractice. Who is "protecting" these ineffective, abusive educators? I certainly hope that you use this forum to truly advance the interest of our kids by bringing to light abuse by any educator despite title.
In response to the question about why not focus on teachers too, as a parent, I say "good point." Then I reread the post and noted:
"Teachers are immediately removed pending a hearing to err on the side of safety. Yet the Department of Education does not apparently see the need to protect staff or students from abusive principals."
Great piece!
I wonder if the DoE protects all principals, or goes out of its way to support the most abusive.
Jonathan
Its incorrect information to say that administrators are not as easily moved to protect students. In fact, in several districts administrators do not have as strong unions or even any unions thus making it far more easy to remove them. I say that whoever wrote this post provide us some facts on actual numbers. Just because there are a few examples that seem absurd does not mean we can generalize. Let's use our critical thinking skills please!!
Its incorrect information to say that administrators are not as easily moved to protect students. In fact, in several districts administrators do not have as strong unions or even any unions thus making it far more easy to remove them. I say that whoever wrote this post provide us some facts on actual numbers. Just because there are a few examples that seem absurd does not mean we can generalize. Let's use our critical thinking skills please!!
Its incorrect information to say that administrators are not as easily moved to protect students. In fact, in several districts administrators do not have as strong unions or even any unions thus making it far more easy to remove them. I say that whoever wrote this post provide us some facts on actual numbers. Just because there are a few examples that seem absurd does not mean we can generalize. Let's use our critical thinking skills please!!
Last commentor who posted three times:
The article is about NYC principals - not Westchester, Rockland, etc. NYC principals are unionized and are offered more protections by the DoE.
Let's use our "reading for details" skills, shall we?
I posted three times.
To the last person who posted: You obviously cannot think critically or read for details. If you read my post clearly I never claim that NYC principals are not unionized. Rather, I say that principals in general do not have unions or have unions with less protections than teachers. If you take a course on labor unions you might understand why.
Finally, have you read and compared/contrasted both contracts? Even a 6th grade student can find enough evidence to show you that the teachers' contract offers more protections.
Let me know if you have actually read the contracts or if you are simply making baseless claims. I know of a few excellent NYC teachers who can teach you the necessary critical thinking skills.
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