Does DOE have a race problem? Preet Bharara says yes

Yesterday,  US Attorney Preet Bharara sued NYC DOE for taking no action against a principal, Minerva Zanca, who allegedly discriminated against three black  teachers at the Pan American International High School in Elmhurst - making outrageously racist comments and urging the Assistant Principal to find their performance unsatisfactory so they could be fired. The DOE's refusal to act continued even after protests at the school, the media ran stories about the case in July 2013, the teachers filed lawsuits, and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission found in their favor in May 2014.

See Norm Scott's blog today about a letter sent to the Superintendent and several DOE administrators from the teachers at the school in June 2013..  The staff complained about the principal creating an "abusive environment and culture of fear",  cuts to programs for students with interrupted formal education [SIFE],  and an  increase in class sizes, leading to the decision of many teachers to flee the school.

When the DOE took no action, this was followed by a petition that garnered more than 45,000 signatures, highlighting the racist behavior of the principal, press releases from the school's staff, and rallies at the school in July 2013 which were covered by the media, when these teachers filed complaints.   See below, a TV news segment from Channel 11 news and Channel 7 news, with interviews with two of the teachers and the assistant principal involved.

Norm also mentions that the other Assistant Principal at the school at the time, who didn't go public with any complaints was Monica Garg, now the controversial principal of Central Park East II.

According to the US Attorney's office, the DoE refused to act even when the EEOC tried to resolve the issue through conciliation. At that point the EEOC referred the case to their office.

The allegations in the legal papers are stunning.  Here is the press release and here is the legal complaint.

The Chancellor is ultimately responsible for inaction, but in my experience the DOE attorneys are also profoundly incompetent and irresponsible. Read the articles here:  Buzzfeed , NYPost,  Mo4ch News, and the  NYTimes.

The Perdido St blogger contends that these unfair attacks on teachers are rampant at NYC schools, compounded by the fact that they no longer have the right to grieve unsatisfactory ratings by administrators and enough U ratings can lead to loss of their jobs - though the blatant racism exhibited in this case makes it more offensive (and if true, clearly illegal).  CORRECTION: Arthur Goldstein points out that the lowest ratings are now called Ineffective, not U, that all teachers can appeal Ineffective ratings, though only 13% to a panel that includes a neutral arbitrator. The rest are appealed back to the DOE.

This case provides the most telling evidence yet that the DOE has a real blind spot when it comes to race, or worse.  Add to this the administration's slowness to take action to improve diversity and integration at public schools until recently, and their refusal to change the admissions policies of five of the specialized high schools and the evidence grows. More on this soon. 

Bob Hughes, announced as member of NY's "Race to the Top" team and criticized by the EEOC the same day

According to Gotham Schools, Bob Hughes of New Visions will be part of the NY State team to appear before the panel of judges to determine the federal “Race to the Top” awards.

As EdWeek puts it, "How a state’s delegation performs in a 30-minute presentation and a 60-minute question-and-answer session with a panel of judges could make or break its chances in round one of the competition.”

This dog and pony show, which might be likened to “American Idol”, is a function of the politicization of these grants, which should be honestly won or lost on the basis of substance alone.

Unmentioned in the Gotham Schools are Hughes’ close ties to the Gates Foundation, which financed many of the small schools in NYC through his organization as an intermediary.

Some have said that the Gates Foundation is really the power behind the throne in determining who wins these awards – as well as many of the pro-privatization policies being pushed by the US Dept. of Education; the foundation also helped states write their RTTT applications.

The woman who head’s the RTTT program at the US Dept of Ed, Joanne Weiss, is former COO of New Schools Venture fund, which finances charter school expansion with large infusions of Gates money; accordingly, states can win “points” on their applications depending on how charter-friendly they are.

Other members of the NY State RTTT team are Laura Smith, formerly chief of staff under former deputy Chancellor Chris Cerf, and before that, an employee of the NYC Charter School Center, and deputy Commissioner John King, formerly head of the Uncommon Schools charter chain.

According to Gotham Schools, New Visions has a financial interest in NY State’s winning the funds:

Hughes has also said that New Visions would be a likely applicant for a program, proposed by the Regents, to allow alternative organizations to bypass education schools to certify teachers. [Merryl] Tisch also cited Hughes as an expert on how schools can effectively use data to guide their work with students and on launching high schools, an area that will become key as the state attempts to replace its lowest-performing schools. “Bob has a track record on this, and he is respected in every corner on this subject,” Tisch said. “I trust him, I trust his judgment.”

Hughes was also cited in the just-issued decision of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission about the discriminatory dismissal of Debbie Almontaser as the principal of Khalil Gibran school: New Visions "concurred in DOE's judgment that she should resign and acted as agent in advising her to do so . . . . In the course of its advisory services to the Community Superintendent in the selection process, it concurred in DOE's conclusion that the circumstances of her resignation were such that continuing her candidacy was not desirable." (The EEOC decision is here.)

Hughes tried to get Almontaser to resign, but she refused until she could meet with the Chancellor, who was conveniently"unavailable." Instead, Deputy mayor Walcott acted as the designated hit-man, and threatened her that the school might be cancelled if she did not resign.

As David Bloomfield, expert on education law, pointed out, “Thus, while New Visions was found not liable since it was not in an employment relationship with Almontaser, it served as willing handmaiden to her illegal discriminatory dismissal 'on account of her race, religion, and national origin.'”