Once again the New York Post exposes academic fraud in the New York City Public Schools. This time it's the Principal of DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx. According to the Post article, the Principal, Santiago Taveras, is accused to have changed grades from failing to passing, despite no sign off from the teachers, all in an attempt to artificially raise the school's anemic graduation rate. Is Mr Traveras alone in this academic fraud? No! I'm sure if the Special Commissioner of Investigations (SCI) really was on the ball, they would find dozens of principals committing similar academic fraud.
The interesting part of the Post article is that the present Principal was a Deputy Chancellor under Klein and resigned after Cathie Black took over. Mr. Traveras was the DOE executioner that closed many of the comprehensive high schools and sat impassivelyat hearings as parents, students, and teachers pleaded with him to keep their school open. He tried his hand in private industry but decided (or was pushed out) to come back to the DOE who, in the closing months of the Bloomberg Administration, Chancellor Dennis Walcott offered him the Executive Principal's job at DeWitt Clinton High School, a renewal school. Unfortunately, Mr. Traveras brings with him some heavy baggage from his Bloomberg years such as the policy in artificially raising the graduation rate by any means possible to achieve a high letter grade and scholarship over real education, a hallmark of the Bloomberg years.
Making Santiago Traveras a Principal at a renewal school is more the problem than a solution as he uses the same old academic fraud tricks ;like changing grades, questionable credit recovery, and pressuring teachers to pass undeserving students by demanding a high scholarship percentage. Moreover, his trust factor by staff is below average and the college readiness rate is 19%. Not an encouraging number to me. Finally, under Principal Santiago Traveras, the school has utterly failed to close the academic achievement gap and despite his Bloomberg inspired policies, the school's graduation rate is only 46%!
While SCI is currently investigating the alleged academic fraud at DeWitt Clinton High School, the DOE has chosen to leave Mr. Traveras in place as its Principal which just goes to prove the more things change the more they stay the same when it comes to the DOE.
I love this so much. This piece of shit hypocrite helped close my school down when he was Deputy Chancellor. Now he's fixing grades, graduating kids illegally. He does have the GOD complex, and rightfully so. He's too connected to be removed. Tavares can do anything, literally. This story is minor. He is not sweating this one bit. Probably at a diner right now having sausage and eggs, potatoes, and a double cheeseburger.
ReplyDeleteThis is just typical of what the reality is in the NYC DOE. Principals are pressured to raise grad rates. This is the bottom line. You think it's about the kids? No way. I must say that I am really surprised as our current chancellor, Farina. I was really wrong about her. In her beginning months it seemed hopeful as I saw her pictures with Mulgrew and students at schools, etc. The truth is she's a mess and just will not pull the plug on bad leaders. Keeping Dwarka, TAVERAS, and others is a clear indication that there are no consequences here in NYC. It's a free for all. Ah who cares. Another BS story in the BS system where everyone, I mean E V E R Y O N E is getting paid heavy $$$ for just hangin around. TAVERAS is an Executive principal who makes more than an average principal. His salary is 170K approx. the man is a genius who is untouchable. Good for him. I'm actually sad to see how pathetic it has become BUT glad to see another guy getting rich off the DOE for being a fake. Really, I'm happy for him.
ReplyDeleteTaveras has a female AP running rough sod over the entire staff. She continually hammers those he wants out. Those are the veteran teachers. I thought Bloomberg was out of office.
ReplyDeleteThis guy had a shower installed in his office because he exercises in the school in the early morning. Perhaps he uses his desk the same way Mulgrew used his - for school work of course! It's very sweaty work.
ReplyDeleteFarina's history repeats. When she was Deputy Chancellor in 2004, she protected Lennel George, her pet principal at the Cobble Hill School of American Studies who covered up a Regents cheating ring. Although OSI substantiated George's failure to report my allegations or NYSED's devastating statistical analysis of the phony scores, Farina resisted removing him. Only after OSI's 30-page j'accuse was leaked to the Times and she had no good answers for keeping George in place, did she force his hasty exit. This is why I called Farina the Beverly Hall of New York TO HER FACE at last April's PEP meeting. No pushback then or now. Wonder why.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't anyone ever file Part 83 complaints with NYSED?
Deletewww.highered.nysed.gov/tcert/respublic/teacherdiscipline.html
Chalkbeat has announced the departure of Geoff Decker. This is the guy who labeled ATRs as subpar teachers and didn't verify the facts presented to him. When journalists label and stereotype us, we must answer it.
ReplyDeleteS.O.S.
ReplyDeleteFariña seem to protect a lot of crooks that are acting as principals.
ReplyDeleteImagine if Santi, or any of these bizarre, greedy, oversexed principals, were teachers. (They are actually the embodiment of the ATR stereotype that Carmen and Mike have advertised.) They'd be vaporized by Farina's wand. When you think about all the misery they have caused teachers, (who have been terminated, discontinued or resigned), shouldn't Mike be screaming to his new abuela? He could care less. Hey, Mike you're supposed to work for us, not Carmen.
ReplyDeleteTavares is untouchable. Walking around the hallways at Clinton today like a BOSS!!! Way to go Santi. You can change any grade you like and graduate kids to inflate your scholarship. No worries, no one at Tweed cares. Keep going Big Man!
ReplyDeleteHe was placed there to go after senior teachers and change grades. The DOE protects all type of crooks like Dwarka, Tavares, Criuz, etc.
DeleteFARIÑA should resign because she is protecting crooks like Dwarka and Tavares. These principals have a pattern in pushing out veteran teachers with integrity, and destroying our schools.
ReplyDeleteKwait at John Bowne!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI am not sure which place is worse. Chicago and the city of Chicago is a cess pool of guns and shootings with innocent people getting shot all over the place. A mayor Rahm who is poison to the city and probably will be resigning or getting fired soon. Detroit on the other hand is a cess pool of dilapidated old GM factories, gunk and grease make up this dark city with street lights on the off power mode while crime riddles through the city. These two cities highlight the new America which is now filled with dirt and 18th century costumes from all around the world. People who have come to america because as we all know everything is free in america. However, the gravy train is coming to a halt with a government managing to have a budget that is 20 trillion in debt.
ReplyDeleteHeard the illegal shower was ripped out today. They even busted the bathroom lock open.
ReplyDelete