The 2017-18 school snapshot lists the most untrustworthy principals at the Queens high schools. Many of the principals are repeat offenders from previous years and you can find them Here and Here.
School....................................Principal.................Trust
Fredrick Douglas Academy VI...Charles Ogundimmu.33%
Forest Hills..............................Ben Sherman..........34%
Queens HS of Teaching.............Ean Corrado............44%
William Cullen Bryant...............Namita Dwarka........46%
Metropolitan High School..........Saida Rodriguez.......46%
Queens Collegiate....................Jaime Dubel............51%
Gateway To Health Sciences.....Judy Henry..............55%
Applied Communications..........Michael Weinstein....63%
Queens Preparatory Academy..Tayhon Haywood......63%
Arts And Humanities................Val-Jean Belton........67%
George Washington Carver.......Janice Sutton...........67%
Thomas Edison........................Moses Ojeda............68%
The Citywide average Principal trust factor is 79%
Charles Ogundimmu: runs the worst high school in Queens when it comes to academics, with high teacher turnover and the majority of students failing to graduate. See my post Here.
Ben Sherman was appointed Principal at Forest Hills High School and promptly alienated the teaching staff. You can read about his actions Here and Here. He also was on the list when he was Principal of East-West high school Here.
Namita Dwarka: Maybe the worst Principal in Queens. You can read about her Here , Here and Here.
Judy Henry has pitted teacher against teacher and many staff find it a living hell working for her. Read it Here
Most of the principals listed have one thing in common. They were either appointed or worked under Superintendent Juan Mendez.
If you are a teacher, please stay clear of these schools run by the principals listed above.
I'd love to read more about the worst ELEMENTARY principals to avoid. (Especially in the Bronx where I work) I always have fantasies about transferring but have a gut instinct of fear. "The devil you know is better than the devil you don't know".
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ReplyDeleteI typed into my GPS the word "souless skank" and it brought me to Namita Dwarka's front door; I'm not calling her a slut or anything, but she's had more nuts in her mouth than a squirrel preparing for winter.
Dwarka knows how to bring a school to the ground, and our UFT likes her so much.
DeleteI have little pity for the Forest Hills teachers. It is very clique-ish there; teachers backstabbing one another is honed to a fine art. If you're "in" you're in. If you're "out", your "colleagues" eagerly do such things as text the principal and/or /APs, reporting on the activities of other teachers, hoping to curry favor to advance themselves. They've also been known to ridicule other teachers in front of their students. The UFT representation there is in name only. In fact, the UFT representation there would happily serve up a teacher on a silver platter with an apple in their mouth to the principal to get ahead themselves. Such is Unity.
ReplyDeleteUnity usually sides with these Principals who are trying to destroy our schools. Unity is poisonous.
DeleteThe chapter leader of FHHS is constantly going after the principal. He emails his teachers on a consistant basis, files grievances, holds consultation, and is not afraid to call the principal out. 1136 Am get your facts straight!
ReplyDeleteUnity is worthless and corrupt.
DeleteDwarka had more nuts in her mouth than a squirrel preparing for winter.....very good, very good.
ReplyDeleteKeyode Ayatiwa would be on list but he forced out everyone who complained. Newbies too afraid.
ReplyDeleteMarc Pascente wasn't a Principal last year, he was an AP in the Bronx.
ReplyDeleteHow about Manhattan schools' principals?
ReplyDeleteMy principal is actually a good principal but she is too strict and by the books. That's why most of us don't like her. That's why I rated hew low on trust.
ReplyDeleteDwarka mouthing squirrel nuts.....that be precious.
ReplyDeleteDoes howard Kwait still bang dwarka ?
ReplyDeleteChaz, just because teachers dont like their principal doesnt automatically make them bad leaders. That's like saying a teacher is automatically bad because students gave poor ratings on the teacher perception surveys.
ReplyDeleteAnonn 9:48
ReplyDeleteI disagree. It shows that the Principal does not collaborate with the staff.
LOL, Chad, thats like saying because people voted for or root for Trump, it means he has to be a good President. If a principal improves a schools overall performance even with a low trust rating, does not mean they are bad.
ReplyDeleteA school could have a high trust rating and be a failing school under that leader.
Does high trust rating guarantee a good principal?
You make too many sweeping judgements with statistics. You don't know the context or situation, yet you make rash conclusions. I'm hoping you understand where I'm coming from.
As a young teacher I was told that it was best to lie on those surveys and keep your responses somewhere in the middle.
ReplyDeleteIf your school is awful and the teachers tell the truth, your school will be visited more often by the suits, more PD, more paperwork, more retaliation, and eventually closed. If the teachers lie and say everything is great, the administrators and the public believe it and everything remains the same.
How interesting the results would be if the teachers told the truth.
948,
ReplyDeleteEither you are a rookie, in complete denial, a Uft shill or you have dirt on a principal.
Chaz is right. A principal must collaborate and be approachable. If not, then they are trying to intimidate. That fosters a negative environment.
As a long time atr, I’ve seen a lot of principals. The ones who try to bully and scream have high turnover. Sadly, that’s what the doe wants.
Don't forget Laura Van Deren of High School For Law Enforcement and Public Safety. She is a true Mendezite, who directs her APs to target certain teachers and rate them ineffectively prior to the observation. She sends school aides out during paid time to get her personal car inspected, pick up and drop off her laundry, and has numerous side deals with vendors, some closely connected to her husband's business. Time and time again, Mendez protects her and SCI looks the other way. Disgraceful!
ReplyDeleteBeing an effective and fair principal is rough job. There are the awful kids that you can’t discipline or fail, there are the bat shit crazy teachers that argue or every little thing and ignore big things, there’s the indifferent and ignorant security staff and the don’t ask, don’t tell invisible parents. If a principal tries to help kids, really help, he or she will be terminated. It’s not about helping kids, it’s about appearing to help them.
ReplyDeleteAs for a list of the worst elementary school principals, Donna Geller at PS 70 in Queens is right at the top of the list. She is a vile, degenerate slimeball who violates every rule (and law) she can find, roaming the halls with her skanky high heels, 8 layers of makeup and slutty perfume that you can smell a mile away and makes her smell like a cheap whore.
ReplyDeleteThere is literally no depth she won't stoop to. I've heard she's been the subject of numerous criminal investigations - so far they haven't been able to pin anything on her...YET.
They will cover up for her corruption, and the UFT will be silent.
Deletejuan mendez is also related to the stunningly incompetent ayo mendez. she is the atr supervisor idiot deluxe. so you can see a definite connection in who get in and who doesn't!
ReplyDelete10:05 - Bottom line. Don't write a check your ass can't cash. There's only 2 reasons teachers go into administration: The obvious one is to make more money. Number two is it's a way out of the classroom and lesson planning and grading. You don't deal directly as much with the students. Anyone who says, because I want to make a bigger difference or because I can affect more students is talking straight BS! There was a reason I never went into administration, and I never will. You will have no integrity, and I think most of them don't even believe the crap they tell their staff. They get no sympathy from me.
ReplyDeleteAdministrators are like robots. They will try to feed staff whatever the DOE tells them to say. Whatever is the latest 'idea' will be shoved down the throats of staff and if principals are told the next day to tell staff something completely different, then they will. It's pathetic to see how one year principals say one thing (the latest idea), then the following say something completely different.
ReplyDeleteThe following are blog posts that pertain to the second highest vote getter in the survey.
ReplyDeletehttp://nyceducator.com/2019/02/forest-hills-high-school-votes-no.html
https://ednotesonline.blogspot.com/2019/02/90-of-forest-hills-hs-staff-votes-no.html
You need to add Ana De Jesus to this list, another one of Juan Mendez'a ADASA cronies. Her trust numbers last year were the lowest in Queens, at 22%. I'm certain those numbers will be in the same ballpark this year.
ReplyDeleteKayode Ayetiwa is shameless, thinks he knows it all, openly disrespectful and fired older Black teachers. Had students asking me why??? Its horrible what these people do in the name of Education. Btw I hear hes supposed to be very religious. Evil....
ReplyDeleteRIP Chaz... I always read your blog. We need more people that arent afraid to blaze a trail like you!!
God be with you...
Add Tessa Alleyne of PS 91. She has no relationship with staff and uses a divide and conquer strategy to intimidate and control her staff. Not approachable. Nasty, petty, Vindictive. The chapter leader is her lapdog. The district rep, Rick King, a disgrace to the UFT.
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