The Pan American Discrimination Case Finally Ends

The DOE settled their last case that totaled $1.2 million dollars to discrimination lawsuits against Black educators who then Principal Minerva Zanca of Pan American High School in Queens discriminated against.  The last case was against a theater teacher who now teaches theater at the award winning LaGuardia high school.  You can read the Chief article Here.

If you remember Principal Mirnerva Zanca was defended by Superintendent Juan Mendez and were both sued for racial discrimination by the U.S. Attorney of New York. The DOE legal Department and leadership backed both the Principal and the Superintendent.and while Ms. Zanca was eventually removed as Principal and ended up as a guidance counselor in Brooklyn before retiring (forced?)in 2016.  Superintendent Mendez remained in his position for another few yeas.

You can read more about Munerva Zanca Here and Here.  For Superintendent Juan Mendez you can read him Here and Here.

Principal Henry Shandel Of Marie Curie Middle School In Queens Proposes A Questionable Grading Policy

Principal Henry Shandel of Marie Curie middle school in Bayside Queens has sent teachers a proposed grading policy that allows students who fail to complete assignments to make up the work or get an alienate assignments up to the grading deadline.  According to the Daily News article here is what the Principal wrote to the teachers about his proposed grading policy.

: “For late/missing work due to student failure to complete an assignment on time, students must also be given multiple opportunities to make up or turn in work regardless of due date and without academic penalty, up until the end of the current marking period."

To me Principal Shandel's letter to the teachers is just another example of academic fraud to jack up the passing and graduation rate of the school and push undeserving students into the next grade or high school without the academic tools to legitimately advance in grade. 

Teachers were understandably upset since they knew that the Principal was not interested in giving students a quality education but simply wanted to pass as many students as possible. According to the article  The Principal's grading policy removes student accountability and weakens teacher control of student grades.  Not surprisingly, the DOE supports the Principal and their public relation mouthpiece hypocritically said the following according to the Daily News article.

“We are laser-focused on students mastering academic content and the draft policy as written is academically sound and was distributed to teachers to solicit their feedback," Education Department spokeswoman Danielle Filson said Thursday.

This is just another example of academic fraud proposed by a Principal that weakens teacher control and reduces student accountability,and supported by the DOE that hurts student academic achievement to make them look good statistically,  plain and simple.

PS 169 Principal EuJin Tang May Have Exposed 2nd Graders To Adult Nudity

Principal EuJin Tang of Brooklyn's PS 169 decided it was a good idea for her students, who are mostly low income,  recent immigrants, to learn to swim.  While that was a good idea, the problem was that the fitness center apparently did not isolate the students from the adult members and according to the New York Post, the 2nd graders were exposed to nude adults changing in the locker room as they waited to change into their swimsuits.

Some of the 2nd graders told their parents and the parents are very upset and rightly so.  The Principal, who was in charge of the outing should have made sure that the students were isolated from the changing adults but apparently didn't do so.  Moreover, many of the students were required to change in front of other students which upset their parents as well.

The Principal, EuJin Tang has been in the news previously when back in 2014 she banned Thanksgiving and Christmas  and celebrations, as well as the national anthem and made national headlines. Then she was known as EuJin Jaela Kim.  At that time she had one of the lowest teacher approval rating in the City at 32%.. While this has improved, the latest approval rating of 60% is still well below the City average of 86%.  She was made Principal of PS 169 in 2014 despite only having three years of school experience, when Chancellor Carmen Farina required all principals to have a minimum of seven years school experience.  As you can imagine, Ms, Tang is a graduate of the infamous Leadership Academy.


Ms. Tang (still known as Ms. Kim) also threw out nearly new desks  as well as other materials that cost $25,000 and replaced them with tables and was criticized by the media for wasting usable furniture when school budgets were tight.. I wrote a post about EuJin Jaela Kim back in 2015 and you can read it Here.  Furthermore, back in 2015 a petition to remove the Principal of a school that has 1,300 students generated 2,783 supporters but was ignored by the DOE.

Blame Principals For Not Having A School Nurse On Staff

Some New York City public schools lack a school nurse, despite many children having health issues like diabetes and asthma.  The blame can be placed on the doorstep of the Principal, who has total control of the school's budget. Rather than allocate funds for a school nurse, they rather rely on the undependable DOE to supply and pay for a school nurse to save money.

The principals will claim, and rightly so, that the blame lies with the DOE, since they are responsible for providing a school nurse, free of charge to the school.  However, when the DOE fails to do so, then the Principal should be using their funds to do so.   True, the DOE's imposed school based fair student funding and their refusal to fund the schools at 100% of their fair funding (most schools are receiving only 90%) affects the decision to hire a school nurse with school resources.   However, it must be pointed out that the DOE gives principals full discretion on allocating funds.  Therefore, lacking a school nurse lies with the Principal.

To me, lacking a school nurse is a health crisis and with the many students who have health issues, principals are practicing educational maleficence and parents should demand their removal since they are not putting their students first..

Maspeth High School Cheats For The Illusion Of Success

Maspeth high school has been accused of cheating to jack up their academic success.   This Queens high school has been written about previously in my blog and others  for the high percentage and abuse of untenured teachers along with financial shenanigans.  Now columnist Susan Edelman of the New York Post has written an article that exposed the school's manipulation of the school's graduation rate and Regents passing percentage..

Despite the various issues at Maspeth High School over the years the DOE has never bothered to seriously investigate the founding Principal, Khurshid Abdul-Mutakabbir or his assistant principals despite the various questions about how the school is run by parents, students, and teachers.   I was at Maspeth High School for a month a couple of years ago and read my experiencel Here. 

Maspeth high school will cheat to continue the illusion of success and the DOE will do nothing about it.  Read the New York Post Editorial Board opinion.

Read one student's story how the school graduated him six months early despite hardly attending class.

Why Is Forest Hills High School Principal, Ben Sherman, Still In Charge?

Despite all the uproar and staff vote of no confidence, Principal Ben Sherman, is still in charge of Forest Hills High School.  He walks the halls, observes teachers, and runs the school as he pleases, despite the bad publicity and calls by parents, staff, and students for his ouster.

Now I hear that his eleven Assistant Principals voted 11-0 of no confidence joining the Forest Hills High School staff in how they feel about Principal Ben Sherman.

Despite the no confidence votes, the DOE continues to keep Ben Sherman in his position as Principal of the high school.  The question is why?

Under Chancellor Carranza The DOE Double Standard Continues

Teachers were hoping that Chancellor Richard Carranza would eliminate the "double standard", when disciplining principals.  After a couple Principal dismissals that reached the newspapers, the Chancellor has continues the DOE's long standing double standard. Just ask the Forest Hills High School staff who see Principal Ben Sherman day after day, walking the halls and Namia Dwarka who still in charge at Bryant High School.,

In today's New York Post, we see another example of the DOE's double standard when it comes to principals.  In this case it's a male Assistant Principal who experienced alleged sexual harassment by his female Principal, Ana Zambrano-Burakov at Arts and Business High School in Queens.

 According to the Assistant Principal, he was subject to unwanted and inappropriate touching, hugging, and forced kisses by the Principal.  Furthermore, the Assistant Principal claimed that when he filed a complaint  with the DOE back in 2015, the Principal retaliated by getting SCI involved and they found that the Assistant Principal had traveled overseas (Nicaragua?) while on legitimate  sick leave.  Consequently, the DOE filed 3020-a charges for theft of services but the independent arbitrator give the Assistant Principal a slap on the wrist, with a $1,000 fine that tells me that his reason to go overseas was probably medically related and is now an ATR Assistant Principal.

What happened to the Principal?  Nothing, nothing at all and she is still the Principal at the school.

91% Of The Staff At Forest Hills High School Votes No Confidence Of Principal Ben Sherman

Can A terrible Principal destroy a great school?  Just ask the faculty at Forest Hills High School and they will tell you yes.  91% of the facility gave Principal Ben Sherman a no confidence vote in a poll conducted recently.  His failure to collaborate with staff, make questionable decisions detrimental to students and staff alike, and goes after teachers with a passion reserved only for the worst principals in Queens..

Principal Ben Sherman has a history of problems with school staff before he was given the Principal job at Forest Hills High School.  He was already despised by school staff in his previous school, East-West International .  You can read it on the ICEUFT blog Here.  You can also see that Principal Ben Sherman had one of the lowest teacher trust factor when it came to Queens high schools during the 2015-16 school year at East-West Here.

Ben Sherman, despite his problems with the staff at East-West, was promoted by Superintendent Juan Mendez who  always seem to select and protect the worst Principals in the Queens high schools.  Just read my posts Here and Here and who can forget this?

Now Principal Ben Sherman has made life miserable for the staff at Forest Hills High School and once again has one of the lowest trust factors in all of Queens high schools.  You can see my list Here. His teacher trust factor is lower than the infamous Judy Henry and Namita Dwarka.

Will Chancellor Carranza remove Ben Sherman?  Probably not unless the Forest Hills faculty can get Susan Edelman to published a New York Post article about the Forest Hills High School fiasco.

NYC Educator, Ed Notes online and the ICEUFT blog have also written about the Forest Hills fiasco..

Principals To Avoid

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.

What Happened To Flushing Principal Carl Hudson Jr?

Back in March 2011, Carl Hudson Jr. was appointed Principal of Flushing High School by Superintendent Juan Mendez and promptly made a bad school worse with his inept leadership.  He was removed by the DOE the following year when he was arrested for Meth possession outside the school.  Read it Here.

After being removed by the DOE as Principal of Flushing High School, Mr Hudson was hidden by the DOE in their version of a "rubber room" for administrators and quietly parted company with the DOE, either voluntarily or pushed out.

Mr. Hudson resurfaced as a charter school teacher in Georgia and then a public school teacher at  the DeKalb County, School District making $45,000 a year as a high school Math teacher in 2016.  He quit in November of 2018. A pattern since he moved to Georgia.

Mr. Hudson was forced to quit once the local newspapers discovered his past. Interestingly, Mr. Hudson in his employment history to the school district never mentioned his tenure as a Principal at Flushing High School and his meth bust.  Where  will Mr. Hudson show up next?

Just Another Terrible Principal

Leave it to New York Post columnist, Susan Edelman, to find some of the worst people working at the dysfunctional DOE.  In today's New York Post Susan identified a recently terminated Mew Rochelle high school Principal, Shadia Alvarez.

Leadership Academy alumni Principal Alvarez was terminated by the New Rochelle school board due to grade fixing and phony credit recovery. The investigative report that lead to her termination said the following:

Last week, the New Rochelle school district released an investigative report that found Alvarez had changed or fabricated 212 grades for 32 students who failed or did not complete online make-up classes needed for graduation. 

Ms. Alvarez had previous problems as a DOE Principal at Collegiate Institute for Math and Science in The Bronx. There Ms. Alvarez, was subject to separate OSI and SCI investigations and quit as Principal when the SCI report was completed.  She was accused of padding her overtime, not documenting her DOE credit card spending and leaving the school with a $114,000 debt.

Ms. Alvarez was also known as the "prom killer" as she threatened to cancel the prom unless the senior class had a 100% graduation rate, an impossible feat, especially for a Bronx high school.

The question is how did Ms. Alvarez get the Principal job at New Rochelle High School and who in the DOE hid the reports of Ms. Alvarez's misconduct and gave her a glowing recommendation?  Those DOE officials should be terminated as well.

Principal Manuel Urena Accused Of Anti-Semitism And Discrimination.

Three federal lawsuits have been filed by teachers who were targeted by Principal Manuel Urena of the High School of Art and Design in Manhattan.   He has been accused of targeting Jewish, Caucasian. and veteran teachers on trumped up disciplinary and performance charges and replaced them with young Hispanic teachers.

According to the teachers, including a former Chapter Leader, their complaints to both the DOE and UFT fell on deaf ears. You can read the New York Post article Here.  Principal Urena has a below average teacher trust factor that is 15% lower than the Citywide average.

Principal Urena has been identified as an administrator in need of improvement by the Solidarity caucus in their blog called "Don't Tread On Educators" blog.  You can find what the commenters say about Principal Urena  Here. Moreover, Ed Notes online blog had an article about Mr. Urena's assault on the chapter as well.

This appears to be another case of our union leadership not acting upon member complaints when targeted by a vindictive Principal.

More Principals Acting Badly.

There seems to be a small shift on how the DOE are handling principals who are acting badly under the new Chancellor, Richard, Carranza.  Fist it was Howard Kwait, who was removed by the Chancellor from John Bowne High School in Queens and now it's Steven Dorcely of Urban Action Academy in the Carnarsie campus in Brooklyn who was removed due to sexual harassment of female subordinates.  Interestingly, Mr. Dorcely, a Leadership Academy Principal, was first in the news back in July of 2016 due to Regents cheating, cyber bullying, and poor academics.  You can read it Here.

The other Principal in the news is the Principal of troubled DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx who has been accused of passing students who never attended class by giving them a "quickie  mastery packet" which they can do at home.  The Principal, Pierre Orbe, has apparently didn't learn from the previous Principal who was removed for similar abuses.  Will the DOE also removed Mr. Orbe?  Only time will tell.

While I see the DOE taking Principal abuses more seriously. there still is a "double standard" on how teachers are treated compared to administrators and that must end. Let's see what the Chancellor does with the infamous Namita Dwarka of William Cullen Bryant High School in Queens.

My Response To The New Tork Times Biased Article On Principal Removals.

I read and reread the New York Times article on how three principals were removed and quickly realized that the entire article was based only on the principals side of their reassignment.   The article was clearly biased as no teacher or Chapter Leader were interviewed, only the three principals and their supporters.  Occasionally, in the article they did get a quote from UFT President, Michael Mulgrew, but the reporter did not bother to interview any staff members who were involved in the complaints.

The three principals were Santiago Taveras, Kathleen Elvis, and Nadav Zeimer.  All of whom violated the Chancellor's regulations and most importantly were universally hated by the teaching staffs and were considered career killers.  All were removed and rightly so.  Unlike teachers, they still kept their salary and work in field offices.

In Santiago Taveras,when he was Deputy Chancellor under Bloomberg he was responsible for closing of the many large comprehensive high schools and earned the ire of the teachers union.  As Principal of DeWitt Clinton High School he was caught changing grades and built an illegal personal shower that the DOE had to dismantle.  Moreover, he was despised by the staff and targeted veteran teachers.

Then there is Kathleen Elvin who created the "Easy Pass" credit recovery system that jacked up the graduation rate.  Further, she also targeted veteran teachers and was one of the lowest rated principals when it came to the survey. Further, she was only exonerated by the arbitrator because the DOE refused to give the lawyers the evidence that the higher ups were complicit by approving the "easy pass" program.   Please read the New York Post's Editorial.

Nadav Zeimer, a Leadership Academy Principal, filed false and fraudulent charges against a teacher who was found totally innocent by an independent arbitrator.  The teacher was returned to the school and started to document the various violations the Principal did.  Eventually both SCI and OSI investigated and substantiated the violations. Here again the Principal was disliked by the staff. An example was when the teaching staff were forced to sit through useless professional development while Mr. Zeimer took his favorite administrators to  a notorious bathhouse. on school time.

The bottom line is that if you're a Principal and fail to cooperate and collaborate with your teaching staff and violate Chancellor Regulations, you deserve to be removed.

The DOE Policy That Protects Pervy Principals Is Finallly Exposed By The Media.

The DOE claims they have a "zero tolerance" policy when a teacher is accused of sexual misconduct against a student.  The presumption is that any sexually based allegations against a teacher requires their removal from the school and reassigned to a "rubber room" until their 3020-a termination hearing is scheduled.  In fact, any sexually based charges usually results in the teacher receiving a "probable cause" hearing within a month of the DOE substantiating the charges, usually based on merely hearsay evidence and the word of the student.  The result is that the teacher is taken off salary and health benefits for up to 90 days and usually results in the teacher's firing if the 3020-a arbitrator upholds the sexual misconduct charges.

By contrast, principals who are accused of sexual misconduct by a teacher or other subordinates will retain their position and any lawsuits brought by the teacher will be fought "tooth and nail" by the DOE in the courts and when the DOE finally loses, the lawsuit, the court case has lasted five or more years.  Therefore, by the time the DOE decides to take action against the Principal, they no longer can file 3020-a charges since there is a three year "statue of limitations" between the sexual misconduct and the DOE initiating charges against the Principal. This is done purposely by the DOE since they practice a "double standard" when they assume the Principal is innocent until proven guilty, while teachers who are assumed guilty and removed from the classroom.

The New York Post identified five principals who were accused of sexual misconduct and some of them are still principals while the rest were either demoted to an assistant principal position or reassigned to an administrative office.  None of them faced 3020-a charges.  Mona Davids President, of the NYC Parents Union said it best

“Clearly the DOE is protecting these principals by running out the clock on the statute of limitations,” Davids said. “They’re not good leaders, and they’re a danger to our kids. If an adult is not safe around that person, what makes you think a child is?”


If the principals were subject to the same DOE rules as teachers, the principals would be reassigned , pending substantiation of the charges and be subject to a 3020-a hearing within the three year statue of limitations.  No longer will the DOE's "double standard" protect principals who comment misconduct, sexual or otherwise, by running out the clock and retaining their salary and benefits despite being guilty of the charges.
 
For additional information read the NYC Public School Parents blog.

Wiil Chancellor Carranza Remove More Terrible Principals?

One of the first constructive actions the new Chancellor, Richard Carranza has tackled head on was the removal of John Bowne's horn-dog Principal Howard Kwait who's had numerous accusations of sexual misconduct and harassment lodged against him.  According to the New York Post. Howard Kwait has cost the DOE $830,000 due to his inappropriate behavior told female subordinates.  This does not include the $4,500 he personally paid to the City's conflict of of interest board when he acceptable a paid vacation with a female subordinate.

Howard Kwait is not the only Principal that the new Chancellor should remove, let's look at another High School Principal Chancellor Carranza should remove in Queens.

The Principal is Namita Dawarka from William Cullen Bryant High School.  She has removed almost the entire veteran staff she inherited in 2012 by harassment, 3020-a charges, or forced retirement.  Moreover, she has been accursed of grade fixing and changing and manipulating classes so some students received double credits for the same course. Finally, she was accused of teat manipulation. You can read her actions.  Here, Here, Here, and Here. In addition, Principal Dwarka allegedly hid a sexual relationship between her handpicked Assistant Principal of Math and a student.  Despite the allegations when the AP of Math was shockingly released from reassignment she was reinstated as the AP of Math by Ms. Dawaka.

Beyond Ms. Dawarka, you can find a list of the worst Principals in Queens in a previous post.  Here. Then there is the biggest problem of them all.  The Superintendent, Juan Mendez, who either selected them, despite opposition (Judy Henry) or protected them (Juan Cruz), despite their alleged misconduct.  You can read it Here.   Finally, the New York Daily News listed a rouges gallery of DOE administrators accused of multiple sexual issues and are still employed.

The bottom line, Chancellor Richard Carranza cannot stop at one.  He must remove all those Principals that have low staff trust ratings and he must eliminate the "double standard" when it comes to disciplining administrators.  Moreover, he must ensure fair and independent investigations from the investigative agencies like OEO, OSI, and SCI. Especially when a subordinate accuses an administrator that they were sexual harassed and was not taken seriously by the DOE.

James Brown Is Back Once Again.

It  has come to my attention that James Brown is back on the DOE payroll.  Now he is assistant Superintendent under the infamous Juan Mendez.  For the uninformed, James Brown was an administrator on Long Island in Baldwin and was found guilty by a jury in a civil complaint of harassment and retaliation and cost the school money to settle the case.

Mr. Brown was removed from the Baldwin school in 2009 and was sent to the District office, away from the children, until he resigned in 2012.  Mr. Brown was also accused of saying sexually inappropriate comments. While at Baldwin, Brown was accused of remarking on the tightness of a female student’s pants, said a federal lawsuit against him.  He also said to the female dean to make a school report “tight as a virgin’s, well, you know what is tight on a virgin,” she reported.

In September 2013 a new Principal was appointed for the troubled Flushing High School and it was the one and only James Brown .  In a Walcott administration that claimed "zero tolerance" for sexual issues, James Brown was hired despite his past.  You can read it Here.

Mr. Brown lasted all of one year before being replaced and ended up in a DOE back office  before leaving for the charter schools and most people thought that was the end of James Brown.

Fast forward to 2018 and James Brown is now assistant superintendent for Juan Mendez.  How the hell did he get back into the DOE? 

The DOE's Double Standard Continues - The Case Of Principal Emmanuel Polanco of JHS 80.

Susan Edelman of the New York Post penned a scathing article about how Principal Emmanuel Polanco has bullied the students and staff and that under his administration one teacher was quoted as saying.   “It’s not about the kids,” she said. “It’s about administrators who lie, cover-up the violence, and don’t provide proper supervision.”.

This is the same Emmanuel Polanco, who had limited classroom experience but was promoted to principal through the Leadership Academy program who made a racy video, ending with him in bed with a women.  What kind of role model is he?   As expected, the DOE buried the investigation and quietly allowed Mr. Polanco to continue to run his school.  Please read my previous post for the link to the video and Mr. Polanco's alleged misdeeds.

Now it seems that Mr. Polanco is being accused of bullying students and staff.  This explains why the majority of teachers are untenured, strongly suggesting that the school suffers from high teacher turnover.  Moreover, Mr. Polanco  has allegedly shoved a student against a stairway wall and jabbed his fingers into the student's chest.  He and or his administration also authorized that the student be handcuffed, behind his back,  by school safety when he questioned a procedure during a fire drill.  Mr. Polamco was also accused by others as well.

From what I have read and heard Mr. Polanco has apparently violated Chancellor's regulations A-420, corporal punishment and A-421 verbal abuse.  Yet, Mr. Polanco remains Principal at the school.  If Mr. Polanco was a teacher he would have been removed from the school and sent to a reassignment center waiting for his 3020-a charges.  However, Mr. Polanco is a Principal and the DOE presumes him innocent as they continue with their investigation which has probably been predetermined to find him innocent or if substantiated, will be once again buried as he remains Principal.  In other words, the DOE's "double standard" when disciplining teachers and administrators continues.

How bad is JHS 80 in the Bronx?  They have dismally poor test scores in English and Math and just read the letters to the New York Post that a teacher encouraged her seventh grades to write.  The letters contain numerous misspelled words, poor grammar, and vulgarity.  You can read them Here.

Update:  The City Council is now investigating the Principal and the school and wants to know why the DOE closed the investigation of Mr. Polanco's actions.

The Sad Saga Of Ex- Principal Annie Schmutz Seifullah.

Back in  April of 2014, Principal Annie Schmutz Seifullah of Robert Wagner Secondary School in Queens was removed as a Principal for allegedly sexting on her DOE laptop and cell phone.  According to the Post article, she had sexually suggestive and racy pictures of herself, including alleged sex acts  Moreover, there were emails that she had oral sex with a visiting assistant principal and a school safety officer, at the school.  Finally, she sent damming emails to a high ranking DOE official.On May 1, 2014 she was demoted back to a teacher,

The following week, the visiting assistant principal, Danny Velezquez of PS 5 in the Bronx was also reassigned away from his school.  According to the New York Post article, Ms. Annie Schumutz Seifullah claimed she never had sex in the school with any of the men and that her ex lover, the PTA President, lied

Despite supposingly being reassigned away from students, Ms. Annie Schumuiz Seifullah resurfaced as a teacher at Automotive High School in Brooklyn but soon fled the classroom when the students googled her and read all the racy stuff about her.  The DOE tried to claim it was a mistake  However, the New York Post quoited a source who said the following:

“Principal Lafergola would not go to the bathroom without checking with Aimee Horowitz,” the source said. “This was not an error. This was cronyism pure and simple — at the highest level.”

After, Ms. Annie Schumutz Schullah fled the classroom the DOE decided to file 3020-a charges.

Surprisingly, the Special Commissioner of Investigations (SCI) decided that Ms. Annie Schumutz Seifullah's actions were not serious enough for them and the investigation was sent to the DOE's Office of Special Investigations (OSI) who, despite two men claiming she had sex at the school (her ex lover, and the DOE official) , incredibly found that their was no substantiation of her having sex in school. Go figure!

Just before her 3020-a termination hearing was to start, Ms. Annie Schumutz Seifullah took a six month medical leave that was due to her fleeing the Automotive High School classroom caused by the harassment.  There was no indication if this was a paid or unpaid leave, according to the New York Post article.

What might be the end of this sad saga, on December 1st, the 3020-a arbitrator suspended Ms. Annie Schumultz Seiullah  for a year, primarily for her sexting on a DOE cellphone and photos on the DOE laptop,  Interestingly, Ms. Annie Schumutz Seifullah did not testify and the reason the arbitrator gave her the one year suspension.

Note:  Te Daily News has a slightly more sympathetic article and she intends to appeal her one year suspension

Just Another Ethically Challenged Principal.

In today's New York Post, Susan Edelman has an article about another ethically challenged Principal, Onethea Swinton,  who is the intern acting Principal of Port Richmond High School in Staten Island.  According to the article, Ms. Swinton is using a Pennsylvania address to register her car, despite actually living in Staten Island.  If that was the only issue with Ms. Swinton I would not be writing this post.  However, Ms. Swinton has quite a bit of controversy surrounding her. In her previous stint at Brooklyn's Secondary School For Journalism, based upon limited data she was rated poorly at a 1.33 with 1 being the worst and 5 being the best.

First, apparently the Pennsylvania address Ms. Swinton uses is for a Tanya John who is an education vender that Ms. Swinton hires to provide student services, for the two schools she has been made Principal of. According to the Post article, Ms. Swinton saves up to $4,000 a year on automobile insurance by using the Pennsylvania address that is listed to Tanya and Kirk John and not her own Staten Island address where her Lexus was spotted by the newspaper.

Second, check the blog "Don't Tread On Educators" and you will find negative comments galore about Ms. Swinton  You can read them here.

Third, as Intern acting Principal she has riled up parents, students and teachers when she eliminated a prized honors program and sowed confusion with the student body due to the schedule and course  changes.

Interestingly, at a Town Hall meeting on October 5th, Chancellor, Carmen Farina, defended Ms. Swinton, what else is new?  According to the Chancellor,  all principals deserve an adjustment period and the parents should give Ms. Swinton more time before complaining.

Finally, according to the teachers at Port Richmond High School, Ms. Swinton tried to impose a new grading policy that would allow most students to graduate unprepared for the adult world and college and it was rescinded only when the staff objected and threatened to expose it to the public.

Just what a struggling school needs an ethically challenged Principal.  Where do they get these people from?