Sunday, February 24, 2019

HOW FAR WILL DOE GO TO BACK A PRINCIPAL EXPOSED ON THE FRONT PAGE OF THE NY POST?

The Ben Sherman Forest Hills High School story grows larger every day. This is today's cover of the NY Post:



Here is an excerpt from Sue Edelman's front page article:

This school is going to pot!

Students at highly-regarded Forest Hills HS openly smoke and vape marijuana throughout a building that has spun out of control with a principal who’d rather befriend kids than enforce rules, furious teachers say.

“Never in my 15 years of teaching have I been bombarded with the strong scent of pot in the school hallways — and even in my classroom,” a teacher told The Post.

Principal Ben Sherman, who joined Forest Hills in 2017, shrugs off the pot-puffing — saying “it’s going to be legal” anyway, teachers complain.

“With the decisions he’s made, our school is definitely spiraling downhill,” said English teacher Adam Bergstein, the United Federation of Teachers chapter leader.

With some 3,800 students, Forest Hills is popular and overcrowded. While neighborhood kids are guaranteed seats, the school has several prestigious programs that admit only high-achievers.
In 2000, the school received a “National Blue Ribbon” award for excellence, and then-First Lady Hillary Clinton gave the commencement address.

Last year, the school boasted a 91 percent graduation rate, with 81 percent college ready — well above the citywide average.

But unrest reached a peak on Valentine’s Day, when faculty — in a staff mutiny rarely seen in the city’s Department of Education — slapped Sherman with a vote of no confidence, 195 to 21.

The vote becomes an official UFT document, which the union will present Monday, with a list of staff concerns and demands, to Queens high school Superintendent Juan Mendez. If Mendez does not resolve the issues, the documents would then be shared with deputy chancellors and local politicians in hopes of spurring DOE action.

This blog wrote about Ben Sherman back in 2011 when he was principal at East West International High School and he forced out two successive chapter leaders and a former delegate.

We concluded back then that Sherman is a union buster. In the New York City Department of Education, a principal is rewarded by being sent to a larger, prestigious school like Forest Hills after getting rid of union activists.

Now that Sherman is front page news in the NY Post, let's see how much support the DOE gives him.

Will they reign him in?

Will they remove him after 90% of the staff votes no confidence in him?

This is what the DOE's Doug Cohen told the Post in a statement:

“Principal Sherman has been an effective leader for Forest Hills High School, and the superintendent is continuing to support the school. We take these complaints seriously and will continue to ensure a supportive environment for all students and staff.”

Maybe under Chancellor Richard Carranza the "My Principals, Right or Wrong" philosophy will change at the DOE. We shall see.

It will be interesting to note how the staff feels tomorrow upon returning to work. I'm betting the staff morale will be a little higher after the vaction at Forest Hills compared to before the break.

51 comments:

Anonymous said...

The same reason my current Brooklyn High School school is looked at as a gem and there is 50% teacher turnover every year which the uft does nothing about, the same reason we are drowned in electronic paperwork, the same reason why students all get 85s and 90s while being unable to write a proper sentence. DR James Duncan has been repeatedly told and knows how difficult my principal is, yet nothing done.

Anonymous said...

James, you seem to be enjoying this way too much. I wonder if you would have the same zeal if it were a teacher on the front page with parents voting to have them removed.
Tired of this repeated topic.

Btw, why did you delete the posting on the middle college principal?

Anonymous said...

are you serious 9:58? This is a teacher blog.

Anonymous said...

You sound like an administrator or stake holder, or UFT SELL OUT representative...you claim you so tired of this repeated topic...why you follow his blog???..YOU SHOULD BE THANKING HIM he using his platform to expose how CORRUPT our education system is and its people like YOURSELF..that contribute to the corruption even with a petty comment like yours.. and BTW you so concerned about the deleted posting of Middle College it seems the only one finding this as Entertainment is YOU!! do us all a favor keep posting cause the only JOKE and Entertainment we are enjoying is your petty comments..

evan said...

What does it say about the students that they are smoking weed, doing sexual things in the bathroom, destroying sinks and toilets, walking the halls, setting of alarms, throwing urine into classrooms? The principal may be awful. I certainly would not have done any of those things as a student regardless of who my principal was. Maybe this school isn't as "Blue Ribbon" as some think. Oh, it must be a fraud like every other school. Where is the reporting on that?

Anonymous said...

85 in English...Hello sir I have complete my assignment and I give it too you the day in class I ask if you have it you told me yes plz fine it and put my grade cause I no I do it and give it too you.

Anonymous said...

Welcome to an elite NYC high school 11:18. This is the very tippy top of the iceberg. Imagine what it is like in a non elite school.

Anonymous said...

replace all teachers of non-color.
problems solved.
love,
mayor, chancellor and union leaders...

Anonymous said...

This happens in all of the Bronx High Schools. When it happens in Queens its a scandal?!

Anonymous said...

I know it, been around for 20 years. Shit on top of shit, but celebrated as a success.

Anonymous said...

The fact that 90% of the staff is fighting back against the principal is a GOOD scandal...we need teachers in ALL boroughs to start uniting against INCOMPETENT Administrators...the UNION is no help...NEWS MEDIA is our ONLY source for help now.. Kudos to the Teachers in Forest Hills standing together as a united FRONT!

Anonymous said...

9:58 is referring to James' posts about his former school Middle College that he enraged by putting on this blog because of one teacher's grievance. He got chewed out by the staff and then he suspended his blog out of embarrassment. He now wants to run away with another principal and then claim victory. Shameless

Anonymous said...

I agree with 10:20 and 10:51. You are either an administrator, stakeholder, or a corrupt UFT union rep looking to discredit Mr. Eterno’s reputation because you fear his reach. You will fail because everyone knows Mr. Eterno is ethical, insightful, truthful and loyal to teachers. Otherwise you wouldn’t be trolling his blog. I’m sure that if Mr. Eterno brought down a blog it was for good reason not due to fear because he NEVER posts something directly without evidence.

Anonymous said...

Unity is a disgrace and corrupt. They always side with Principals destroying careers of veteran teachers.

Anonymous said...

3:37 thank you for clarifying your 9:58 point which no one asked you to and highlighting how invested you are in trying to discredit Mr. Eterno. However you are Wrong. I happened to have read that post and it was several teachers not just one. Now do us all a favor as STOP this nonsense. Obviously you don’t like what he posts so you and your friends should cease reading his blog. This is a forum for teachers anyway.

Anonymous said...

I see your Trump like tactics. You are trying to derail this forest hill conversation by bringing up MCHS. You guys are really scared that more teachers will speak and be advised by Mr. Eterno and you know you will lose if that happens. Mr. Eterno is unrelenting in his advocacy.

Anonymous said...

Interesting to note that anyone who disagrees with James Eterno is always deemed an adminstrator or a UFT hack.

News Flash: Members of the same union can have opposing views!

My chapter leader says it best, "Don't take BS from anyone, admin or teacher! Both sides are full of it!"

Anonymous said...

What a lousy CL. He or she is supposed to be on the teachers' side. That is who the UFT represents. Bet half a retro check that person is in Unity.

Pete Zucker said...

So James, let me get this straight. Teacher insists on bring a student to a federally mandated lunch gets 3020-a charges. A principal turns looks the other way as students smoke reefer during school and gets an "Attaboy!" from Tweed.

Where is the logic?

James Eterno said...

It is still open season on teachers while principals are protected unless they shoot someone.

Anonymous said...

Again, I'm don't understand, if teachers are easily fired as you say James, why is the ATR pool so large? A significant number of them are there for disciplinary reasons. Wasn't this tje topic of news media with the whole rubber room issue a few years ago?

Anonymous said...

Untenured teachers are easily fired. Tenured end up in ATR pool.

Anonymous said...

Removing a teacher from a school is as easy as a phone call from a principal. Getting a principal removed takes a media barrage.

Anonymous said...

Fight 1st period, that didnt take long. We are off to a good start.

Anonymous said...

Funny how James is silent about trashing his former school Middle College that he enjoyed for the last several years before retiring. Now that he is no longer there he can't even acknowledge his mistake of bashing his school after he left, being chewed out by the staff and then takes down the post. So much for freedom of speech. I guess being embarrassed is more powerful

Anonymous said...

I read that post. The principal was called out for going after two teachers. The school was not trashed. You got nothing here to defend Sherman so change the subject.

Anonymous said...

This ain't about Eterno.

Anonymous said...

I’m a first year teacher in a d75 school and I’m suffering from such extreme anxiety and stress that I’m having severe anxiety attacks nearly twice a week.

Does it ever get better? Genuinely went into this career for the students and to better them but I feel like no matter what I do nothing is good enough. It’s like I take 10 steps forward and 40 steps back.

Thankfully, I have an amazing team of Admins and support staff but I also don’t know who I can trust and voice my concerns to so it often feels like I’m in my own little bubble. I place so much pressure on myself to be perfect because I want to have a job to come back to in September.

Unfortunately I’m beginning to think that maybe this career path isn’t for me if I can’t handle all of the stress and pressure.

Anonymous said...

The culture at school is so bad that I have spent the last two days of this break depressed instead of enjoying the time off. I think I have normalized how bad this specific year has been and now that I have had time away, it is overwhelming me.

Anyone have strategies for combating any of the following?
Negativity in leadership and staff.
Cliques and pettiness within teams.
Extreme micromanaging by admin

Anonymous said...


After a lot of thinking and talking with my union rep and my principal, we decided before break that I would take a restoration of health for the remainder of the school year and return in September. I emailed my payroll secretary during the week to ask what I should put as the last day of my leave and have not heard back from her. Anyone in here have any idea?

Anonymous said...

Its simple, I am among several teachers who do not trust James. I don't know much about Flushing HS, but James has disparaged many principals because a few teachers out of an entire staff may complain to him.

The teachers of Middle College HS banded together to put James in his place and I'm sure other staff will do the same in the future when necessary.

James is more concerned with headlines for his blog rather than the complete truth.

Anonymous said...

Carmen Applewhite and Jamillah Salahuddin, two Teachers who have previously shared their experiences of allegedly being harassed and retaliated against by their schools’ Principals, say that the mistreatment continued after they came forward.

Ms. Applewhite, who has taught at P.S. 3 in Bedford-Stuyvesant for 10 years and serves as United Federation of Teachers chapter leader of the school, told The Chief in November about being given an Ineffective rating for the previous school year after she sounded the alarm on students with special needs not getting mandated services and being supplied inadequate learning materials.

Grieved Sudden Class Switch

On Dec. 3, her class was suddenly switched: she was given a new group of students in second and third grades, despite the fact that students from different grade levels should not be in the same classroom. (Her previous class was made up of third- and fourth-graders, she noted).

Ms. Applewhite filed a grievance about the change, and that’s when the harassment intensified, she said. The veteran educator, who has more than 20 years of teaching experience, claimed that the school’s Principal started coming into the class and observing her teaching her new students, without any explanation.

“I love teaching. But you’re not going to micromanage me and talk to me as though I’m less than,” Ms. Applewhite said. “A school is supposed to be a safe haven, and not just for the students. The kids see the administrators bullying the Teachers. So what message are we sending to our kids?”

Ms. Salahuddin, who has worked at P.S. 202 in East New York for more than 20 years, said that after a new Principal took over during the 2017-2018 school year, she was targeted for reporting that some English-language learners did not have a Teacher who spoke their language, and for complaining about violent incidents that occurred because of bullying, which was a major problem at her school. DOE letters from last March from Ms. Salahuddin’s Principal showed that he requested that she undergo a medical exam at the DOE’s downtown Brooklyn headquarters to test her mental health.

‘Retaliation for Speaking Up’

“My Principal is continuing his pattern of harassment and violating students-with-special-needs’ rights,” she said, noting that her Principal also recently started observing her on short notice. “We’re only speaking up for these students, and as a result, we’re being retaliated against.”

A DOE spokesman said that there were "clear guidelines in place for investigating any misconduct, and the Superintendents are collaborating closely with both of these school communities.”

The pair believed the mistreatment they experienced was far too common across city schools, particularly among Teachers who spoke out about contract violations and education laws not being followed. Ms. Salahuddin and Ms. Applewhite also championed addressing disparities in the quality of education in low-income neighborhoods serving predominantly brown and black children, including outdated textbooks. (Ms. Applewhite said her school was using books published in 1983).

“We should have the same curriculum and the same materials as affluent districts,” Ms. Salahuddin said. The longtime Teacher said that in wealthy school districts in Manhattan and Brooklyn’s Park Slope, the curriculum was based on the most-successful programs used in other countries. “All children are capable; just give us synonymous materials. That’s all we ask.”

Though Ms. Applewhite was outspoken, questioning the closing of a special-education class and the whereabouts of a science lab that the school received funding for last June, she said many Teachers were afraid to raise concerns about the allegedly toxic work environment, especially senior employees closer to retiring.

‘More Adamant to Expose’

“I’m more adamant now to expose what’s going on,” Ms. Applewhite said. “I should not have to go to school and be threatened.”

Anonymous said...

I'm betting Ben Sherman or Mendez is posting many of these Eterno bashing comments. Hey Ben, time to do the right thing and resign. The other shoe is about to drop on you soon. Thanks James for all your support. The people at the Hills are Eterno-ly grateful

Anonymous said...

To be clear James is this blog. He is the only one that writes no one else Although it is called ICE it is James and his opinion. No one else's so what he writes is him. The problem is he can't take the heat of his own ego so when he over stepped his bounds at Middle College and the staff spoke out against him he took down the posts and their comments so everyone can think he is wonderful again. Clean slate and you can't see what his colleagues really think of him

Prehistoric pedagogue said...

7:27. Not sure if I understand your problem. If your administration is supportive and helpful what is the source of your anxiety and depression?

Jordan pincus said...

Ideology supersedes all else.

Jordan pincus said...

Like North Korea

Anonymous said...

I bust my balls, accomplish nothing except getting abused. I hate it, im depressed, unhappy, sick to my stomach...

James Eterno said...

Email us 7:27. We might not have all the answers but we do know people who can be trusted.

James Eterno said...

Call UFT specialist for help 7:33.

James Eterno said...

I put in a search for Flushing High School at the top of the blog and then Flushing High School principals. I don't ever recall writing much about Flushing principals and there is nothing that comes up in the search so please be specific 8:11 P.M. I think you might be confusing me with another blogger.

Anonymous said...

For decades, some @NYCSchools offered AP courses and some just didn't — talk about a tale of two cities. There were kids ready to excel across our city, but they weren't given the opportunity. AP For All has changed that.
So instead, we gave it to everyone, wven the undeserving, even high school students who can't write a proper sentence.

Anonymous said...

With nearly $1 billion down the drain, and precious years of education wasted for hundreds of children, Mayor Bill de Blasio is finally giving up on his Renewal Schools program. Except he’s not really even doing that.

The city had to close 23 of the original 90-plus schools; 21 more have “graduated out,” thanks to modest improvements. But the remaining 50 will get the same “medicine” (extra funding and social services support) exactly as before.

The only real change is to drop the Renewal brand — because it accurately warns parents that their kids would be better off at another school. That leads to transfers — and can bring a school’s enrollment down so far that it has to close. Indeed, it explains most of those 23 Renewal closures.

Yet the true purpose of Renewal was exclusively to avoid closing schools, even terrible ones, because the teachers union hates it when members have to find new placements. It bitterly resented the Bloom­berg-era approach of closing down bad schools and opening new ones in their place, and de Blasio was happy to oblige.

Never mind that he thereby condemned students to (at best) sub-par education while the city made a show of trying to turn the schools around.

Now de Blasio’s new chancellor, Richard Carranza, is explaining that there’s no silver bullet to turn around schools. But that doesn’t excuse Renewal’s failure; it explains why it was a con from the start.

Then Carranza falls back on blaming “privilege” — when enrollment in New York’s public schools is 80 percent minority.

Yes, higher-income people find ways for their kids to attend good schools. But it’s Carranza’s job, and de Blasio’s, to offer the same opportunity to lower-income folks.

The city’s best charter schools keep showing how to do exactly that — which is why the mayor and the chancellor resent them.

Carranza recently warned charter networks to stop advertising the fact that they offer a better chance at a good education. Now de Blasio is killing the “Renewal” label because it’s a warning that the school stinks.

In short, they’re far more dedicated to keeping parents ignorant than to educating children.

Anonymous said...

@ 3:37 - nice try but there will NEVER be a way to discredit MR.ETERNO especially with a comment like yours LOL.. its actually very humorous lol

Mr.Eterno is well respected by a mass amount of teachers that continue to work in this corrupt education system along with the sell-outs from our union reps. and stake holders. It is evident by your comment that the only shameless thing right about now should be your conscience for writing such TRASH..

Anonymous said...

Dwarka should resign also for bringing a school to the ground.

Anonymous said...

Did everyone get their ratings from the student evaluation? How does the uft allow this?

Anonymous said...

@12:02 just to be clear Its called ICE because ALL WHAT JAMES WRITES IS HARD CORE(FACTS)which exactly what ICE IS HARD CORE..and he gets all his FACTS from teachers experiences from how unjust they are treated in schools by INCOMPETENT PRINCIPALS, ADMINISTRATORS, and representatives from our OWN UNION!! So don't get his ego confused with his INTELLECT and passion to help teachers out..
unlike the SELL OUT UFT REPRESENTATIVES and upper stake holders that ride the BLOOMBERG REFORM WAVE and don't have the INTELLIGENCE OR BALLS to LEVEL OUT the SYSTEM and fight for teachers rights like James does......
And answer this,how do you know the staff spoke out against him...what evidence do you have??...WHY DON'T YOU BACK UP YOUR BULLSHIT BECAUSE THE COMMENT YOU POSTED IS as shitty as what YOU believe ICE or James represents for us teachers....If James deleted the MCHS Blog was for a reason..which YOU obviously don't know and that is why you writing such a bogus comment.. JAMES ONLY works with EVIDENCE thats why he posted in the first place..and that's what he ONLY works with... you sound bitter because ONE MAN does what so many UFT REPRESENTATIVES SHOULD BE DOING AND THAT IS FIGHTING FOR TEACHERS RIGHTS!! so STOP HATING and be A LEARNER instead of a BULL SHITTER. I'm going stop right here
so, you can go eat some dinner while its hot.. DUMBASS..

Anonymous said...

@8:11, I work in Middle College High School IF YOU ONLY KNEW!!....

Guess what, the beauty of you being anonymous proves that you are clueless about what goes on in Middle College HS. Just keep in mind the mass of teachers who James Eterno worked with and helped know how much he can be trusted...and it is SAD to say that this blog is HIS ONLY PLATFORM to help protect teachers from the corrupt system we work in. It seems you don't know much about anything let alone Flushing H.S. or Middle College High School. This ARTICLE IS ABOUT FOREST HILLS.

If you are trying to damage a person's reputation, at least get your FACTS straight. You have no idea about why the post you complain about was taken down. The truth is it was taken down at the request of people on the inside after going public about our issues had the desired effect of waking up the UFT and putting the principal on notice. After the blog post, a vote on PROSE was postponed and two UFT meetings were called. We felt it was better to debate in house after the comments on the blog got personal and were ignoring the contract issue. The whole truth about how the UFT worked with the principal to encourage us to violate our own contract might eventually come out. Stay tuned.

Anonymous said...

The UFT always sides eith the DOE so they can destroy careers.

LL said...

Wow, so my school of 400 students just made a teacher into an AP, that's 4 supervisors for those 400 students. How outrageous. Where is the oversight?

James Eterno said...

It's the wild, wild west LL.