Dear friends in the media:
We are happy to inform you that Principal Ben Sherman resigned as Principal of Forest Hills High School effective 2:20 pm, today. We know that there is no way we could have accomplished this without your persistence and advocacy. I don’t know what will be held on Thursday to replace the protest, but at this point, I don’t care. I am hoping that we may have established a blueprint for the removal of Principals with no principles. Hopefully, more schools will involve the media and perhaps stage “no confidence votes of their own.
Again, thanks for all you’ve done,
James C. Hogue
Jennifer G. Hogue
Forest Hills High School
Below is a copy of the resignation letter
Sent on Behalf of Mr. Sherman and Dr. Davenport
Oberhaus Richard
Mon 6/3/2019 2:20 PM
Oberhaus Richard
Dear Teachers, Administrators, and Staff,
It has been my pleasure to work with you here at the great Forest Hills High School. Together, we have built on the fine traditions of our school to support the students of our community.
When I arrived here in April 2017, I immediately considered Forest Hills my home.
I appreciate the opportunity to work with some great educators, especially my cabinet team. Collectively, we have increased our graduation rate, the number of advanced placement courses offered and passed, as well as parent and community empowerment. We have accomplished a lot.
While I love Forest Hills very much, I must inform you with a heavy heart that I have decided to transition to another leadership role. It has been a pleasure to work with you for the past two years and I am confident that Forest Hills will continue to grow and develop. I encourage you to always make decisions that are in the best interest of children. I know that you will continue to partner with one another and our elected officials and school community to support Forest Hills.
I have been inspired every day by the great lessons in classrooms, amazing afterschool programs, and the dedication of the Forest Hills team. I know that you will continue to demonstrate professionalism and dedication to every scholar.
Go Rangers!
Ben Sherman
Principal
UPDATE
The NY Post has a piece by Salim Algar that quotes Jim Hogue. The Post also notes DOE admits no wrong and Sherman could be getting a raise.
“I’m
ecstatic,” said teacher Jim Hogue. “Forest Hills High School has always been a
blue ribbon school. Under Principal Sherman the school was clearly careening
down a path to destruction.”
Further down:
But despite
his unceremonious ouster, the veteran administrator could soon be getting
higher — in terms of salary.
Sherman will
now work at DOE headquarters in Manhattan, in the Office of the First Deputy
Chancellor, where he will be entrusted with “supporting our comprehensive
school improvement efforts,” according to a DOE statement,
Sherman’s
base pay will remain $173,693 — but he can score an additional stipend of
$10,000 if he puts in a minimum of five extra hours of work a month, a
spokesman said.
DOE
officials insisted Monday that Sherman’s extraction was not prompted by any
official findings or negative conclusions about his performance.The DOE just moved him in the middle of June before graduation because they wanted to. It had nothing to do with any "negative conclusions about his performance." Yeah right. See why nobody believes anything that comes out of Tweed.
Ed Notes covers the story too. Norm gives the UFT "some level of credit for this." I agree. This was a team effort.
In 2019 it took 90% of staff, UFT, parents, bloggers, media, politicians, assistant principals to remove a principal.
27 comments:
Ben Sherman will be the new LGHS Principal. (Joking, I hope.) The UFT wore Sherman down by beating him with a wet noodle and it took less than ten years.
The UFT should not be sitting around beating their chest in victory over this. It was the TEACHERS at that school who set up a vote of no confidence and got the ball rolling on this jackwagon of a principal. The UFT has a lot of balls to be riding on the coattails of these dedicated teachers in their victory.
He decided to "transition to another leadership role." Excuse me for a moment while I take that in. LMAOROTF!!!!! I find the letter extremely humorous considering the comments he made to school children and faculty members at the school. I certainly hope that part of the deal wasn't to discontinue the investigation into his behavior. One decision we made as a faculty really stands out and that was the vote for his removal. That he should consider himself an appropriate judge of "professionalism" and "dedication" is sickening. The fact that he is then promoted and given a potential salary increase is unconscionable.
Just another reason to drop out.
What is the UFT doing about Dwarka?
UFT helped here for sure. How is this a reason to drop out?
Hopefully, next gone will be the the principal at Laguardia.
"The UFT has a lot of balls to be riding on the coattails of these dedicated teachers in their victory."
THEY are UFT, you moron.
Dwarka still makes teachers' lives miserable.
And how long did it take for Jose Cruz to get removed?
That's just 2 schools in Queens. Tip of the 8 million stories in New York City.
Gulag 65
RE: Anno 10:32-Those teachers may be UFT members but they are not the UFT. The UFT are non-teacher isolationists who sit in their ivory tower at 52 Broadway and are NOT in the trenches day after day. Those teachers led this fight against the principal. It was NOT the suits at 52 Broadway who lead this fight. So fee free to call me a moron but I stick by statement.
There is a difference between UFT members and UFT leadership. The teachers who got the principal removed are UFT members and as such should be the ones claiming victory here. UFT leadership did not get involved in this fight until much later in the battle due to the fact that UFT leadership does not like to "rock the boat".
Congrats to the staff at FHHS. Why were their efforts successful while 99 out of 100 schools with worse school leaders are not? First, it’s a school that hasn’t been broken up. As such their staff is cohesive, joined through common physical areas, experiences and institutional memory. Secondly, the school is well known and functioning - learning goes on. Thirdly, everyone joined together and got the no confidence vote. Every large school high school in the Bronx was broken up, veteran staff displaced, then filled with new teachers, and headed by Leadership principals. These schools are schools in name only - very little learning goes on and teachers are untenured and afraid. When these small staffs try to come together they place themselves in extreme jeopardy. A staff of 15 can easily and quickly be picked off. I asked a UFT rep at one such school how he was exacting pressure to get rid of a very abusive principal. He said the principal had to be made aware and that those teachers had to be open about it or nothing could be done. She was notified of every complaining teacher. I asked what was being done to get rid of her. He wouldn’t say. That principal got rid of each and every staff member.
I have been as critical of UFT leadership inaction and it is true that some rank and file teachers started this and that the UFT didn't get involved until later. But when they did things began to move - which proves these things don't happen with good results (unless the principal commits some crime - that school in Staten Island). When the UFT throws skin in the game it sends a message to the DOE that there may be a bigger fight and they may decide to cut bait. in FHHS once the Unity CL got involved publicly it was clear he wouldn't be doing that without the backing of the UFT. Behind the scenes they helped engage in the no confidence vote -- they were a major factor in getting the steam going.
Hi Norm,
Perhaps the UFT only gets involved in schools they feel they have a shot in ousting abusive principals - 1 in every 500 schools. I’m happy they got involved with FHHS. Problem is that in hundreds of other schools, some staffs and CLs are laying down their careers and the UFT is yesing them to death, while their behind the scene intervention consists of sharing a coffee with the principal. If a CL and a staff is brave enough to challenge these run amok demi-gods, the UFT should have the backbone to go all out for them. When it doesn’t it weakens school staffs, unionism and gives a cocaine like boost to the demi-gods.
This is why we need to drop out.
Teachers stick together and win so we have to drop out? Insanity.
We have to figure out how to use this blueprint in those other schools. Without a union, it has zero chance of success.
I don't trust the UFT to help me one damn bit. I got a BS verbal abuse allegation brought against me by a principal. I called the UFT asking for a district rep to come to my interview. THEY NEVER CALLED ME BACK!
Love coming here to find out that overcoming a bad principal is a reason to drop out, an oddity that can never be replicated, and that UFT should have done this instead of the teachers who did it. So much wisdom on a single page.
Clearly a troll. The Unity apologist is a troll from the other side. Where is the CSA guy who says we rush to judgment here?
If teachers do it, they are the UFT. If the UFT doesn’t do it, it’s the teachers who didn’t do it. A union should be teachers, but it’s a doubled salaried gang of greedy, lazy sycophants who have no idea what’s happening in schools.
2009 to 2019...Dow Jones goes up 400%. Uft Retro interest, 0%. Add inflation, retro down 30%. Great job, thanks for working so hard for us. Cost of living, 3% yearly. Uft raises, 1.3% yearly. Don't forget, raised medical payments, ridiculous evaluation system, everybody kept 8.25 TDA EXCEPT UFT, ignored discipline system, restorative justice, principals ignoring contract..
Bronx ATR left out the most important reason why FHHS was successful in getting rid of Sherman, which is the political juice the parents have in Forest Hills. Once politicians were brought on board, Sherman's days at FH were numbered. But again, look at his "punishment" - he not only gets to keep his salary and stay at the DOE, but he can even get a bonus! Anyone else would have been fired based on the allegations made. What a system.
We have addressed these issues repeatedly 6:26. This blog, however, is not knee jerk opposition. When the UFT leadership supports a chapter, we can endorse their action and encourage more of the same at other schools.
Valid points 7:00. However, without the teachers going to the media, politicians don't get involved.
The UFT needs to start doing their job.
Dwarkas next!
I personally thank all of our brothers and sisters in the teaching profession around the City for their support in our time of crisis at Forest Hills High School. The teachers who were at the forefront of the effort would like very much if this method of eliminating Dept. of Ed. tyrants would spread to hundreds of other schools. Please reach out to Mr. Eterno and he will put you in contact with us. The ultimate goal would be to include the vote of no confidence in the next contract. Currently, there is no check on the "enlightened" despots. Another issue we would like to see our union address is our two tiered justice system in which Administrators remain in place while they receive their due process while teachers are removed immediately after any accusation.
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