Thursday, June 13, 2019

THE LATEST FROM FOREST HILLS HIGH SCHOOL

Dear Forest Hills Faculty and Staff,

As you are aware, Monday was Ben Sherman’s last day as principal of Forest Hills High School.We thank Mr. Sherman for his leadership and wish him well in his new position.

Forest Hills High School is supported by amazing students, families, staff and community members who have created a strong and welcoming learning environment. I have no doubt that Forest Hills will continue to thrive and put our students on the pathway to success.

To ensure that we continue to uphold Chancellor Carranza’s priorities and support a strong learning environment, I am announcing Mr. Paul Wilbur as the new Interim Acting Principal of Forest Hills.  Mr. Wilbur will work alongside Dr. Sean Davenport for the duration of the academic calendar year as Forest Hills continues to exhibit excellence for all students. Mr. Wilbur joins us from Richmond Hill High School, where he has served as an assistant principal for 14 years. He is a proven leader and I know that he’ll collaborate closely with the entire community.

The search for a new principal will begin later in the summer, and I look forward to working with all of you throughout this process.

Thank you in advance for supporting Forest Hills High School.  As our seniors prepare for graduation, I know that you will continue to speak about the extraordinary accomplishments made throughout the school community.  If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact me at aspencer6@schools.nyc.gov.

Go Rangers!!!

Andre D. Spencer, Ed.D.

Executive Superintendent – Queens South

Districts 27, 28 29 and DOE NYC Borough Citywide Office

“Dedicated to Scholars, Committed to Success”


From our insider:
I don't like what is going on.   Praise for Sherman.  Carranza's priorities. C-30 over the Summer?  You bet I'll be emailing him.

9 comments:

The Ape of Reason said...

It's time to incorporate a vote of no confidence into the next teachers contract. If this union really wants to solve this issue with the Principals, it has to give faculty a tool to check the power of abusive tyrants. Grievances be damned.

Anonymous said...

Not happening.

Anonymous said...

The Uft is a subsidiary of the DOE.

Anonymous said...

Are You stupid 9:41? Vote of no confidence will eventually be used against us. If we can do it to principals, why can't admin do the same to us or better yet use student or parent surveys to vote teachers out?

Besides principals have a union too. What's good for the goose is good for the gander.

Look at the big picture, beyond the small victories.

James Eterno said...

They do all of that against teachers already and don't need to get a vote of no confidence. They only need one person's opinion (the principal) to get a teacher out of a school. Look what a massive effort it took to get a principal reassigned, not terminated. Power dynamics must be changed at DOE to reempower teachers. It does not happen if we don't use our collective power.

Anonymous said...

That's true. We saw proof of it with Carranza on the UFT float the parade.

The Ape of Reason said...

Right on James!!! Are you stupid 6:33? We have zero check on admin abuses.

Quinn Zannoni said...

In 2015, UFT Solidarity protested outside of Richmond Hill High School along with a group of activist students (many from the school's student government). Principal Ganesh was fixing grades, trying to eliminate self-contained special education classes, and he had assigned APs who were not licensed in the departments to which they were assigned. One particularly nasty teacher was being supported in their abusive behavior and the staff was divided. I don't remember this particular AP's name, Paul Wilbur, but this is a red flag.

http://www.uftsolidarity.org/uft-solidarity-plans-on-another-rally-richmond-hill-high-school-june-3rd/

https://www.chalkbeat.org/posts/ny/2015/05/15/at-a-struggling-school-an-anonymous-letter-to-a-new-principal-sparks-a-backlash/

The Ape of Reason said...

If we had some definite power in writing to check admin abuses, they would decide to be less abusive.