Saturday, November 23, 2019

PS 24 PRINCIPAL DESPERATELY SEEKING SUPPORT

Steven Schwartz, the Principal of PS 24 in the Bronx, has resorted to offering teachers positive file letters, extra prep time and favorable observations in exchange for supporting the school at a Community Education Council meeting coming up on Tuesday.

ICE-UFT blog was given a copy of a Wednesday email from the Principal to the staff. Here is an excerpt:
On Tuesday, November 26, PS 24 will be hosting the monthly Community Education Council. This is a great opportunity to show members of the outside community, including our Superintendent, Executive Superintendent and others all the progress we have made (and do it not behind an e-mail). It would be greatly appreciated if members of our staff could join together and show the outside community how united and strong PS 24 is despite the past turmoil.

Further down:
Please let me know if you can attend this important event. Letters to file and considerations around 4e [Danielson Framework on observations] will be considered for your support dedication and time. In addition, I will be providing 2 additional preps to any staff members willing to show up and support their school and fellow colleagues. Please RSVP.

Thank you

Steven Schwartz
Principal

In a followup email, Principal Schwartz goes for the families:

My apologies, I almost forgot that I am also offering the grade with the most parents/staff in attendance extra recess.

Please let your students know, communicate with your parents and lets ensure a great showing.

Sue Edelman has the story in the NY Post with reactions.
Some staffers don’t like what they call pressure to make a show of their support to curry favor with the boss — or face possible repercussions.

“That’s not in the nature of a teacher to do,” one said. “Otherwise, they’d be politicians and not teachers.”

Another said Schwartz wants staff and parents to fill seats. “He’s trying to show that people are in favor of him despite all the negative press that we’ve had.”

Teacher Walter Rendon blasted the deal as “bribery” in an email to DOE officials Saturday, writing: “Mr. Schwartz is hoping to present himself in a good light” for district superintendent Maribel Torres-Hulla. Schwartz did not return messages seeking comment.

No surprise that the DOE has no comment.

ICE-UFT blog was also provided with a letter from PS 24 parents to the Chancellor and District Superintendent. Our CSA comment guy is welcome to respond.

Spuyten Duyvil Elementary School - PS 24 has been a gem in the Riverdale Neighborhood and a guiding school in District 10 in the Bronx.  This has been the case for decades.  We have had our share of unique principals that have led the school, but the strength of the community, parents and our children have kept us solid and strong.  We know this because we stand together and play an important and on-going role in our children's education.  We don't need to tell the innovators and administrators of the biggest and most expensive school system in the United States that the most consistent predictors of children’s academic achievement and social adjustment are parent expectations of the child’s academic attainment and satisfaction with their child’s education at school.

That being said, we are stifled and stymied by our current building leader, Steven Schwartz, who has already continued in the spirit of unique building leaders at PS 24.  

In the short 3 years he has been here, he has:

Been found by internal of inappropriate behavior, having been tweeting gambling horse racing information, when he should have been doing his job.  [see https://nypost.com/2018/06/02/principal-accused-of-gambling-on-horse-races-during-school-hours/]  Then again, a year later, he commits the same infraction, only to be scolded with a slap on the wrist.  [see https://nypost.com/2019/06/08/bronx-principal-could-face-another-investigation-over-gambling-tweets/]  Then, we hear that he was under investigation,has been found, today, in violation of mismanaging public funds and in doing so we learned he had to "let go" of the secretary (Lara Anabel) who would not comply with his illegal money shifting activity.  These were all allegations made last year, and yet he is still here.

In addition, we find Mr. Schwartz has created a culture of stress and fear among the teachers.  He has removed nearly 10 teachers who he didn't feel he wanted and replaced them with younger teachers that mostly came from a school his mother, Esther Schwartz consulted with [see legacy relationship at https://sites.google.com/site/ceipeacfn534/about/staff].  She has been on retainer with Ben Waxman, who now runs a consulting business.  Mr. Waxman has been seen on many occasion at PS 24.  This shady back door dealing is of a different time in New York's less illustrious history.  We now live in a world of transparency and professionalism.  So many schools around us and throughout the city have qualified and competent building leaders that have the students at their focus and concentration.  Why are we left with Mr. Schwartz?

We are not interested in having to put up with a less than qualified principal that continues to bend the rules and turn PS 24 into a lock-step, teach-to-the-test school.  Teachers are complaining that they are assessing students and rarely getting to instruction.  We can send you at least 10 qualified principal candidates that believe and respect the position entitled to them.  These are men and women with integrity, experience and value.  They are not, like Mr. Schwartz, in his current position as principal only there to what we believe to be - just to position himself to the next level.  When we look at the number of of qualified principals - we wonder why we have a building leader who:

Never taught elementary school (yet reviews teachers who have decades of elementary experience)
Spent less than two years teaching - at a High School / Middle School level. Was a vice principal for less than two years (and during that time was moved by Melodie Mashel (the previous district 10 superintendent) to protect him from allegedly inappropriate interaction with a female subordinate and an alleged corporal punishment charge upheld.) 
Then spent some time working with the district on data.....

…..and now he is responsible for 850 student's elementary school education?  If this history and allegations are true, then, it stands to reason, that maybe he is being protected.  This is at the cost of the PS 24 community and families.  Don't they deserve a leader worthy of their children?

 He does not interact with our children (he knows nearly none of their names), he spends as much or more time intimidating and over-working our teachers (instead of positively supporting them and giving them the opportunity to grow).  Teachers have told parents that he said to the whole staff 3 years ago that all of their ratings are too high and they should expect them to drop.  We have been told that he has said, on numerous occasions, to the entire staff at staff meetings, that he doesn't care what the parents think.  In addition, he makes it very difficult for us parents to be in the building to support our children and teachers.  He has used derisive efforts to lower teachers rather than raise them.  We have been told by other teachers, that in fact, one teacher whom he wanted to leave - he wrote up poor reviews of her and even mentioned in a review that she was inappropriate for pumping her breast for her new child (even though it was done after class time.)  The teacher who eventually left because of such negative pressure admitted it to be true and had proof in e-mails between the two. She was reluctant to come forward for fear of retribution.  He eventually retracted his statements in the review, but the social statement he made spoke volumes. 

It is no wonder parents are pulling their children out sooner than when they graduate 5th grade.  The kindergarten classes - 7 in all, are full and up until a month ago were at 32 a room, enraging parents and limiting kindergarten growth.  His claim to parents was that it was the district's fault and he had to do this to prove that he was overcrowed to get more money / teachers.  This at the sake of the kindergarten teacher's stress and the kindergarten's students well being and experience.  By the time, our students are in 5th grade, the grade-wide numbers for 5th graders have dropped - indicating to us that parents are dissatisfied. 

You, Ms. Hulla, come from a distinguished background in Brooklyn and have come to District 10 in the Bronx to help make it amazing.  We are sure you can do this; that is if you don't let the old guard and old fashioned back room politics run you.  You have our support to be open and transparent and live up to the 3 tenants our Chancellor has claimed to provide to the children and parents of New York.  

Mr. Carranza, we are just one of your 1800 schools and most likely are not on your radar, as we produce great numbers for the district.  But, please tell us, why are you ignoring this situation for the 850 students of Riverdale?  We can most certainly meet and give you a long list of qualified principals willing to be as honest and forthright as us, the community of Riverdale in the Bronx.  Is it really okay to have a new Superintendent (Hulla) be tugged along by this yesteryear group who think they have the run of the public's money and use their  influence and connections to degredate the students of this neighborhood?  We know you are busy, but we are sure you have a qualified staff to help Ms. Hulla make the prudent and right decision to give us a building leader that can lead with honesty, integrity and fortitude, one that knows the student's names and cares about the development of our children.

Thank you for your time.

With equity and excellence

30 comments:

  1. What a surprise.

    City blocked investigations of de Blasio, Richard Carranza: whistleblowers

    Hands off.

    An explosive whistleblower complaint sent to three city councilmen claims the agency charged with investigating wrongdoing in city schools has blocked probes of Mayor Bill de Blasio, Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza and their allies, The Post has learned.

    The Special Commissioner of Investigation (SCI) for city schools is sitting on nine cases of waste, fraud and corruption involving the upper echelons of City Hall and the Department of Education, according to a type-written, four-page letter that catalogues the wrongdoing in detail.

    One of cases cited involves first lady Chirlane McCray’s embattled $850 million mental health program, Thrive, which has a large school component.

    The insider document blames Special Commissioner Anastasia Coleman, who was appointed in February 2018, after prevailing in a power struggle with former Department of Investigations Commissioner Mark Peters, an aggressive prober of the mayor’s administration and city agencies.

    “Under Coleman, SCI is continuing to hold or redirect investigations into City Hall, Chancellor Richard Carranza and de Blasio allies with business or that are connected to the DOE to protect de Blasio’s image while he runs for president,” says the anonymous Aug. 20 letter signed by “SCI Investigative Staff.”

    De Blasio dropped out of the presidential campaign on Sept. 20.

    Other mothballed cases included a probe of possible mayoral interference in an investigation of Orthodox Jewish yeshivas that get city funds but skimp on required secular education; contract spending on de Blasio’s aborted “Renewal” program for failing schools; and allegations about Carranza and his top aides.

    Holden said he forwarded the letter to the Queens District Attorney’s office, which is overseeing a probe of grade-fixing at Maspeth High School.

    Both Torres and Treyger told The Post the letter raised red flags they have already recognized.

    “The letter confirms what we’ve long known: The SCI, as constituted, appears fundamentally ineffective at overseeing the DOE,” Torres said. “The overseer needs oversight of its own.”

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  2. This guy is a total scumbag. However, If I worked at his school I would totally take him up on that offer for a positive letter to file and extra 2 preps just to attend some dumb night meeting.

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  3. And therein lies the problem. Teachers need some integrity or we can't ask it for the system. We have met the enemy and they are us.

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  4. This is hysterical - a principal begging for support from the same group that he mistreated.
    with a final result of him not changing his ways and to continue the mistreatment once all is said and done.

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  5. DOE is corrupt from top to bottom.

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  6. "This shady back door dealing is of a different time in New York's less illustrious history. We now live in a world of transparency and professionalism."

    These naive parents are not familiar with the NYCDOE and UFT where shady back door dealing is the norm. Professionalism died around the time Randi Weingarten became UFT president.

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  7. A corrupt DOE and a corrupt UFT.

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  8. --I'm a 2nd year teacher that's part of Tier 6. I'm already feeling really burnt out and I think the expectation of working this same job for the better part of 30-something years with the slight chance of being able to retire is so unrealistic. Realistically, what should I do? I know I should be worried about getting tenure, which I am working towards. I just don't know where to go from there; I feel like there isn't any reasonable way out.

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  9. Currently sitting at my assigned school waiting on an answer as to where I’m supposed to be. I am livid. Apparently the school received an email that I will no longer be here this week but according to mine, I’m here until 12/1. Has anyone been in this situation? I’m waiting on a response to my emails and phone calls but none of the offices are open. Will I get docked a day for no show (even though I showed up to the school on my last email)?

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  10. I noticed a rash that looked like ring worm on a students face Monday. Sent him to the nurse, he returned to class. He didn’t get to the doctor until Wednesday. Thursday he came in with a note that it was confirmed ring worm. Parents still sent him in everyday this week. He was in medication as of Thursday but what about Monday until Thursday?! Sitting in class with ringworm, which is highly contagious. These like this amaze me

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  11. Why doesnt the uft help if im gonna quit?

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  12. @4:17if you feel like this 3 months into your second year- GET OUT. you have nothing tieing you to the doe. no real time invested.
    nothing to look forward to. get a different city job and transfer your time. why torture yourself for 30 + years.

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  13. As a teacher in her third year at PS 24, I suggest you find out the actual facts before speaking.

    A couple of teachers who are retaliating against the principal and some of us teachers are behind this. And why? Because they are terrible teachers and worse human beings.

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    1. @ 8:11PM

      You got the same email. He was offering a quid pro quo.

      But this is how Schwartz operates. He’s been caught, not once but twice, handicapping horses on school time. His mommy, Esther Schwartz, retired DOE principal is employed by Ben Waxman https://educators4ss.org/our-team/ as a consultant. Why is there business between Waxman’s group and 24? Why was Schwartz’ corporal punishment allegations hushed up and he was whisked out of the school to somewhere else? What about him banging a subordinate while an AP at Bronx Little School? If here were a manager at McDonald’s he would have been fired long ago. Yet thanks to mommy’s connections he has more lives than a cat.

      But what you call retaliation is actually whistleblowing on corruption. I would bet you ever done I have that you have no problem with the person the blew the whistle on Trump. That you can see Trump’s wrongs.

      Will you be this supportive of Schwartz when you are denied tenure next year over some frivolous inane thing?

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  14. Just giving information that was sent our way from teachers as well as two letters from parents and also a report in NY Post that quoted teachers. Are you denying the emails were authentic?

    If you are going to put down teachers, remember this is a pro-union blog where we believe in union solidarity. We try to help each other and work through our differences.

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  15. ATR informational meeting in Queens earlier tonight: to sum it up, it just CONFIRMED what i suspected, that there's nothing new there for us experienced ATR people...just the same old same old?

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  16. I’m home on LODI. A kid knocked me into a bookshelf on Friday.

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  17. What a productive first day at my latest out of district assignment. Six periods in a safe room with four 7th graders who couldnt stop hitting each other and shouting obscenities that went beyond what I thought was possible. Might be time to check out what SOLAS has to offer because the hell with this shit.

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  18. If I was hired permanently without being formerly asked or signing a paper and I don’t want to work here, what can I do? Anything??

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  19. I have a very rowdy group of 7th graders this year. During meetings, every single teacher complains about this group kids: they talk loud, don't let teachers begin their lessons, they walk out of the room constantly, and they don't do a lot of the work.

    My school is also in receivership, so it looks like we might get shut down in a year or two.

    SO.

    My admin is kind of disconnected and busy. We finally got them to have a meeting about this group of students. The dean asks "what would you like to see us do?" and I respond "I want parents to observe their students while I am teaching" and immediately the dean says "No that is actually corporal punishment as it singles out specific students." My reaction was WTF? I never heard of that.

    Admin always tells us how we can't do much because a lot of our problem students have IEPs. I am starting to doubt this because we share the building with 5 other schools, similar ELL population, and it seems like we are the ONLY SCHOOL having the same problems and a bad culture?

    SHORT VERSION: Is it corporal punishment to ask parents to come and observe their students as I teach? Also, what can be done about admin that don't seem to do too much about building a good culture in the school?

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  20. James, how can you work out differences without all the facts? You hate the post when they talk bad about teachers, but when they talk about admin, all of a sudden you quote the post like its the gospel.

    You fail to recognize that blind solidarity does not solve differences. The same way a parent who blindly support whatever their child does against the teachers word. Yes they're displaying solidarity with their child but it doesn't help the child or the teachers issue with the child.

    I don't work in PS 24 so I don't know all the facts. I just dont like the idea of vilifying oneone, not even admin, on the internet, without all facts.

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  21. Email facts are not in dispute. Parent support of teachers not in dispute. All documented.

    Teachers complaining about other teachers is something the UFT should try to resolve internally. We all pay dues.

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  22. So my second day at my new assignment has me again in the "safe room" where I get the privilege of supervising middle school boys hitting each other when they arent occupied jumping off desks. I get to sit here for six periods. Does anyone know if having 6 of these is legal?

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  23. Because the uft is great at resolving problems...lol.

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  24. 5 classes a day for teachers in secondary schools 9:24.

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  25. All I know is that some of the admin you posted about on your blog are not the monster you portray them to be. Just because some teachers have an issue with admin does not mean blog shit about them.
    I cant tell you how many times teachers come into my school after a few months amd remark that your blog is biased and inaccurate about admin.

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  26. Sorry for the upcoming rant but I feel as if this is the only place where I can voice it and be understood. I also apologize for the anonymous post but these are the times we live in. Instead of seeing an outcry for support and help it can be used against me.

    I’m tired. I know many of you are as well. I’m not talking about fatigue or being overwhelmed which are both apparent, abundant, and valid.

    I’m tired of of me and the staff I work with everyday being told we re not good enough. We need to do more. The more we do the more it’s even worse.

    I’m tired of shady PDs. I’m tired of the hypocritical cycle that is education system.

    I became a teacher because I wanted to be in a position to help. I have and had no illusions when I started this job. This isn’t a movie.

    I grew up in many of the same ways our students grew up. Shelters, homeless, hungry, on top of just being a kid.

    As a new teacher I have so much to learn. As a teacher I am always going to learn. It’s crazy to me that this is a profession where many people say “you get good in 3-5 years.” I can’t see any other profession like that.

    I’m tired of admin eviscerating any attempt to do well. I am more tired that the best way to deal with all of this is to “fly under the radar.” No. I came here to help. I ll go any extra miles for my students. I often feel terrible that my poor students got me as a new teacher. They could benefit so much more from someone with great experience that can really help their learning. I am someone’s _____ grade _____ subject teacher for the rest of their life.

    That is not something I take lightly. I was blessed with many great teachers. I want to pay that back. I want a a chronically absent student to want to come to school because I want them there. Because I believe they can achieve great things. Maybe that’s me being new and naive but I truly believe in that. If I didn’t then what’s the point??!!!

    Where is the help? Where is the support? Where is the leadership? Where are our defenses? We are one of the biggest and strongest unions in the world. I believe in unions. My whole family has been in unions for generations.

    I’m tired of feeling like this. I know I won’t give up because that’s not me. But gd I am so tired of the constant negativity. The anti-teacher rhetoric and attitude.

    I’m tired of it all

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  27. 11:29. Give up the idea of having parents observe their kids in action . Not because it’s Corp punishment but because it is ineffective and non-repeatable. Whet do you do if the kids double-cross you and behave well? It’s just a bad idea. Let it go

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  28. He worked for 5 years at a school in district 12. The staff was super afraid of him, he would play major favoritism, he had a group of minority boys he kept from recess for years! He used the Danielson rubric as a tool to destroy teachers. In his 5 years there, over 30 teachers have come and gone. If you know the school there's only 17 classes from prek to 5th grade. More needs to be investigated about this principal.

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