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human capital

July 30, 2010

As school transformation begins, some principals are let go

by Anna Phillips, at 7:51 pm

The city is removing principals of some schools the city is overhauling with federal funds but keeping others in place, according to an email from a principal today.

In an email obtained by GothamSchools, the principal of William Grady CTE High School told his staff that the city had decided to replace him and several other unnamed principals next year. The announcement was not a complete surprise, as principals of the eleven schools set to begin a new turnaround strategy next year have known they could lose their jobs for over a month.

The new strategy, known as the transformation model, is part of a federal program to improve some of the state’s lowest-performing schools. Though it is the least invasive of the four models offered — it doesn’t require firing teachers — it does call for the removal of principals.

In his email, Grady High School principal Carlston Gray wrote that while new principals who have been in their schools for three years or fewer will keep their jobs, others will be replaced. He suggested that some may be able to remain involved in their current schools.

“Several options are available to the principals including, acting as a mentor to the new principals, being reassigned to other DOE administrative position, or phase-out school,” he wrote. He did not say who his replacement would be.

Department of Education officials would not say which principals were being replaced or allowed to keep their jobs. Only four of the eleven principals have been in their schools for three years or fewer: Mary Brouder (Automotive High School), Fausto de la Rosa (Unity Center for Urban Technologies), Jeaninne Wallace (Brooklyn School for Global Studies) and Brian Rosenbloom (Chelsea Career and Technical Education High School).

“We are extremely focused on making sure each school has an individualized plan that will give it the best chance for success,” said DOE spokesman Jack Zarin-Rosenfeld.

A teacher at Grady High School said the change was warranted.

“The data indicates we haven’t gotten any better,” the teacher said. “There should be a change.”

The 11 schools selected for transformation are:

Automotive High School: Mary Brouder; principal since 2009
Bread & Roses Integrated Arts High School: Larry Wilson; principal since 2004
Brooklyn School for Global Studies: Jeaninne Wallace; interim acting principal since 2009
Chelsea Career and Technical Education High School: Brian Rosenbloom; principal since 2008
Cobble Hill School of American Studies: Kenneth Cuthbert; principal since 2005
Flushing High School: Cornelia Gutwein; principal since 1997
Franklin Delano Roosevelt High School: Geraldine Maione; principal since 2005
Long Island City High School: William Bassell; principal since 1993
Queens Vocational and Technical High School: Denise Vittor; principal since 2001
Unity Center for Urban Technologies: Fausto de la Rosa; principal since 2007
William E. Grady Career and Technical Education High School: Carlston Gray; principal since 2006

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  • http://www.classsizematters.org Leonie Haimson

    how many got big bonuses for good performance? how many are Leadership Academy grads?

  • I noticed that…

    How many have many years in the classroom? How many were former TFA teachers? How many have absolutely no teaching experience?

  • Fair-minded Observer

    Another competent and qualified educator falls prey as a result of invalid and unreliable testing data. As a result of this erroneous data, Grady was labelled a failing school.

  • Informed Consumer

    “How many have many years in the classroom? How many were former TFA teachers? How many have absolutely no teaching experience?”

    If you’d like to know, look them up here: http://eservices.nysed.gov/teach/certhelp/Inquiry.do?Done.x=26&Done.y=14

    You’ll find that many of them have years of previous teaching experience. 

  • I noticed that…

    I.C., Thank you for the link.

    However, is it possible to find information regarding Leonie’s questions: “how many got big bonuses for good performance? how many are Leadership Academy grads?”

  • edwina

    I have not seen any comment whatsoever in Gotham Schools or any media about the principals’ union’s reaction to any of this- the CSA. What are they doing for these people who tried to turn these schools around under impossible circumstances with no support?

    Also, I see two of them are among the most senior principals in the DOE.

  • Ms. Smith

    What about the schools like FDR that have one third English Language Learners? The system continues to not serve these students by insisting that they make impossible gains in such a short period of time. The system now only gives them three years to become academically functional in English. This goes against all research on learning a second language especially when they are not at grade level in their native language. ELL’s, new comers in particular, are also being placed in small schools where they are not being served properly. Many of them need to be in transitional Bilingual programs but are not. They are also in mixed-level classes and are doomed to failure. How many of these other schools are on this list because of the same reason?

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  • http://ednotesonline.blogspot.com/ Norm

    “Long Island City High School: William Bassell; principal since 1993″

    This is an interesting case. The Leadership Academy used to send numerous interns there to be trained by Bassell because he was considered to be doing a good job of running a large complex comprehensive HS. Of course Jolanta Rohloff who took a bad situation at Lafayette and turned it into a nightmare was supposedly one of them.

  • Jeff S

    I wouldn’t worry about Mr. Bassell. Although I don’t know him, I am sure that if he has been a Principal since 1993, he is old enough and has enough service to retire on a very handsome pension. Maybe he might feel it isn’t his time, but he’ll do fine and discover that there is life after the Board (or Department) of Education.

  • Michael Fiorillo

    Norm,

    So William Bassell was induced to train his own replacement.

    That’s an honest, respectful way to honor someone’s years of service to the school system? Then again, they’re eventually going to dismember the school, a far greater crime against the community.

  • Fleuron

    @edwina: Here’s what the CSA had to say: http://www.csa-nyc.org/node/322

  • Eon Moore

    The principal of Grady received a bonus in his first year for making outstanding gains. In four years the graduation rate climbed by 16%. His removal has more to do with teachers and other staff being hed accountable for the work, than with the transformation model. This is all part of a plan by the UFT representative to remove an effective leader.

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  • Minnie

    I agree with Ms. Smith. No one is paying attention that these LARGE OVERCROWDED High Schools have a high % of ELL students who CANNOT take and PASS a Regents exam in their 1st year since migrating to the US. Who is the DOE trying to blame??? Certainly not their incompetence at handling a system that has gotten out of control. I really don’t understand how the principals and teachers get blamed when the raw materials their given to work with are already flawed. Try spending a day in the life of a principal or teacher in one of these 11 LARGE OVERCROWDED schools then send your feedback.

  • J. Rock

    Mr. William Bassell was absolutely ridiculous. All he ever did was pander to the UFT representative Mr. Ken Achiron. When he took over the school he was one of the youngest principals in NYC. He didn’t care about students— he was a pure functionary waiting to be promoted up the DOE ladder. He found out that Ms. Epstein was have sex with students and giving them coke….and he had her transferred to Bayside High School instead of having the scandal that occurred under his tenure become public. Good riddance.

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