Scores of Students to Stay Home Friday as Protest Against Monika Garg Escalates
The logical next step. Watch the DOE goons charge parents with neglect for keeping kids out of school. With a day of bad weather we'll see how this tuns out. Ed Notes will be there.
Save CPE 1
Media Advisory for Friday, May 5
CPE 1 Parents to Wage Strike Demanding Mayor de Blasio Remove School’s Principal
EAST HARLEM—On the heels of an overnight occupation of Central Park East 1 last month, scores of parents will wage a strike Friday, keeping their keep children home from school in an emphatic call on Mayor Bill de Blasio to immediately remove Principal Monika Garg.
Parents will set up a picket line outside the city’s oldest progressive public elementary school Friday morning as their campaign challenging Principal Monika Garg’s draconian and ineffective leadership escalates.
The strike comes as Garg has banned two parents of special needs’ kids in retaliation for their leading roles in last month’s protest—the latest move by the embattled principal to squelch opposition to her ineffective leadership.
WHO: CPE 1 Parents and supporters
WHAT: Strike demanding Mayor de Blasio remove CPE 1 principal
WHEN: Friday, May 5, 9:00 a.m.
WHERE: CPE 1 1573 Madison Ave. at 106th Street
BACKGROUND
Since her appointment in 2015, which came via a questionable process, first-time Principal Garg has deliberately fomented division, mistrust and turmoil at the iconic public progressive elementary school. With the support of District 4 Superintendent Alexandra Estrella, Garg has harassed teachers and retaliated against them, mistreated students and families, and undermined the school’s successful practices.
Friday’s strike marks an escalation in a year-plus campaign for accountability at CPE 1. Last year, 70 percent of CPE 1 families signed an online petition demanding the removal of the principal. At the last School Leadership Team meeting, the Parents Association Co-Chair read a statement of statement of “no confidence” in Principal Garg signed by an overwhelming majority of families.
Parents have appealed to the DOE for more than a year—including appearances at 15 consecutive PEP meetings—about significant concerns with Principal’s Garg’s leadership, but have not had their needs adequately addressed. Garg is statistically the WORST principal in NYC: she has received the lowest ratings from parents and teachers on the 2016 DOE school survey of any principal in the city and oversaw the city’s largest drop in test scores after her traumatic first year at the helm (2016). New York City has approximately 1,800 public schools.
(Source: NYC DOE School Quality Snapshot, 2014-15 and 2015-16)
Parents cite serious concerns about Principal Garg’s leadership, including abuse of teachers, children and families. Two teachers have been removed from the school for investigations that parents consider retaliatory in nature. The investigations came in the wake of an open letter signed by tenured staff expressing concerns. Another third of the teaching staff left at the end of last year. All tenured teachers have faced investigations and disciplinary action under Garg.
More recently, she has turned to retaliating against parents who speak out, banning two parents, including the PTA co-chair, from dropping their special needs’ kids off at school and attending school meetings. She has also attempted to divide parents along racial lines, “liking” and commenting on racially-charged Facebook posts.
Children have been harmed as a result of Garg’s investigations and bannings. Garg interviewed very young children without parents’ knowledge or consent. Many only found out from other parents whose children had told them. More than 55 parents filed complaints with the DOE without any response. Children in the classes with teachers removed are suffering emotional and social distress and have not received proper support.
In the last few weeks, parents have tailed Mayor de Blasio everywhere he goes, bearing signs and leaflets calling for Garg’s immediate removal.
In solidarity with our strike, join a call-in to Mayor Bill DeBlasio.
Friday, May 5 12:00pm-2:00pm
Call the Mayor at 212-788-3000
Demand an end to the ban on CPE1 parents from their sons’ school.
Tell the Mayor that this pattern of retaliation and abuse of power must stop and Principal Monika Garg must be removed.
Tweet the Mayor and DOE Chancellor Farina:
@nycmayorsoffice @CarmenFarinaDOE Use hashtags #savecpe1 #parentsingargout
1 comment:
A textbook example of how "accountability" is only for the little people and those out of favor with the powerful.
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