By Courtney Dentch
Southeast Queens parents blasted the new regional superintendent for removing a well-respected black principal from a position at a new school on the Glen Oaks campus set to open this September.
The meeting, sponsored by southeast Queens lawmakers at York College Monday night, was aimed at informing parents about the changes under the reorganization of the city schools, but the more than 300 community members who attended the forum kept bringing the focus back to PS/IS 208.
The restructuring of the city's schools combined District 28 in Jamaica and District 29 in Queens Village and Laurelton into a regional district, Region 3, with northeast Queens Districts 25 and 26.
PS/IS 208, planned as a magnet school for District 29, has been built on the Creedmoor Psychiatric Center campus in Glen Oaks along with a District 26 school and a teaching high school. The long-awaited new schools are scheduled to open this fall.
Dr. Antonio K'tori, a principal known for his tough-love approach to leading students and teachers, was named as the school's head. But he was transferred to another new school, PS 268 in Jamaica, just two weeks before the school year started, said Maris Bailey, president of the Presidents Council in District 29.
“Our children will not see people who look like us in those positions,” said one woman, who refused to give her name.
Regional Superintendent Judith Chin declined to answer questions on the subject at the meeting. Replying in her stead, Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott told the increasingly agitated crowd the topic was off limits.
“Discussing personnel issues in public is plainly wrong,” he said.
But School Board 29 President Nat Washington said parents should be informed.
“These are parents,” he said. “They have a right to know. They sent their kids there because of him.”
While the second half of the meeting focused on K'tori's transfer, the first half featured presentations from the regional leaders and the lawmakers who sponsored the forum, including Councilman Leroy Comrie (D-St. Albans).
“We want to make sure parents have the information they need to start this historic new year,” Comrie said. “We need to make sure we open the lines of communication so we can work on community problems.”
Under the school restructuring, school boards are slated to be eliminated, and the state Legislature approved the creation of community district education councils, which will comprise nine parents, two educators or community members and one non-voting high school senior, said Assemblyman William Scarborough (D-St. Albans). The councils' duties will include budgetary and educational planning, superintendent evaluations and determining capacity, he said.
Along with the new leadership in the schools, a universal curriculum is being implemented to raise reading and math scores, said Chin, superintendent for Region 3. The literacy lessons are designed to include phonics, vocabulary and skills in every subject, said Brenda Steele, deputy superintendent.
“In every single classroom, every day, students should be working on reading, writing, listening and understanding, no matter what subject and what class,” she said.
Chin also introduced her parent services staff, aimed at helping residents navigate the system. Parent staff will be available five days a week at the regional operation centers on Linden Place in Flushing and Sutphin Boulevard in Jamaica.
The parent coordinators should also help community members feel more involved in the school system and give them a place to turn, Chin said.
But many southeast Queens residents believe the regional administration has already ignored the community, said Democratic District Leader James Blake.
“The first thing you need to know is what is going on in that community,” Blake said. “You can tell how well a community is respected by the way the community is treated.”
Reach reporter Courtney Dentch by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com, or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 138.
