By Michael Morton
When he changed a seemingly nondescript clear liquid into a growing rainbow foam, the students cheered or held their hands over their mouths in amazement. And when he asked them to explain the trick, they thrust their hands into the air to answer him.
This was, after all, an educational assembly for PS/IS 208, which tries to hold a scientific demonstration or cultural performance once a month. Those involved with the school point to these events as evidence that PS/IS 208 is back on track after a tumultuous beginning.
“Some positive things are happening now at the school,” said Locksley Greaves, a parent who helped arrange for a visit from Voltage, whose real name is Vincent Vollono and who puts on demonstrations under the auspices of the Metropolitan Transit Authority, where he works as an engineer.
One of three schools constructed on land that was once part of the Creedmoor Psychiatric Hospital grounds, PS/IS 208 was ready to open on time in September as part of School District 29 in southeast Queens. Next door, a second combination elementary and middle school, District 26's PS/IS 266, and a high school focusing on teaching were also prepared for their debut.
Two weeks before the school year began, however, the regional superintendent of Region Three, which encompasses District 29, transferred the appointed principal to another school. At that point, PS/IS 208 already had a teaching staff in place and a student body of 600 generated from a lottery process held among the communities of District 29: Queens Village, Hollis, part of Fresh Meadows, Rosedale, Jamaica and Laurelton.
The transferred principal, Dr. Antonio K'tori, had a reputation for effective tough-love toward teachers and students, and he already had a following among many parents. When K'tori was transferred, the parents protested the decision at community meetings, and they were not told the reason for the move.
It was into such a setting that an interim principal, James Philemy, stepped after being assigned just before school opened. While parents were complaining that Philemy, who had been an assistant principal for four years at PS 121 in Ozone Park, did not have enough experience, he had only three days to recruit his administrative team and prepare to take over.
Nat Washington, the president of School Board 29, said Philemy had started to win over some of the parents, with about half supporting him and half not.
“You have people who sent their kid there because of who the principal would be,” said Washington, referring to the reputation of K'tori. As for Philemy, Washington said, “He's been given the task and he seems to be up to it.”
While Washington said it was too early to thoroughly evaluate Philemy's performance and assess how PS/IS 208 was doing, it is hard to walk the halls of the modern glass and steel school and not discern a tangible upbeat attitude among teachers and students.
On the day that Vollono performed, pupils later worked in a computer lab, a special education class played tug-of-war in the school's dance studio and in the cafeteria, students waiting for lunch responded to the signal for attention, two fingers held up in the air.
Philemy said that when he was appointed principal, he wanted to emphasize both science and the arts, and to do so he decided to hold monthly assemblies, which have included Vollono's show and a dance performance, among others. He also said he is trying to stretch the budget so that he can bring in paid consultants to teach the students about music and the performing arts.
“That was my vision for this school,” Philemy said. “What we want to do is educate the whole child.”
One of the faculty, Jerry Oku, came from PS 116 in Jamaica to teach math and science. To him, PS/IS 208 is an opportunity for the faculty to create a better learning environment.
“The quality of education we're bringing in here, we're making sure it's higher than where we came from,” he said. “If you can excite the kids, then you can teach them.”
But while Oku and other staff believe the year has gone well so far, a potentially disruptive change could yet be in store. Philemy was appointed as an interim principal, and according to Washington, the process to select a permanent head of the school began last week.
Washington said a School Leadership team, composed mainly of members from the parent association but also including union representatives, is in charge of interviewing candidates and selecting one. He said the process would probably take a couple of weeks and that the candidate would then be presented to the Department of Education.
Philemy said he had applied for the job, but he had not been interviewed yet and was not sure when he would be called. Regardless, he said he felt satisfied with the job he had done so far.
“As it is now, we're on the right track,” he said.
Reach reporter Michael Morton by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by calling 718-229-0300, Ext. 154.
