It is a new year with the same cast.
Tony Fleres, pictured at right, and Michele Kaish were unanimously re-elected president and vice president of the board at the January 4 school board meeting — a subdued one compared to the final meetings of 2015. However, more than 20 parents, most of whom have become meeting regulars during the arguments arising from changes to the accelerated and enriched (A&E) math program, braved the subfreezing temperatures to attend the meeting.
Fleres and Kaish were re-elected 7-0. Board members Louisa Ho and Taylor Zhong were absent.
After re-election, Fleres thanked the residents for coming out to the meeting. The board president’s comments were followed by superintendent David Aderhold’s comments, and he noted that January is school board recognition month.
On behalf of the district, each board member was given a copy of the book “The Collapse of Parenting: How We Hurt Our Kids When We Treat Them Like Adults.” The book’s author, Leonard Sax, will give a Parent University presentation Thursday, April 14.
Neither Fleres nor Aderhold made mention of the debates that have jolted the community the past several months, though many of the more than 15 public comments that ensued raised issues related to last year’s events.
In light of misinformation and confusion in the community as the A&E redesign and other curriculum changes were being discussed, nearly every resident voiced support for publicly video recording board meetings.
“It’s hard to find out what happened when you don’t come to a meeting,” Jennifer Howard said.
Another resident, Martha Luszcz, added that it is difficult for the high number of New York City commuters to attend meetings, and broadcasting meetings afterwards would help parents stay connected.
At the December 15 meeting, as well as the Superintendent Town Hall meeting the week prior, one resident had set up his own tripod video camera and taped the proceedings.
After the meeting, Aderhold said the board’s administration and facilities committee will discuss the videotaping of board meetings. The committee, which is chaired by Kaish, will decide on a recommendation, and the matter is on the agenda for the next committee meeting.
“The previous board may not have supported videotaping, but there is interest on the board now,” Aderhold said. “The past few months it would have been beneficial to have public transcripts. My thinking on this has evolved.”
Residents Mike Jia and Helen Yin both asked for a deeper look at the root causes of the 120 students sent out for mental health assessments in 2014, a figure commonly cited by the administration as evidence of the unhealthy environment in the district, so that other approaches could be considered to improve student development.
Yin and “Take Back Childhood” founder Catherine Foley were both quoted and photographed in a New York Times feature on the school district that ran on the front page of the paper’s December 26 issue. In both their public comments, they expressed the importance of bridging divides and having all parents work together to improve the district.
The A&E redesign was not the only December 15 agenda item mentioned during public comments. A mother-son duo of journalists also commented on a policy and regulation pertaining to school-sponsored publications approved by the board.
Recent North graduate David Yaffe-Bellamy, (see his op-ed, page 9), and his mother, Deborah Yaffe, criticized the recently approved regulations, which require school publications, including the student newspapers at both high schools, to be reviewed by the principal.
Deborah Yaffe, who has been a journalist for the past 26 years, said the administration’s policies contradict the district’s stated prizing of journalism education.
Rather than “communicating warm fuzzies,” Yaffe said, “the fundamental mission of journalism is to report the news without fear or favor.”
The January 6 reorganization agenda was unanimously approved.
The Community Middle School Orchestra performed before the meeting. The group, led by Hanfang Zhang, comprises 23 seventh and eighth graders.
