The group Communities in support of the Kahlil Gibran International Academy released the following statement last night:
After having done a great deal to ensure that the Khalil Gibran International Academy (KGIA) would not succeed, the New York City Department of Education is closing the middle school—citing its low enrollment and failing marks on its School Report Card. KGIA was founded in 2007 to be a model Arabic-English dual language school designed to “help students of all backgrounds learn about the world and foster in them an understanding of different cultures, a love of learning, and desire for excellence in all of its students.”
The DOE has, over the years, taken numerous steps that undermined any chance for the middle school to carry out its mission:
* Even before the school opened in 2007, the DOE and Mayor (with Dennis Walcott as the Mayor's messenger) forced the resignation of founding principal Debbie Almontaser after the New York Post, which asked her to define the word intifada, misreported and sensationalized her response. Right-wing groups that had been opposing the school chimed in with their own brand of anti-Arab/anti-Muslim bigotry. Ms. Almontaser was fully vindicated by a March 2010 ruling of the federal Equal Employment Opportunities Commission, which stated that, in demanding her resignation, the “DOE succumbed to the very bias that the creation of the school was intended to dispel, and a small segment of the public succeeded in imposing its prejudices on the DOE as an employer.” Her removal from the school reflected the willingness by the Mayor and Chancellor Klein to bow to right-wing hate groups.
*After a deeply flawed search in which the DOE refused to consider Ms. Almontaser’s application, it replaced this long-time educator, who is bilingual and bicultural, with a New Visions’ employee, who spoke no Arabic and had no local community roots or demonstrated commitment to KGIA’s initial vision. The school's next leader, who also came from New Visions and who resigned with the school in disarray, also had little knowledge of, or relationship with, NYC's Arab communities, and had no experience leading a school.
* The DOE and New Visions consistently refused to provide KGIA with the staff and other resources necessary for it to succeed. Months went by, for example, without the school having a special education teacher. Increasingly, the school was staffed by those who lacked commitment to KGIA’s initial vision; as a result, a school that had begun with great promise as a grade 6-12 dual language school designed to educate its students about the Arabic language and Arab culture, became just another middle school in which students study a foreign language a few periods per week.
* Without consulting with parents of KGIA students, the DOE decided to move the school in September 2008 from its original site near neighborhoods with sizable Arab communities to a site in Fort Greene, where only 1 percent of the population is of Arab descent (U.S. Census) and public transportation is sparse. Although parents of students then enrolled in KGIA objected to the move, they were too late. As is all too typical, the DOE informed parents only after it had made its decision.
"This is one more story of a DOE and a Mayor who--without the participation of any community and in capitulation to a campaign of racism and hatred--destroyed a school whose purpose was to educate students of different backgrounds to be socially engaged citizens," stated Mona Eldahry of AWAAM: Arab Women Active in the Arts and Media. In a letter to the Mayor at the height of the controversy, a group of nationally respected educators wrote the following:
“For those of us working in the field of education, the treatment of Debbie Almontaser represents a threat not only to our rights as educators and citizens in a democratic society; it is also an attack on the small-schools movement and on the push for diversity and equity within our system of public education. Will bigotry be allowed to decide which public schools can exist and who can lead them?”
Ujju Aggarwal from the Center for Immigrant Families added, “We need KGIA and schools like it more than ever. At a time when profit is being put before the needs of our children; when a top-down approach of mayoral control has replaced partnerships among schools, communities, students, and educators; when there is increased Islamophobia, racism, and xenophobia; we need schools like KGIA that respect, reflect, and serve all our children and communities."
Adem Carroll of Communities in Support of KGIA stated: "Despite their closing the middle school down, those of us who were part of this movement pledge to continue this struggle on many different fronts. Those of us who were part of Communities in Support of KGIA have continued to work together to challenge Islamophobia and anti-Arab racism and for equity and justice in our public schools."
Can’t find the statement on their website. They were also supposed to start a high school in September. What’s the story with that?
If NYC’s Arabs don’t appear to be giving a damn about this school, why should anyone else and if the DOE was consistently refusing to provide the school with what it needed while it was providing them to all the other schools, then there’s a case to be made.
Public schools in Fort Greene seem to have a low rating. Here’s on another charter school from last year that shows that the DOE is not picking on the GKG school :
“… Sadly, it’s not unprecedented that the DOE would fail a highly rated local school. In 2007, the first year of the now-controversial grading system, P.S. 8 in Brooklyn Heights received an F, generating many local headlines and resulting in substantial outcry from parents.
By failing a highly visible example of the charter schools movement in New York City, the DOE is presenting a compelling discussion point regarding the present and future of public education. Community Roots has been recognized by many for its inclusive approach to education and overall excellence. It stood out in a community where parents have long sought alternatives to the existing public school system.
There’s lots of information out there on how the New York State education department deemed last year’s standardized tests too easy and drastically changed test scoring, resulting in a 26-percent drop in scores across New York City public schools. Community Roots saw just such a dramatic drop — 30 percent in English and 26 percent in math.
But how to explain the resulting F? Ms. Keil points out that the DOE’s grading formula uses groups of “peer” schools, which are based on demographic similarity, to measure each school’s academic progress. Community Roots is not only the youngest and smallest school in their high-achieving peer group, but because of the extraordinary circumstances surrounding this year’s tests, it’s one of the very few in the system eligible for a failing grade. This year, the DOE graded on a curve and imposed a “floor” — schools that got an A last year could get no lower than a C this year, and schools that got a B could get no lower than a D. This was the first year Community Roots received a grade, because two years of testing are required for a grade.”
link to fort-greene.thelocal.nytimes.com
Israel Lobby – 1, Multicultural America – 0
Another Arab America cultural corpse in the slaughterhouse of zionist butchers.
Oh please. This has nothing to do with the “Israel Lobby.” I am one of Debbie Almontaser’s defenders, and I remember her case very well. The movement to bring her down was a right-wing conservative effort. It was not an Israel lobby effort. Since then, the school has simply been mismanaged, like a lot of charter schools are.
We’re confounding 2 issues here, the Zionist-led crucifixion of Debbie Almontasser and a school’s poor performance that resulted in its being axed.
hophmi, there is nothing confounding between the Zionists and the right wing conservatives. Same ideals, same objectives; birds of a feather. Bad, bad people.