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Freeport School Board Keeps Truth
From Public, Again
ONCE AGAIN, the Freeport School Board has withheld information from the
district. The School Board, under the leadership of Board President Dante
Grover and the real leader of the district, Board VP Albert Renken, hired
High School Principal, Dr. Lottie Taylor Northover, in spite of well known
bizarre behavior that dates back to at least 1988.
It has been clear that Northover and the Board have demonstrated
questionable behavior since the summer, when the Board changed the
district Policy Manual without notice to the public and then secretly
hired Northover as principal, without advertising the job or advising the
public that they were even looking for a principal. Since Northover’s
hiring, the morale of the district including the staff, students, parents,
and the residents has deteriorated to all time lows. The district has been
more reluctant than ever to release information and violates the spirit
and intent of the Freedom of Information Law at will, with the apparent
blessing of State Senator Charles Fuschillo.
Northover’s behavior since coming to Freeport has been well known to
the Board. She falls to sleep at meetings. She keeps secret lists of
individuals banned from the high school. Whether or not she was
responsible for the memo by Dr. Tony Ciaglia, banning the former Principal
of the HS, Mike Campbell, from the HS is not known at the present time.
Due to her irrational policies, a student was kept out of class when her
bus arrived late at the school. She makes up School District Policies and
recently she ran into the boys locker room, while many of the young
athletes were naked. Not once has the Board leader, Al Renken addressed
any of these problems. State Senator Fuschillo is reluctant to attend
the Board Meeting of the 15th to hear the residents' complaints first hand.
The Senator’s office claims that he gets letters all the time and knows
what’s going on here.
The Board continues to doctor the Board Minutes and
ignore the will of
the residents. Why? A look back to 1988 will serve to enlighten the
community.
What follows is the original story which appeared in the National
Alliance in 1988, while Lottie Taylor (now Northover the principal) was at
the height of her power. Then, read the opinion of the then Commissioner
of Education, Dr. Sobol, the Commissioner who brought us the state policy
of shared decision making.
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| This Story First Appeared In The National
Alliance, July 7, 1988
A LESSON IN
FAIRNESS
BY CAROLINE LAWRENCE.
NEW YORK CITY, June 24 This morning at
their graduation exercises under the cavernous gothic ceiling of the Great
Hall on the City College campus, 300 Black and Latino students from A.
Philip Randolph High School leaped to their feet as Chinese-American
classmate Yick Moon Lee walked up to the podium to give the salutatory
address. Waving their mortarboards in the air, the graduating seniors gave
Lee a standing ovation turning the solemn occasion into a dignified but
now electrifying event. Only an hour before, they had thought Lee wasn't
going to be allowed to speak. But, unbeknownst to them, less than 24 hours
earlier the New York State commissioner of education had issued a
restraining order restoring him to number two in his class, a rank
which had been arbitrarily reduced to sixth. In February Principal Lottie
Taylor had changed the basis for determining class rank from just grade
point average to include SAT scores, which test aptitude.
When Lee, the only Chinese-American in his class, first learned from his
college adviser that the principal had changed the criteria he was upset
and angry so he made three appointments with Taylor, all of which she
canceled. His brother, a New York City policeman, made calls to the Board
of Education and the office of the district superintendent for high
schools which both directed him back to the principal. Taylor's office
told him to meet with the assistant principal, who said that she had no
knowledge that SAT scores were used to determine class rank.
When his classmates learned of the injustice and of Taylor's claim that
she had told all students about the changed criteria last October, five
top students signed statements that none of them had been so informed.
Several teachers also said the change was news to them, asking to meet
with the principal because they were concerned about the apparent racial
discrimination. As well, they were disturbed that scores on aptitude tests
were considered more important than actual achievement in the classroom.
"All this stuff about SAT scores was junk." said fellow student
Debbie Mitchell. "The valedictorian didn't have all that great SAT
scores and she was still first. I was so mad. The students were almost
ready to riot, especially since for four years Ms. Taylor had railed
against discrimination and yet here she was doing it herself."
Lee and his family were determined to fight, even though teachers and
attorneys said there was nothing they could do. Lee was finally referred
to civil rights and education attorney Art Block, who had a string of
victories against the Board of Education. I told them there were serious
issues involving race discrimination and denial of due process," said
Block, "that it was hard to fight the Board of Education, and that
they might not win in time for graduation, which was only a few weeks
away. But when I saw that Lee and his family still wanted to flight this
case as a case of discrimination against any minority, I agreed to rake
the case. I also thought that it was terrible educational policy to use
aptitude tests to give out achievement awards and I hoped that any
responsible educator would see that."
Block appealed first to Dr. James Canfield the superintendent for high
schools for Manhattan. then to New York City School Chancellor Richard
Green, both of whom refused to overrule the principal's decision. So Block
appealed to New York State Commissioner of Education Thomas Sobol, who
overruled such use of SAT scores and called them irrelevant.
"Dr. Sobol's decision was very important. given the current pressures
to misuse tests." commented Block. "But the real heroes were the
students--Black and Latino--who gave Yick Moon Lee their support and ended
up teaching the principal a lesson in justice and fairness."
"Thank you for that warm ovation!" said Lee facing the 1200
guests, parents and graduates looking up at him at the graduation
ceremony. "Without your support and friendship, I couldn't have
struggled through this time of crisis. Our school is named after a great
Black leader by the name of A. Philip Randolph, who rejected racism and
who strove to protect the rights of people. I want all of you to remember
his principle--to fight for fairness and fight for your rights"
When Lee finished his brief address, the cheering students rose to their
feet as he walked down from the rostrum raising his arm in a clenched fist
salute.
"They know what it's like--they saw the unfairness in this."
said Lee about his fellow graduates. 'They see me as someone who will now
fight for their rights.
This Story First Appeared In The
National Alliance, July 7, 1988 |
Principal
Lottie Taylor Northover Overruled by
Commissioner of Education
|
Decision No. 12,150
Appeal of YICK MOON LEE from action of Richard R. Green, as Chancellor of
the Board of Education of the City School District of the City of New York
relating to class rank.
(March 28, 1989)
HEADNOTE
STUDENTS Academic Awards — criteria
The purpose of class rank is to measure the relative academic achievement
of pupils. Because the SAT is an aptitude test which was not designed to test
high school achievement, the SAT and other tests which do not measure academic
performance are unacceptable criteria for determining class rank.
APPEARANCES OF COUNSEL
Arthur R. Block Esq., attorney for petitioner
Peter R. Zirnroth, Corporation Counsel, attorney for respondent, Jean
L’Allier, Esq., of counsel
DECISION OF THE COMMISSIONER
SOBOL, Commissioner. — Petitioner appeals from
respondent’s denial of his application for relief from the system employed to
determine class rank at A. Philip Randolph Campus High School. The appeal must
be sustained in part.
In February 1988, when petitioner was a high school
senior, his guidance counselor informed him that the calculation of class rank
for the senior class would use a combination of high school grades and scores on
the Scholastic Aptitude Examination (SAT). Using that method, petitioner would
have ranked fifth in his senior class.
On June 6, 1988 petitioner filed an appeal with respondent
challenging the use of SAT scores to establish class rank as improper, and
claiming that, based purely on high school grades, petitioner would rank second
in his class, as salutatorian, rather than fifth. Petitioner’s counsel was
notified on June 14, 1988 that respondent would not grant relief in this matter,
and petitioner initiated this appeal on June 16, 1988 seeking both interim and
ultimate relief from the use of SAT scores in computing class rank at his high
school.
Upon determining that petitioner had demonstrated a
likelihood of success in this appeal, and that the imminence of graduation
exercises scheduled for June 24, 1988, represented irreparable injury to
petitioner, I issued an interim order dated June 23, 1988, directing that the
current class rank of the 1988 graduating class at A. Philip Randolph Campus
High School be nullified and that such class rank immediately be determined only
on the basis of objective criteria reflecting actual student achievement.
In its answer, respondent indicated that in accordance
with the interim order it had recalculated class rank without using SAT scores,
had declared petitioner to be the co-salutatorian of the senior class, and had
accorded petitioner all the honors and recognition attendant to his position as
co-salutatorian. Therefore, respondent argued, the appeal was moot. Petitioner
rejoined that he had not yet received the plaque commemorating his status as
salutatorian, and thus had not gained complete relief. I conclude that although
respondent has made a good faith effort to comply with the interim order,
respondent’s actions have not rendered the appeal moot.
Although respondent averred in its answer that it would
discontinue the policy of using SAT scores to establish class rank, it is
important to underscore here that the purpose of class rank is to measure the
relative academic achievement of pupils. Because the SAT is an aptitude test
which was not designed to test high school achievement, the SAT and other tests
which do not measure academic performance are unacceptable criteria for
determining class rank.
Petitioner also seeks disciplinary action against the
principal of his high school, and claims that the actions of that principal and
respondent herein constitute discrimination on the basis of race or national
origin. Such a claim must be presented in the first instance to the local board
of education. I find no evidence in the record that the city board has been
petitioned to discipline this employee. However, the record simply does not
sustain petitioner’s contention that the policy of using SAT scores to
determine class rank was an effort to discriminate against the petitioner on the
basis of race or national origin.
THE APPEAL IS SUSTAINED IN PART.
IT IS ORDERED that respondent permanently cease using
criteria to determine class rank other than those based upon objective criteria
reflecting actual student achievement, and that respondent accord petitioner any
remaining perquisites attendant upon his status as salutatorian.
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