Seniors Anil Drepour and Cassandra Jagroop joined the hundreds cheering whenever a speaker called for John Adams High School to be removed from the Department of Education’s turnaround plan. Forum Newsgroup photo by Jeremiah Dobruck.
Students, teachers and school leaders at John Adams High School in Ozone Park squeezed in some final words last week about the turnaround program before a vote scheduled for Thursday, April 26.
Like the seven other Queens high schools on the list, John Adams took the cathartic moment to blast the plan that could replace half the teachers and rename the school to claim grant funding.
The bottom level of John Adams auditorium was packed with hundreds of students and teachers on Wednesday, April 18.
Many of them wore “John Adams Forever” t-shirts made just for the occasion, and 90 of them signed up to speak.
“Everyone is affected significantly and negatively,” said science teacher James McGuire, who sat on the dais and had prepared a lengthy presentation defending his school.
He blasted the Department of Education (DOE), saying any teacher turnover affects students, especially in a fragile environment.
John Adams is on the chopping block because the state has designated it a “consistently low achieving” school. The DOE brought its own data to back that up.
Deputy Chancellor Laura Rodriguez said the DOE believes this is the best way forward to remake a struggling John Adams.
She pointed to a 79-percent attendance rate and the school’s overall C grade in its progress report from the 2010-2011 school year.
In the 2009-2010 school year, it scored a B.
She tried to temper the harsh statistics though.
“John Adams appears to have some success in graduating English language learners,” she said, noting that 66 percent of English-learning students graduated from John Adams within four years.
That statement though, gave John Adams’ defenders ammunition—saying the DOE has put the school in an impossible position by expecting better and better results out of a school that is burdened with challenges such as a large English-learning community and many commuter students, which can drag down attendance rates.
The hearing at John Adams underscored the intense feelings of each school cited for turnaround.
They take pride in their individualism, and speakers continually implored the DOE to not look at students as statistics.
“Thanks to our foreign language teachers, every student who attempts to passes the foreign language Regents [Exam],” McGuire said. “… You can not find this anywhere else.”
Money, however, may be the determinate factor in Thursday’s Panel for Educational Policy vote.
John Adams stands to get $1.8 million in School Improvement Grant funds if the plan proceeds.
The 26 schools slated for turnaround citywide stand to get tens of millions in grant funding.
In front of the raucous crowd, Deputy Chancellor Rodriguez emphasized that the intent of the plan is to secure those funds, not punish teachers because of a disagreement with the United Federation of Teachers.
She said repeatedly that there is no quota of teachers they must replace. When the plan is instituted, all teachers are automatically fired and can reapply for their jobs.
The DOE can rehire all the same teachers if they want to and are required to rehire at least 50 percent of the current staff if that many reapply, she explained.
The emotion in closing a school, changing the name and reopening it—however—is undeniable.
“Closing the school would be a slap in the face of the entire school community,” said State Senator Joe Addabbo (D-Ozone Park), sending wild cheers through the audience.
The Panel for Educational Policy will vote on the turnaround plan on Thursday, April 26 at 6 p.m. at Prospect Heights High School at 883 Classon Ave. in Brooklyn.
By Jeremiah Dobruck
