On the afternoon of September 22, following the end of the school day at Brooklyn's successful Arthur Cunningham Intermediate School 234, located at 1875 East 17th Street, the parents of 54 students were handed a notice, signed by school director Susan Shafer, stating that their children would be transferred to other schools in the Sheepshead Bay area.
Over 90 percent of students negatively affected by this incident are Russian-speaking children, mostly between the ages of 12 and 13, and their parents. You may have guessed: our immigrant students were taken out of a prestigious high-performing school and transferred to bad, low-performing schools, with little discipline and a high number of criminal incidents. Imagine the reaction if 50 African-American students were thrown out of IS 234, after only three weeks of school. Yet, the sudden transfer of the Russian students has not provoked a stir.
At first, the parents would not yield. Casting aside their apprehension, they began consulting the press, the New York City Department of Education, politicians, and public figures. The incident was reported in the Daily News, the New York Post, and Brooklyn 12 News. The explanation for the occurrence emerged from the incomprehensible explanations of officials with the municipal public education authority.
It appears that at the end of August, IS 234 appealed to the DOE that they immediately stop registering new students since the school had enrolled an average of 30 students per class. This indicates that the school and city authorities were well aware of the situation a month in advance. Cunningham's request was granted in the middle of September; however, new children were registering at this popular school right up to September 4, and parents were not warned of potential problems that could arise.
A quote from a letter by State Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz (D-District 45), whose district contains IS 234, to Schools Chancellor Joel Klein on the subject of the New York City public school system states:
"These children began attending classes at Cunningham, made new friends, and became accustomed to their new teachers and schedules. The sudden expulsion of these young people created a significant increase in stress, in addition to the usual difficulties of beginning the 6th, 7th, or 8th grade.
"Since the Department of Education knew, or, at least should have known, that Cunningham was in no condition to accept additional students at the time the school was registering these 50 students and allowed them to begin their studies without any discussion or warning, I ask for your immediate interference in this emergency situation. All unjustly expelled students must return to the school where they first registered – Cunningham IS 234. This matter cannot be delayed since we cannot allow an interruption in the education of these children."
However, Joel Klein would not give in.
In the press and in response to lawmakers, he replied that the children could not be properly educated in overcrowded classrooms and, therefore, they were transferred to other schools. There was no apology to the parents and children, no consequences for the officials who bungled the situation, and no promises to make things right in the future. The New York City DOE refused to correct their mistake.
That was the official response to parents, to the press and to the request made by a state assemblyman. Do we need to make public disturbances or other unlawful actions in order to drive home the point to Joel Klein and his subordinates that it is a crime to play games with the children's souls and their futures.
Eleanor, the mother of one of the children affected, explained: "My twelve-year-old son, Nicholas, along with several other Russian children, was transferred to Shell Bank IS 14, at 2424 Batchelder Street, a terrible school. In response to our complaints, we were offered a different school, IS 381, on East 22nd street and Avenue P. But at this school our studious children were immediately beaten up by other kids; when the kids complained, they were threatened with greater violence. On his first day at IS 381, my son was asked how he had ended up in the class and whether or not he was ready to fight with his classmates. He snarled at them, so after class they were already waiting to jump him. It's a good thing that my husband arrived, took our son into the car and quickly drove him away from his assailants. We were obliged to find a private school right away for him to keep him safe; he was so worried that he even wrote a letter to President Obama. Naturally, he is still waiting for a response. Now we pay for him to attend Aristotle Academy – he's a very capable young man. It's difficult to pay for his education, but there's no way out of it. Officials have done significant damage to my son's state of mind. Where is the equality in all this? Why did this happen to the Russian children?"
Where else are the parents of these 54 children – victims of the bureaucratic negligence and DOE indifference – supposed to turn? Will it really come to taking the city authorities to court in order to elicit a humane response to these young city residents? Who will answer for this mistake and when? Why has Joel Klein neglected to apologize to the students who were removed from a prestigious school two weeks into the school year?
