Several days after New York One (NY1) broadcasted a news program about Shuang Wen Academy, PS 184, located in Manhattan Lower East Side, the school administration and the PTA officially demanded an apology to the school and the parents from NY1 Reporter Lindsey Christ.  In an open letter, the principal of the school stated that the NY1 reporter needed to take responsibility for harming the good reputation that the school has worked hard to earn over the years.    

The letter states that "when NY1s Lindsey Christ's report on PS 184M Shuang Wen, a top New York City public school, aired on Monday and Tuesday night, the Shuang Wen community expected a view into the nation's first Chinese immersion program and issues the school is facing. What they saw instead was a mangled, offensive distortion of life at P.S.184M.  First, Ms. Christ claimed that the school was illegally forcing parents to pay $1,000 in tuition for students to attend. Using false facts, outdated materials, misrepresentation of parents' views and misquoted letters, Ms. Christ distorted the image of one of the nation's highest achieving public schools into a lowly criminal enterprise."  

"The majority of the parents of the school's 677 students is shocked by the news report," said Winston Chow, executive director of the Shuang Wen Academy Network, which is a non-profit organization, adding that the news report is not only offensive and misleading but also ridiculous.  The PTA informed the school that it is starting a petition and filing a complaint against the reporter.   

Trinh Eng, a parent and a member of the Shuang Wen Academy Network, said that the news report is hugely misleading. "Us parents will just have to start figuring out how to continue raising money to subsidize a program that serves over 95 percent of the student body in the wake of your dishonest reporting," she said. 

Winston Chow welcomes others to contact him at Winston.chow@swan-nyc.org for information on further developments.