From 201416, his wife volunteered to serve on the schools annual fund drive. The student in question aired his views, and the conversation became more measured as the class as a whole discussed what life is like in Gaza, which is under a crippling Israeli blockade and, what a United Nations panel has likened to apartheid rule, Two million Palestinians have to survive with only. The class was canceled neither because of a lack of interest from the student body nor because of any specific issues with Doerflers pedagogy. I resigned on principle because it would have been ignominious to return under such circumstances. Then, on May 18, during his mock trial elective, Redden was leading a discussion of the events of 194748, specifically. May 23, he was informed by Dominic Randolph, Riverdales head of school, that he would be placed on paid leave, pending an investigation. At the same time, all community members students, faculty, and staff must be treated at all times with respect as outlined specifically in our Principles of School Life. 980 were here. A delegation of teachers from the history department was in attendance, but they were asked to leave by Randolph before the meeting formally began. Tucked into a back booth in an Upper West Side diner, I met with a recent Riverdale graduate who is likewise dismayed by everything thats happened over the past two months. 11 Bruce Place Greenwich, CT 06807 View larger map By KIRSTYN BRENDLEN Police in Greenwich, Connecticut, have arrested a Riverdale Country School teacher, accusing him of victimizing a child in their city. Texas' largest charter school network ousted two of its top leaders and is working with authorities after a forensic review revealed some administrators used school funds for personal use. Jan. 10, 2020. However, Levine did note that he looked forward to seeing many of the emails recipients at yet another, much larger follow-up meeting on May 31, which would be held at the, (AJC), a pro-Israel and pro-Jewish nonprofit advocacy organization and the former publisher of the neoconservative magazine Commentary. You can follow Robert on Twitter at @BobSaietta. When it appears that these principles may have been violated, we investigate immediately and take whatever actions may be required., Id asked whether Randolph agreed there was a tolerance for hate at Riverdale, as Keinans email indicated. By HuffPosts calculations, the parents who received the May 30 email had donated upward of $500,000 to Riverdale in the 201617 fiscal year alone. But via email, he confirmed that he will not be returning to Riverdale. Riverdale Country School, founded in 1907, sprawls across 27.5 acres in the affluent Riverdale suburb of the Bronx. Check out the city views from the 14th-century Torres de Serranos or see magnificent heritage markets at the Mercado Central . Should she choose to leave, Redden told her, it would impact her final grades. He complained about another, unnamed teacher who allegedly told a group of parents, We all think the American Dream is a sham. He complained about a critical review by Doerfler of the movie The Jazz Singer, (Schreiber did not specify whether he was referring to, starring Al Jolson in blackface, or the remake, which featured, getting chewed out, along with the scenery, by. Her speech painted a portrait of a warmly supportive environment in which teachers learn from students as surely as students learn from teachers. The administration has proven time and time again that theyre willing to listen to parents who want these teachers fired., More allegations were lobbed, many of which concerned Redden. I was providing historical context in response to the many allegations posted on the wall of the building where I teach, and among some students, equating all Palestinians indeed, all Arabs with terrorists.. Ohio Gov. Near the meetings onset, someone read aloud a letter Bernstein had written to the board of trustees: What I see is a systematic effort through curriculum, choice of faculty, and teaching style to indoctrinate our children in a political and social agenda. He also took issue with the, curriculum, specifically the environmental damage that Walmart has caused in world history class, the study of mass incarceration in [inaudible], and extensive focus on slavery, racism, almost to the exclusion of everything else, in . Over the course of the next two days, the tone and tenor of the responses, including memes, grew more openly anti-Palestinian and then explicitly anti-Arab. (She identified herself in the meeting, but for the sake of her daughters privacy I wont name her.) On the morning of May 15, a day after Israeli soldiers shot and killed more than 60 largely unarmed Palestinian protesters on the GazaIsrael border and injured thousands more, Joel Doerfler, a history teacher at New York Citys elite Riverdale Country School, decided to post The New York Times front page headline and accompanying photos in the hallway outside his classroom. No-excuses students are typically required to wear uniforms, sit straight, with their hands folded on the table, and their eyes continuously on the teacher. (She identified herself in the meeting, but for the sake of her daughters privacy I wont name her.) He complained about another, unnamed teacher who allegedly told a group of parents, We all think the American Dream is a sham. He complained about a critical review by Doerfler of the movie The Jazz Singer. (Schreiber did not specify whether he was referring to the original 1927 film starring Al Jolson in blackface, or the remake, which featured Neil Diamond getting chewed out, along with the scenery, by Sir Laurence Olivier.). Which means the words "charter school scandals" yes, plural also were not heard. I had never heard from any member of the school administration, including the deans, that students who took the course felt uncomfortable, politically or in any other way.. The ugly charter school scandal Arne Duncan is leaving behind Officials are raising questions about a $249 million grant to charter schools announced the day of his resignation A series of emails followed, the recipient list growing with every one. Over the next two days, the furor continued unabated. This was May 17, two days after Doerflers posting. The anti-Israel, anti-capitalist, anti-American, anti-success narratives of resentment echo off the walls of this school, he said. Redden and the student were on amicable terms. 03/14/2016 05:20 AM EDT. One student said some of the articles on the wall were culled from ultra-conservative sites. Multiple sources described the later postings as Islamophobic. It was, they said, as charged a political atmosphere as theyd ever experienced on campus. Afterwards, he was told by Randolph that his elective course on Israel and Palestine would no longer be offered. The teacher told the student to remain seated. Whatever their present anxieties, Riverdale students are personally invested in the schools greatness, as a recent alumnus put it. The claim that Mr. Redden stated Israelis are all terrorists is a complete fallacy, one of the students told HuffPost via email. 1,260 student enrollment. Over the next two days, the furor continued unabated. COLUMBUS, Ohio (CN) Details about Ohio's charter school scandal should not remain locked away on a disgraced state official's private email server, a political blog claims in court. in the hallway outside his classroom. I will be forever grateful for your intervention.. In 2011, Redden was participating in the Occupy Wall Street protests at Zuccotti Park and insisting on more concrete demands. Arizona's charter school scandal has this in common with the Trump impeachment Opinion: The issues could not be more different but the basic problem is exactly the same: Elected officials. Keinan sent the letter to Randolph on the afternoon of May 22. Former and current students alike speak of the school as a place where intellectual curiosity is valued above all else. There, they would be treated to a very interesting learning opportunity via the always very impressive David Harris. Harris is the chief executive officer of the AJC. One such example on the wall, per multiple sources, was a quote that has been attributed in numerous publications to former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir, but its provenance is questionable: Peace will come when the Arabs will love their children more than they hate us. A similar, handwritten but unattributed post-it note on the wall read, Arabs need to stop loving their bombs and start loving each other.. so, the incidents would be fully investigated, Nicholson-Flynn promised. We have clear expectations for our community members and hold people accountable to those expectations. On May 21, Tal Keinan, the Israeli-born founder of Clarity Capital, emailed four other Riverdale parents with a draft of a letter that he planned to send to Randolph. I felt shocked and powerless, the student said. ), Berger is also listed as a member of the board of the New York chapter of the AJC, and his wife Cori Berger was listed as the chair of the AJCs Womens Leadership Board in the organizations 201415 impact report. The lawsuit announced Monday by the Indiana attorney general's office comes nearly two years after Indiana Virtual School and . In Kingsbridge, International Leadership Charter School which opened a high school location in Riverdale in 2006 saw the perfect place to expand its educational network with a seven-story middle school building between Irwin and Tibbetts avenues. Read more The administration has proven time and time again that theyre willing to listen to parents who want these teachers fired.. Nicholson-Flynn sent an email addressed to all upper school students and Riverdale employees on the morning of May 18, decrying the use of both anti-Arab and anti-Semitic language and suggesting that students consult the Upper School Student Handbook to see if any of the behavior during the past week constituted harassment. And the wall itself, in her view, was a matter open to debate. The encounter lasted two to three minutes, by the students recollection. This group of influential parents will not stop at Doerfler and Redden, he added. A pair of charter school operators stole more than $900,000 from the school by using fraudulent invoices, and a cyber school entrepreneur diverted $8 million of school funds for houses, a Florida condominium, and an airplane. He wrote of a chilling effect that can set in. Save for Reddens posting, all the material affixed to the wall by students was supportive of Israel. To suggest Dominic [Randolph] or any school administrator would characterize the schools environment in any other way, and especially in the incomprehensible way [Keinans email] does in your note, is simply wrong.. We felt so powerless, the student said. There were classroom arguments, as hinted at by the New York Post. Ill Believe that Corporations are People When Texas Executes One, read a sticker plastered on the front of his classroom door. Their jobs are at stake, the member of Students for Redden said of the faculty. Politically, the school tends toward a cosmopolitan liberalism, though the administration works diligently to ensure that all sides of any hot-button issue are given a full hearing. By Robert Silverman Aug 21, 2018, 11:54 AM EDT | Updated Feb 28, 2019 Ji Sub Jeong/HuffPost The story of the A3 online charter school empire is one of the largest charter school scandals in U.S. history. Coverage of the meeting by, recent Riverdale graduate said via email that Doerflers elective provided some of the most intellectually fulfilling discussions I have had in my life. A wide range of perspectives was, presented, the graduate said, adding that, always made sure we understood criticisms of any argument we read (whether it be liberal, right-wing, Zionist, or anything else)., More common was the sentiment expressed by a parent named Brad Bernstein. For his part, Redden posted on the door of his classroom the names of the Palestinians who had been killed and also Amnesty Internationals article likening Israels actions to war crimes. One student, a rising senior at Riverdale, told me about a run-in with a group of other students. Part of HuffPost Politics. In it, he summarized the meeting with Randolph: There is an atmosphere of tolerance for hate, which permeates only a narrow constituency at Riverdale, but that targets a specific community and enables the type of behavior that we experienced last week, Keinan alleged. Nor did he mention that he and his wife donated between $10,000 and $24,999 in 201617 and $5,000 and $9,999 in 201516 and 201415. It is a blog founded by a Jewish reporter that is often very critical of Israel. Discourse was had in the meantime sustained, in-person dialogue about the current situation in the Middle East among students and invited faculty members. Action is the key word, not sympathy and maybe all these acts will snowball into freedom in South Africa and equality closer to home. Ethical Culture Fieldston, one of New York City's most proudly progressive private schools, is facing a backlash over its handling of race, religion and ethnicity for the second . One such example on the wall, per multiple sources, was a quote that has been, , but its provenance is questionable: Peace will come when the Arabs will love their children more than they hate us. A similar, handwritten but unattributed post-it note on the wall read, Arabs need to stop loving their bombs and start loving each other., For his part, Redden posted on the door of his classroom the names of, the Palestinians who had been killed and also Amnesty Internationals article, . O. ver the course of the next two days, the tone and tenor of the responses, including memes, grew more openly anti-Palestinian and then explicitly anti-Arab. Nor did he mention that he and his wife donated between $10,000 and $24,999 in 201617 and $5,000 and $9,999 in 201516 and 201415. The parent also said, I love Riverdale, and that her daughter had received the gift of this spectacular school.. Levine also promised the parents that Randolph, Rosen and Westin are going to take real action, starting with a board meeting to discuss the parents agenda. For 90 minutes, parent after parent, many of whom were reading from prepared remarks, launched an assault on the curriculum as a whole. It is, rather, because there exists at Riverdale, and in the culture at large, assertive, influential and highly emotional supporters of Israel and of pretty much everything it does and has done, who are hell-bent on stifling precisely the sort of academic investigation that is commonplace and unexceptional in pretty much every other academicintellectual realm. TUCKAHOE, Westchester County (WABC) -- Federal charges were filed Thursday against a former teacher at one of New York City's most exclusive private schools who is already facing local charges for. He had a wry sense of humor and never handed out an easy A, which made some students want to earn his approval all the more. We shared stories about Doerfler, and I couldnt help but recall that in 1986 he brought speakers to Columbia Prep to talk about the then-apartheid state in South Africa. The student in question aired his views, and the conversation became more measured as the class as a whole discussed what life is like in Gaza, which is under a crippling Israeli blockade and what a United Nations panel has likened to apartheid rule. Influential parents accused Riverdale Country School of leftist indoctrination, and now two teachers are gone. There, they would be treated to , via the now-defunct contributors program. We are looking into those incidents and will decide what happens. Doerfler, now 74 years old, had been a member of the faculty at Riverdale for more than 25 years, heading the history department since 1992. On the morning of May 15, a day after Israeli soldiers shot and killed, more than 60 largely unarmed Palestinian protesters, on the GazaIsrael border and injured thousands more, Joel Doerfler, a history teacher at New York Citys elite Riverdale Country School, decided to post The New York Times, front page headline and accompanying photos. More common was the sentiment expressed by a parent named Brad Bernstein. During Riverdales 2018 graduation ceremony, Shelby Stokes, the teacher whose classroom had been vandalized, spoke movingly about the incident a violation, she said, of what I consider to be a sacred space., Students rallied around her in a way that mended the hole in my spirit, she said in her speech, a video of which was viewed by HuffPost. It is the capital of the province of the same name.The wider urban area comprising the neighbouring municipalities has a population of around 1.6 million, constituting one of the major urban areas on the . A terrible precedent has been set.. arlier in the 201718 school year when the campus was rocked by two incidents of direct racist pro, the N-word on the wall of an African-American teachers classroom; a month later, a swastika was found on a bathroom stall, per emails sent by the administration and obtained by HuffPost. She bolted the classroom anyway, slamming the door behind her. (A classmate who was present backed up the students account.). I know that he is a very important figure in this community for many students and other teachers. Some have suggested that this wall was a healthy dialogue, Nicholson-Flynn wrote, while others have suggested that the anonymous postings were deeply problematic.. The following morning, he and Levine met with Randolph. For now, Riverdale seems to be treating the issue as closed. or faculty member. I felt shocked. I would never have said that, because it is not what I believe, Redden, whose wife is Jewish, told The Forward. Robert Silverman is a freelance journalist living in New York. In 2011, Redden was participating in the Occupy Wall Street protests at Zuccotti Park and insisting on more concrete demands. This was May 17, two days after Doerflers posting. Some students felt intimidated, and parents were upset at the insufficient response by Riverdale. In it, he summarized the meeting with Randolph: There is an atmosphere of tolerance for hate, which permeates only a narrow constituency at Riverdale, but that targets a specific community and enables the type of behavior that we experienced last week, Keinan alleged. No current Riverdale teacher was willing to speak with HuffPost. When it appears that these principles may have been violated, we investigate immediately and take whatever actions may be required., Neither Levines nor Keinans emailed summaries of the meetings mentioned the alleged Islamophobia of the previous week. I felt shocked and powerless, the student said. Nor was it an open meeting. Redden was on a scheduled paternity leave the following week, his wife had recently given birth to the couples second child but on. Several weeks later, at a parents meeting, the mother of a Riverdale student would allege that a teacher screamed and banged on the table while not letting my son speak his views.. Taking specific action with regards to Redden. There was something in all of this that an acolyte of Doerflers might grimly appreciate: Students at Riverdale had gotten an excellent lesson in how the world really works. On May 22, Seth Berger wrote: The Redden War Report Twitter feed would support someone [sic] belief he is being unstable. Reddens Twitter account has since been deleted, but as Berger noted with horror, The top banner of Reddens Twitter feed is a picture of presumably his very young child holding an election ballot (presidential election) where they wrote in for president Assata Shakur, the, exiled former member of the Black Liberation Army, who was convicted in the shooting death of a New Jersey state trooper. Valencia has been called the city of the 100 bell towers, of which the most outstanding are the Gothic Miguelete Tower (1381-1424), adjoining the cathedral, and the hexagonal Tower of Santa Catalina (1688-1705), a fine example of Valencian Baroque style. In the email, which was obtained by HuffPost, Levine wrote that while theyd made their feelings known in multiple previous meetings with the administration, concrete results were not achieved. The saga was a parable of political correctness as it more commonly exists in America, beyond the apoplexies of mainstream pundits. (The 201718 report has not yet been released.) A New York City tabloid took up the cause. In a statement, Harris confirmed that the AJC was asked by members of the Riverdale community to host the May 31 meeting.
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