riverdale charter school scandal

(He wrote a number of columns for HuffPost via the now-defunct contributors program. May 23, he was informed by Dominic Randolph, Riverdales head of school, that he would be placed on paid leave, pending an investigation. The administration quickly took them down, despite the fact that they were signed, per Nicholson-Flynns emailed directive. Reached by phone, one faculty member, in a flat, affectless voice, said that any questions should be directed to Randolph, then quickly ended the conversation. The lawsuit announced Monday by the Indiana attorney general's office comes nearly two years after Indiana Virtual School and . it now included over four dozen participants. Confronting a Horace Mann Teacher Who Abused His Students Updated May 17, 2022 10:55 AM Two former students of the Riverdale Christian Academy are suing the school and the church that operates it in west Fresno County for allegedly allowing one of its. And throughout, they treated any criticism of Israel or its current government as equivalent to anti-Semitism. At the same time, several incidents happened that are concerning. Instead, parents were treated to an expanded version of the talking points and unsubstantiated allegations described in the emails and aired at the AJC meeting. The two men accused of crafting an elaborate statewide charter school scheme to funnel tens of millions of public school dollars into their own pockets pleaded guilty . Fresno detectives investigating school sex abuse allegations | The When Doerfler posted the Times headline, he wasnt doing anything terribly out of the ordinary. This group of influential parents will not stop at Doerfler and Redden, he added. Former and current students alike speak of the school as a place where intellectual curiosity is valued above all else. What I heard flew in the face of everything were taught to believe about education, which begins with the centrality of teaching children how to think, not what the party line ought to be.. If theres any question about whether theyve crossed the line, he said, check the State Departments definition of anti-Semitism., A father who has sent multiple children to Riverdale said the dynamic between some students and teachers is very analogous to the Me Too movement, in that youre taking powerful people who have opinions, are doing things to vulnerable students in a captive audience.. More allegations were lobbed, many of which concerned Redden. Visit Valencian Community: 2023 Travel Guide for Valencian - Expedia The outrage metastasized, quickly swallowing up another teacher in the history department, Shawn Redden. Another Day Another Charter Scandal - Network For Public Education Because the school lists only funding ranges for donations in its annual report, it is possible the total is far greater. I asked for comment from the Riverdale administrators, only to be handed off to a man named Michael McKeon. 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. International Leadership Charter High School is a tuition free institution that aims to prepare the young men and women of the Bronx not only for the demands of higher education but also for leading lives of meaning. 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. Like Doerfler, it wasnt hard to deduce where Redden landed on the political spectrum. From 201416, his wife volunteered to serve on the schools annual fund drive. Riverdale Country School in The Bronx, NY - Niche Accused A3 charter school ringleaders plead guilty to conspiracy Two million Palestinians have to survive with only three to four hours of electricity per day, Redden pointed out, according to the source, and 97 percent of the water is undrinkable. The teacher told the student to remain seated. Robert Silverman is a freelance journalist living in New York. They alleged that students who expressed conservative political opinions were bullied into silence or coerced into writing papers and expressing opinions contrary to their beliefs. Pro-Israel students, however, were exhibiting racist tendencies, the student wrote, posting racist remarks and sharing decidedly anti-Arab articles. The student also asked that the school make a definitive statement condemning these posts, as they had done in October and November in response to the racist vandalism. According to a student who attended one such session, the conversation centered on the meta question of why the IsraeliPalestinian conflict is a challenging subject.. Members put up posters on the walls in support of their teacher on June 6 and then again on June 7. I resigned on principle because it would have been ignominious to return under such circumstances. Riverdale Elementary School | Courtland VA - Facebook 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. But the student also remembered having felt stunned and unable to respond while under attack. It is the fourth most populous Spanish autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid with more than five million inhabitants. She reiterated her allegation about Reddens comments during mock trial, adding an additional unsubstantiated charge: Redden had harassed her daughter. Thats not quite what the meeting turned out to be. Acclaimed BASIS charter schools nearly $44 million in the red, audit shows She had the best year of her life, and we had the best year of ours as parents, watching her. And then he went off about the degree to which Israel and Palestine were discussed in other classes, though not Doerflers elective. After leaving a bioethics class, the student approached the wall and, staring at Meirs probably apocryphal quote, said sotto voce, to no one in particular, These Jewish kids Before finishing the thought, the student was surrounded by a handful of male students, five or so, who screamed racist in front of the students face over and over again. As Randolph explained over a month later in a message to an email group composed of recent alumni, Doerflers elective about the IsraeliPalestinian conflict needed to go to give everyone in our community some space thus permitting students as a whole to see various sides to issues and argue from different stances as modeled by our teachers.. Aug. 27, 2021 Several years back Grace Church School, an elite private school in Manhattan, embraced an antiracist mission and sought to have students and teachers wrestle with whiteness,. I felt shocked and powerless, the student said. He wondered whether an Israel-Palestine course should even be taught at Riverdale. She bolted the classroom anyway, slamming the door behind her. I would never have said that, because it is not what I believe,, Redden, whose wife is Jewish, told The Forward, . it had amassed over $143 million in net assets. No anti-Semitic material had been posted on the wall, sources told me. Save for Reddens posting on his classroom door, all the material affixed to the wall by students was supportive of Israel. Kyle Anne Uniss / May 13, 2016. Then, on May 18, during his mock trial elective, Redden was leading a discussion of the events of 194748, specifically the removal of over 700,000 Palestinians from Israel. This was well-intentioned but curious. Check out the city views from the 14th-century Torres de Serranos or see magnificent heritage markets at the Mercado Central . Redden sets out to encourage this behavior in us, his students, everyday [sic] at Riverdale.. Now you can decide whether Riverdale should teach that class or not its your decision. he said. The teacher told the student to remain seated. Levine wrote: David [Westin] was very clear in his response, stating that there was no excuse for teachers to be using their platform of power to indoctrinate students with their point of view regarding Israel. The encounter lasted two to three minutes, by the students recollection. But perhaps not. A select group of parents got involved. At one point in the meeting, some teachers were likened to a tumor that required immediate removal. alone. After leaving a bioethics class, the student approached the wall and, staring at Meirs probably apocryphal quote, said sotto voce, to no one in particular, These Jewish kids Before finishing the thought, the student was surrounded by a handful of male students, five or so, who screamed racist in front of the students face over and over again. In One of the Largest Charter School Scams in History, No One Will In her note, she announced a new policy with regards to the wall or any material posted on campus: They would have to be signed by a student, student group or faculty member. For now, Riverdale seems to be treating the issue as closed. 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. 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, . It was during that latter meeting that Riverdales culture war exploded into the open. Established in 1907 and located in New York City, we are committed to empowering lifelong learners by developing minds, building character, and creating community in order to change our world for the good. In our yearbook, students wrote of what they learned from our schools first-ever South Africa Day: From that day forth we have been unable to say simply, Oh, yeah Apartheid, bad stuff, while watching Gone with the Wind or reading Uncle Toms Cabin and feeling superior. Feb. 26, 2021 3:18 PM PT. The site they are referring to is Mondoweiss. Neither Levines nor Keinans emailed summaries of the meetings mentioned the alleged Islamophobia of the previous week. The strange part came next. The school also has a. Riverdale is a global leader in Pre-K through grade 12 education. I can promise you that. (Greg Wohlford/Erie Times-News/AP) Gift Article Pennsylvania Gov. After graduating from Warrendale, they can transition to Westfield Preparatory High School, also a National Heritage Academies charter school. 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. I heard about one such encounter from a source favorable to Redden: On May 17, a student in a freshman class supposedly told Redden that posting the Amnesty International article and names of the Palestinian victims on his door was tantamount to supporting terrorists. Realizing the situation was becoming untenable, the administration jumped in. Meeting with a small group of students who felt i, Holding training seminars for faculty members comparable to Starbucks decision to close, According to the email, Randolph, Rosen and Westin agreed that the Starbucks-like seminars were a good course of action, though the exact contours , And plans for meetings between Randolph, Westin and individual students were already underway. A senior female student, who is Jewish, stood up and announced that she would not remain in class, according to three sources who were in the room, all of them sympathetic to Redden. (A classmate who was present backed up the students account.). The report, "Charter School Vulnerabilities to Waste, Fraud And Abuse," combed through news stories, criminal records and other documents to find hundreds of cases of charter school. 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 group dispersed, and the student was left in tears. McKeon is a partner at Mercury, a, and crisis communications shop. If the initial series of meetings served as the groups dress rehearsal, the full production was unveiled to the rest of Riverdales parents two weeks later, complete with pre-written scripts. And while some of the conversations were respectful, the loudest voices belonged to the pro-Israel students, some of whom asserted that supporting Palestinian protesters. He was a lefty then, too, unabashed but never dogmatic about it and certainly never dismissive of any argument from the other side of the aisle. Horace Mann is a member of the Ivy Preparatory School League, educating students from the New York metropolitan area from nursery school to the twelfth grade. This was well-intentioned but curious. It is a blog founded by a Jewish reporter that is often very critical of Israel. Which means the words "charter school scandals" yes, plural also were not heard. By Robert Silverman Aug 21, 2018, 11:54 AM EDT | Updated Feb 28, 2019 Ji Sub Jeong/HuffPost You cannot have known how you freed me from a crushing sense of self-doubt. Riverdale was quick to respond earlier in the 201718 school year when the campus was rocked by two incidents of direct racist provocation. Prior to the 2012 election, New York Times columnists, Charles Blow, whose two children attended Riverdale, and Ross Douthat, teachers and the administration are more than willing to praise and encourage activist efforts, such as a, video shared on Riverdales Instagram page. ), 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. Two weeks later, the graduate was texting me about the recently enacted legislation in Israel that practically guarantees the eventual disenfranchisement of Arabs. In the evening, Keinan wrote another email to get the group up to speed it now included over four dozen participants. 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. But via email, he confirmed that he will not be returning to Riverdale. These parents did not have to wait long to make their platform more widely known. A group calling itself Students for Redden was formed. Carol Burris is executive director of the Network for Public Education. 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. Riverdale Country School, founded in 1907, sprawls across, acres in the affluent Riverdale suburb of the Bronx. These individuals had larger goals in mind, too, than jettisoning a couple teachers. It was described as a moment for us all to talk together about how we support and conduct civil discourse on our campus.. 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. by Rep. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.) one of my closest friends, Levine wrote and perhaps even inviting Deutch to speak at Riverdale. Redden was on a scheduled paternity leave the following week his wife had recently given birth to the couples second child but on May 23, he was informed by Dominic Randolph, Riverdales head of school, that he would be placed on paid leave, pending an investigation. 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.). Keinan sent the letter to Randolph on the afternoon of May 22. His work has appeared in The Daily Beast, The New York Times, ESPN, The Guardian, VICE Sports, Deadspin, The Outline and more. 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. The email then went on to outline what the administration felt was the best path toward building a climate that supports dialogue, including a series of meetings with interested students.

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