By: Jared Evan
Remote learning for NYC public school students has been a disaster thus far. Reports from various sources say that upwards of 70% of students are failing. Now, a principal from a Brooklyn school was caught on tape recommending passing students who do not learn but try, the NY Post reported.
Two clips of leaked audio from a May 14 remote meeting of administrators shows that remote instruction amid the coronavirus crisis has exacerbated poor performance at some schools. Under pressure from the Department of Education’s upper echelons, the schools are lowering the bar to pass students and keep their graduation rates up, the Post reported.
“If a child is engaged, if the child is doing work, but somehow the child does not get it, gives you the wrong answer, but the child is doing something, checking in with you, doing work … I would have passed the child,” said Costas Constantinidis, acting principal of Cobble Hill High School of American Studies in Carroll Gardens.
His remarks echo those of schools Chancellor Richard Carranza, who urged principals to adopt his mantra, “flexibility and patience,” in a staff webinar in early April, as The Post reported. Carranza has been a lightening rod of a chancellor. Known for radical far left social justice theories as opposed to actual proven techniques used to educate.
Carranza has come under scrutiny from the Asian community in regard to his race balanced admissions guidelines for advanced school classes.
In March of 2020, the NY Times reported on Asian parents protesting Carranza
“Fire Carranza!” The parents accused the school’s chancellor of forcing integration and of discriminating against their children.
The article continued:
“groups of parents venting frustration with Mr. Carranza and his vision for the nation’s largest school system — has been repeated in recent months, from City Hall Park to a dim sum restaurant in Brooklyn”
One sign the NY Times describes as being held up by one of the parents stated, “Carranza breeds racism in the name of diversity.””
This is in essence another version of social promotion. Social promotion is the practice of promoting a student (usually a general education student, rather than a special education student) to the next grade after the current school year, regardless of if they learned the necessary material or if they are often absent. This is done in order to keep the students with their peers by age, that being the intended social grouping.
In that webinar, Carranza also hinted at the watered-down student grading policy he unveiled on April 28. Under the directive, high school students can receive numeric final grades or opt for a pass/fail, but the fail is recorded as an “incomplete.” Students have until January 2021 to make up the work, Report Door stated.
Also attending the May 14 meeting was Anna Maria Mule, the longtime Cobble Hill principal who took a one-year position as a “new principal coach.” Her move came after whistleblowers complained to the Special Commissioner of Investigations for city schools that she masterminded rampant grade fraud. Investigators interviewed teachers at the school before the COVID-19 shutdown, an SCI spokeswoman confirmed Friday, as reported by Report door.
Costas Constantinidis was not commenting on the leaked meeting to media at press.
