Opinion: Issues and Solutions Facing the CSDNR

**The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views of all members of the Huguenot Herald or CSDNR**

Thursday, September 10, 2020. This was the day New Rochelle High School was supposed to reopen, along with every other New Rochelle school, as outlined in the district’s July 2020 Re-Entry Plan. Yet, as I, Ben Feinblum, a sophomore, sit at my desk typing this story, I also ready myself for classes by cleaning off the desktop, emptying the trash, and clearing the plethora of napkins, half-drunk cups of coffee, and many an apple core. This desk is what New Rochelle asks me to call “school.” School used to be a building, one where students went to learn, socialize, complete tests, master concepts, and take risks. Now I call “school” a sectioned-off corner of my bedroom, one where I have a green screen hooked to the ceiling, a microphone anchored in a foam cube, and a 3840 x 1080 pixelized recreation of students, teachers, and an education. 

I can’t blame New Rochelle for the coronavirus, nor can I blame Governor Andrew Cuomo or Young Israel of New Rochelle, for they were all just spokes in a massive COVID-19 wheel. But at some point, people like to point fingers and place the blame somewhere. I could blame the high school, who could blame the district, who could blame former Superintendent Laura Feijoo, or Dr. Alex Marrero, or the School Board, who could blame the Teachers’ Union, or Samsung or Dell for a lack of computers. In the end, there is no one person to hold responsible for our situation. A culmination of poor leadership, poor timing, poor technology, and poor finances, created what we have now: a quasi form of school.

I recently spoke to NRHS’s Interim Principal, Mr. Steve Goldberg, and in a separate conversation to CSDNR’s Interim Superintendent, Dr. Alex Marrero. We discussed the current at-home experience and necessary changes, Zoom bombing, “Meet The Teacher Night,” reopening, and other questions regarding textbooks, busing, cafeterias, potential three-day rotation schedules, technological challenges, and what a COVID-19 era classroom might look like, as well as issues regarding district staffing, and public relations.

I spent two weeks arranging interviews, forming questions, doing background research, and conducting the interviews. I had big aspirations for my end product. I had written a large piece where I went through each of the above topics, explained what was being done, and how that would affect students. However, I was left with disappointment and anger. Not at a single person, but with the district as a whole. Many of my questions should not have needed to have been asked, as they requested information that should have already been announced and explained. The questions were not controversial, but rather inquisitive.

I found that over the past 18 months, it seems that every decision, new idea, or proclamation the CSDNR made has been a mistake, or at best, the bare minimum. From the revolving door called the Superintendent’s office to the lack of a permanent appointment for NRHS’s principal and vice-principal, to the uncertainty and uneasiness surrounding the district’s COVID plan, the district does not seem to be making progress. Rather, they are in a holding pattern, never finding an actual solution, just a temporary fix. In speaking to the Interim Superintendent, and the Interim Principal, I realize that overall, the district, and specifically the high school, are plagued by three issues: communication, student interaction, and fear. 

Communication

The CSDNR seems unable to communicate with clarity and transparency to students, parents and staff. For example, take Meet The Teacher Night at the high school. The purpose of Meet The Teacher Night is to build relationships between the school, students, and parents. But this year, there will be no meeting with the teacher. Not because of coronavirus, or because of technology constraints, but because the district does not understand the need to communicate with the families they serve. I focus on this example as in just 15 seconds, so much can be learned. Here was my exchange with Interim Superintendent Marrero:

Dr. Marrero: “At the secondary level, we are going to have it the way I just described that I would like to see textbooks, is on a given day it will be a subject, let’s say math Monday, science Tuesday, and we’ll also be Zooming in, and all the teachers will be available on that evening. I think it’s a very innovative way to do it, but also a way to control the sheer volume of folks, in particular, the high school, it’s massive.”

Ben Feinblum: “So you expect each parent to be able to communicate live on Zoom with each teacher, let’s say social studies on Monday, English on Tuesday, something of that nature?”

Dr. Marrero: “Well the specifics are in the plan. So, you [Ben] have not received any of this?”

Ben Feinblum: “Well, I actually have contrary information, which we’ll get to in a second.”

Dr. Marrero: “Okay, so I don’t want to misspeak, so, what did you receive?”

Ben Feinblum: “I had spoken to Mr. Goldberg, who made his intentions clear that there would be no speaking to any teachers on Meet The Teacher Night. [Ironic]”

Dr. Marrero: “Okay. So what. Is it going to be recordings? “

Ben Feinblum: “Well, that’s what I’m asking you”

Dr. Marrero: “We’ll, I’m asking you, sir.” 

Ben Feinblum: “Well, I’m not the one being interviewed. As far as you know, what is the plan you have in mind?”

From this short exchange, we are able to see the lack of communication on three fronts. We see it between Mr. Goldberg and Dr. Marrero, as neither has had their staff come up with a plan together. They each seem to have dreamt up their own plan, expecting that the other would accept it. The plan I received from Mr. Goldberg (interviewed before Dr. Marrero) would include no live discussion, no meeting of teachers, and no interaction with the school. He insisted that videos, which he called “infomercials,'' would be posted to the high school’s website as a substitute for meeting teachers via Zoom. Rather than instituting proper communication and developing a consistent plan, Dr. Marrero seemed to be completely out of the loop, despite being the leader of our district. Why was I the one communication link between the principal and superintendent? 

The second communication issue is between the administration and students. As far as I know, I was the only student to question both Dr. Marrero and Mr. Goldberg, and therefore, I was the only student informed of this plan. There was no email, no announcement, not even a mention of the complete gutting of Meet The Teacher Night. Already a month beyond when it should have been, there has been no announcement to students or parents regarding its cancellation, no explanation, or even so much as passing mention. 

The third, and most important of issues, is that the district does not understand that parents need to have relationships with their child’s teachers. That's the whole point of Meet The Teacher Night. To meet the teacher. And now with its cancellation, teacher-parent relationships will not be formed, despite being something that is ever more needed during these pandemic times.

Unfortunately for the thousands of parents—who rely on this district to educate their children—the communication barrier is not exclusively present between administrators. When speaking to Mr. Goldberg, I asked him why the NRHS community received nothing from his office… never heard him speak, not so much as a “Welcome to the School” Zoom meeting. His response was, “We really haven’t introduced ourselves, as a team [him and the two vice principals], as an administrative team, to everyone…” Mr. Goldberg held himself accountable and admitted there had been a severe lack of communication. He then promised to reach out “very soon.” Three weeks later, and nothing. Not a single letter. Not a single call. 

I could continue with dozens of more examples regarding a lack of communication and transparency including this year’s plan for busing/Metrocards, scheduling, textbooks, technology constraints, Feijoo’s departure and $214,000 settlement, St. Gabes, Adofo Muhammad, rapist teachers (Fmr. NRHS teacher John Fraioli), grade fixing scandals (Fmr. Assistant Principal Shadia Alvarez), discrimination lawsuits (Fmr. Assistant Principal Fredrika Butler), the list goes on and on. I conducted hours of interviews, yet I still don’t have many answers, despite speaking to the most powerful man in the district. No one should have to work as hard as I did to get basic information about their, or their child’s education. While many staffing issues were not publicly discussed, other basic questions I worked hard to get answers to should have already been public information, such as details about metro cards and bussing. The CSDNR either does not understand that they have a serious transparency and communication issue, or they know they do and will continue to deceive the city.

Student Interaction

Many students feel that their voice is not being heard, mine included. The way the COVID-19 crisis is being handled is not the way many students feel it should be, especially regarding schedules, portable technology, digital censorship (of mainstream websites), safety, textbooks, and busing. In speaking to students, one sophomore said “I think it's ridiculous that the schools aren't asking for our input. The kids are the ones experiencing online school and it's ridiculous that they aren't taking us into account. I want to bring this up with someone from the school or the district, but I don't know who.”

One of the most commonly mentioned topics was that 48 in-person minutes are not the same when digital. A number of factors easily shrink teaching time down 15-25%, including a lack of understanding of digital tools like Zoom and Google Classroom by teachers, lapses in teachers’ internet access, and a shortage of usable computers—district Chromebooks are a royal pain on a good day and garbage when running Zoom and opening more than five Google Chrome tabs. And now, the district has announced that class time will be cut by nearly 20%, yet in speaking to Mr. Goldberg, he still expects teachers to do the same amount of work in significantly less time.

Besides the massive misstep in changing the schedule, teachers should have been better instructed on how to use Zoom and G Suite products. The school should have made it required that teachers teach remotely from their classrooms if they had unstable or low-quality internet, or provided them with the technology to prepare their own homes. Students should have been given better computers, as the spring showed that the current Chromebooks are not capable of handling a student or teacher workload (what do you expect from a $179 computer?). If teachers had been better prepared, and students provided with better tools, class time would be more productive and effective.

Many students feel that the district is running without student input, and lack an explanation for the not-so-smooth start to the school year. A committee was set up with a few select students to give input to Dr. Marrero, but it still seems the other 99.6% of students are being ignored. Students want to have an active role in their education. They should. Instead, students are encouraged to email their guidance counselors, who have no practical authority in helping students. CSDNR sends a clear message to these students: talk to the hand. Perhaps if the district was more transparent and listened more closely to students, students would be more proud of New Rochelle’s education system.

Fear and Secrecy

Fear is a gift and a curse. It keeps us safe and keeps us from doing something dangerous or deadly. But if there’s too much fear, you end up limiting yourself from doing anything that involves risk, or anything that is different from the past. This district is nothing more than cowardly. Every move they make is motivated by fear. Rather than doing what's best for students, policies and ideas are often developed fear first. Instead of education being the guiding factor, fear is limiting their every move.

We see it in many ways. The first is in how ambiguous and unclear the district operates. When making staffing choices or developing new policies, the district likes to be as secretive as possible, because they fear their constituents seeing what actually goes on behind closed doors. Take former superintendent Laura Feijoo, who was embattled with controversy from the day she took office. Two weeks ago, she mysteriously departed, for no apparent reason beyond her inability to lead the district. The details surrounding her departure must have been spectacular, considering it took a $214,000 check to make her leave. What was so pressing or secretive that it was worth nearly a quarter of a million dollars to see her go?

Another example would be the ten-day event of the hiring and departure of Adofo Muhammad, the intended replacement for Interim Principal Joe Starvaggi. Muhammad was announced to be instated as the new principal of NRHS, someone who, “...is the educational leader that our high school needs.” And yet, just a few days later, Muhammad was sent off, citing, “...serious family matters…” Was it not perhaps coincidence that an article by Robert Cox revealed, “Mr. Muhammad’s Instagram feed has photos that suggest a connection with or support of the Nation of Islam, Leonard Jeffries and the Black Panther Party.” With the filling of such a prominent position, why is it that the distinct not only failed to do their homework, but continued to hold up a wall of silence after questions arose, and Muhammad was let go? What is being hidden?

The district not only fears the truth, but they also fear what the students could do without their strict oversight. As we enter back into school, the district has informed teachers that students will be required to “...have a CSDNR Chromebook signed out to them if they are participating in the hybrid instructional model.” Why? After shutting down in March, many families spent hundreds if not thousands of dollars on computers to continue learning. Why is the district now forcing kids to use computers far inferior to what they use at home? The district has yet to explain, or even fully announce this policy, one that many don't understand. Having asked this question to Dr. Marrero, he referred me to the district’s acceptable use policy, which does not in any way prohibit students from bringing their own devices, rather, it cautions against “...access[ing] newsgroups, blogs, chat rooms, social networking websites (including, but not limited to MySpace and Facebook).” What is the fear motivating this policy? 

Why is it that when it comes to education, only the most basic, most minimal amount of creativity and ingenuity is used to form a child’s education? Why does the district feel that by doing the bare minimum, or by restricting student freedoms so heavily, it benefits students? Again with Chromebooks, why are some media outlets blocked, websites banned, and YouTube shunned? It’s not that Youtube is dangerous, as many teachers incorporate it on a daily basis. The District fears that students could use their own computers to do something nefarious. And they are not wrong, but I could do just the same at home. So if not concerned about what I could do with a computer, it must be they are afraid of giving students independence, the ability to problem solve and the ability to be responsible in the world they are becoming a part of. It’s not just with websites, it's with having an open campus, or allowing kids to bring their own devices, or letting students drive to BOCES (until recently), or allowing them to use the bathroom without scanning an ID and signing a book. Student independence and the truth seem to scare the district. No innovative teaching solutions have been developed, no plan beyond letting in a third of students. 

Over the past eight months, fear has motivated the district, not education.

I didn't set out to write such a negative story. In fact, I set out to find the truth, as I had assumed the truth would be positive for the district. But, I was wrong. The truth, as much as I could find, is ugly. The truth is that for years, the district has been unable to fill positions, unable to give students more independence, and unable to overcome adversity and fear. 

One of the first things Mr. Goldberg said to me was that he wanted people to be proud of New Rochelle, and that he wanted teachers to go to work and be proud of their school. But, having spoken to him and Dr. Marrero, I can’t say that I’m proud to get a New Rochelle education. I can’t be proud of the grade-fixing scandals, sex scandals, the disgracing of the Superintendent and Principal’s offices, a lack of freedom, innovation, or creativity. I surely can’t be proud of the broken trust between families and the district. 

I want New Rochelle to overcome their challenges, and to improve the way education is provided. New Rochelle has great teachers (who stay longer compared to other local districts), excellent history, and a powerful community. I hope New Rochelle can rebuild their school district, one that's known for excellence and one to look at as an example of what a school district should be. I want the CSDNR to serve its students proudly and fearlessly, and collaborate with students—not act as we are the enemy. Mr. Goldberg should not have to make his ideas a wish, they should be a guiding principle, where the CSDNR is proud of its students, and its students proud of it.