Community Ed Council welcomes Karen Green

By Kate McNeil

Karen Green may be soft-spoken, but that's never stopped the Riverdale resident from putting in her two-cents at local school board meetings, and, in recent years, at local community education council meetings.

As of Sept. 20, though, the former teacher will do so in a more official capacity.

Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrión Jr. appointed Ms. Green to the Community Education Council of District 10, and the council's members unanimously voted her in at their meeting last week.

Ms. Green said she was "honored" to become a member and will use her "talents and education experience" to focus on curriculum and parent involvement in District 10 schools.

"I didn't know whether I fit [into the council] as a 64-year-old grandma, but I have a long history with this district," she said.

To anyone who regularly attended school board meetings, Ms. Green was a familiar sight. The retired mother of three strode up to the microphone on many Thursday nights passionately petitioning for a more progressive way of teaching that takes students out of the classroom and into new settings like a garden or the zoo.

Ms. Green, who holds a master's degree in early education, taught at a number of schools and centers, including in Community School District 5 in Harlem and the Amalgamated Nursery School. She was also a director of the Reservoir Daycare Center on Webb Avenue.

She is intimately familiar with Riverdale's schools, as well. Her sons attended PS 24, JHS 141 and the Bronx High School of Science.

"I credit schools for being an integral part for the success my children have had," she said. She hopes to impart what she's learned to other parents.

Ms. Green fills a 10-month-long vacancy on the council, which is comprised of nine parent members, two borough president appointees and one non-voting student member.

In February, Mr. Carrión named Judith Daly-Powell to fill one of the two appointee positions. The other appointee seat was unoccupied since December.

Mr. Carrion's office blamed the long delay on the lack of qualified candidates.

One parent seat on the council still remains vacant.