Despite protest, principal stands by her policies
Bronx High School of Science students who cut class to protest harsh punishments for cutting will, themselves, be disciplined.
A week after Bronx High School of Science students left class to protest a variety of issues, the school's principal stands by the policies that perturbed the teens, saying "a society without any rules is chaos."
On Jan. 15, a few dozen students stormed out of class, posters in hand, to picket against the school's cutting policy and the possible firing of a teacher. A hundred or so kids eating lunch at the time joined the original group, spilling onto the hill opposite the West 205th Street entrance to the high school.
Students say their principal Valerie Reidy plans to wrongfully fire an English teacher, Helen Kellert, for showing a video in class without using a supplementary handout. Ms. Reidy likened the rumor to a game of "telephone" where information passing through multiple people gets distorted.
There's no teacher being fired, I don't know where they got that information," she said in an interview on Jan. 18.
She regrets that teachers may have "manipulated" students to vet their concerns: "I don't think it's ever appropriate for teachers to use students to fight a personal battle. All teachers have a strong machinery to deal with rules they think are unfair - that's the UFT (United Federation of Teachers)."
Still, she said, she will not punish students for "speaking their minds" and "standing up for what they believe in." She will, however, handout detentions to students who cut class to protest. Ironically, the cutting policy is exactly what fired up many of the students.
"They've been penalizing us more and more every year," said senior Chelsea Crowe, a protest organizer who used the social networking site Facebook to rally the troops. She said she will not attend prom because of her cut record.
The students were also enraged that their principal has used the formal title "Dr." when she does not hold a Ph.D. but rather an honorary degree from her alma mater the College of Mount Saint Vincent.
"That's just ridiculous," Ms. Reidy said of the complaints. "When I received the honorary degree my secretary was excited for me and would answer the phone Dr. Reidy."
But, fearing it would diminish other's degrees, she advised her secretary to stop.
"I have great respect and admiration for anyone who obtained a Ph.D, particularly in science," she said. "It's really a non-issue and seems to come from someone who is insecure."
"When 'thou doth protest too much' there are deeper issues," she said, quoting Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.
Sophomore protestor Tony Davi said his biggest gripe with the administration is the cutting policy. Revised a little over two years ago, the policy requires students to sit in detention (study hall) for an hour and a half for each cut. They also lose the privilege of participating in sports or extracurricular activities for that day.
Ms. Reidy said her students need to "handle the kind of freedom" that comes with being at a large, open campus. Sometimes consequences are needed to motivate people to do the right thing, she added.
One sophomore student said the cutting policy is "definitely overdoing it" pointing out that detention lasts longer than one class period. The student is not worried about her 15 cuts this year (the marks do not show up on transcripts) but rather, how detention affects her after-school activities, so important in bolstering a college application.
"You can't represent a school if you're not an upstanding member," Ms. Reidy refuted, adding that students who skip class would not represent Bronx Science well in sports, and after-school clubs.
Ms. Crowe was also upset at how the administration spends the school's money, saying "every dean has a palm pilot," but some classroom air conditioners are not working. She also alleges that 53 teachers have left early in her four years at the school.
Meanwhile, Ms. Reidy said she leaves her door open to concerned students: "I'd love to have a conversation with them. I may or may not be able to give them what they want."
