No sign of progress at PS 207

Update: The DOE sent a statment detailing changes at P.S. 207. Click here to read the statement. 

Months after parents of P.S. 207 students went public with allegations of widespread bullying and one case of sexual harassment among children, exacerbated by stonewalling from the administration, they are still waiting for the Department of Education (DOE) to take action.

Parent Mercedes Diaz said she feels disempowered.

“I don’t know who we have to reach out to,” the mother of a kindergartener said in a phone interview.

She is seeking to follow in the footsteps of several parents who have withdrawn their children from the kindergarten-through-second-grade school. Earlier this year, Kent Bowman began homeschooling his daughter after two boys allegedly had shown her their penises, with no reported consequences. Kristina Martell obtained a safety transfer for her son, who had allegedly suffered severe physical bullying at the hands of classmates.

The DOE and Principal Maria Rosado did not answer inquiries as of press time.

Parents say Ms. Rosado is nearly impossible to contact and ignores their complaints even when she is reached.

That contributed to a heated atmosphere at a parents’ association meeting earlier this month, according to a PA member.

He said one mother erupted at the principal, saying Ms. Rosado has not followed protocol about bullying her son has suffered.

“You’re the one supposed to handle the situation and you turned your back on him,” the PA member remembered the mother as saying.

Parents say District 10 Superintendent Melodie Mashel visited P.S. 207 in February, but little has changed since then.

“Children are still doing it; children are still getting hurt,” said the PA member, who did not want his name published due to the sensitivity of the topic. “It doesn’t matter if she came in, because it didn’t make a difference.” 

However, that parent said the P.S. 207 administration is now allowing PA members to visit the school and pass out informational flyers with fewer restrictions than before. The parent said they used to be “hassled.”

Northwest Bronx Councilman Andrew Cohen has met with Ms. Rosado and parents’ association leaders since The Press began reporting on P.S. 207’s problems in December.

“I do feel they started a new dialogue,” he said of the principal and the PA. “I don’t know if I’m optimistic or not yet, but hopefully they will be able to work productively together again soon.”

Mr. Cohen noted Ms. Rosado has been principal at P.S. 207 for the past 12 years.

“It’s very hard to be principal and she’s been able to work with parents in a more productive way [before],” he said.