Parents start pulling students from PS 207

Last week, Kent Bowman decided to pull his daughter out of P.S. 207 and teach her at home.  

He said that after spending more than a year and a half at a school he felt was fundamentally failing his daughter, and after reading his own words in a recent Press article about problems at P.S. 207, he had to ask himself why his child was still there. 

In the article, Mr. Bowman described a spring 2015 incident in which his child was sexually harassed — and his inability to communicate with the school’s principal, Maria Rosado, about that incident and many others. Ms. Rosado did not respond to requests for an interview for this article.

“My daughter experienced a lot of anxiety just from that situation. It was toxic for me, too. Everything was a fight, a fight to get help, a fight to get understanding,” he said. His daughter had described to him an incident in which two boys pulled out their penises in front of her.

Kristina Martell, who has struggled to have her son transferred out of P.S. 207 on grounds he is severely bullied, said she received the papers for a transfer on Feb. 22. She believes the move came because local news station PIX11 broadcast a story about her situation.

On Tuesday, Ms. Martell said the school told her she will find out if the transfer was approved by the end of the week. 

“I’m nervous about waiting, because I feel they could be spiteful about everything,” she said. “Until everything is said and done, I’m not going to be too calm about anything.”

In an email, Department of Education (DOE) spokeswoman Toya Holness said, “The safety and security of students and staff is our top priority. Each school has detailed safety plans in place to address any incidents and we are providing the school additional supports to ensure students are provided with a safe and supportive learning environment.”

Frustrating meeting