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| East Harlem School’s Utopian Spirit Devolves Into War | |
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| Central Park East I, a small public elementary school at Madison Avenue and 106th Street, opened in 1974 with a lofty goal: to offer the children of East Harlem a nurturing, arts-focused education more often provided in private schools. There was no fixed curriculum. Students learned math through cooking and carpentry, studied violin and went ice skating. The utopian vision was carried over to the school’s democratic style of governance. | Central Park East I, a small public elementary school at Madison Avenue and 106th Street, opened in 1974 with a lofty goal: to offer the children of East Harlem a nurturing, arts-focused education more often provided in private schools. There was no fixed curriculum. Students learned math through cooking and carpentry, studied violin and went ice skating. The utopian vision was carried over to the school’s democratic style of governance. |
| The school earned a reputation as an exemplar of progressive public education. Its founder, Deborah Meier, became a leader in the small-schools movement, starting several others and winning a MacArthur award in 1987. | The school earned a reputation as an exemplar of progressive public education. Its founder, Deborah Meier, became a leader in the small-schools movement, starting several others and winning a MacArthur award in 1987. |
| Today, in an era of data-driven assessments, Central Park East I remains an anomaly, proud of its spirit of total freedom. Teachers decide what to teach, and students are encouraged to pursue their own interests, whether that means writing short stories or building a zoo’s worth of animals out of papier-mâché. | Today, in an era of data-driven assessments, Central Park East I remains an anomaly, proud of its spirit of total freedom. Teachers decide what to teach, and students are encouraged to pursue their own interests, whether that means writing short stories or building a zoo’s worth of animals out of papier-mâché. |
| But since Monika Garg took over as principal last summer, simmering tensions among parents and staff members have erupted into an all-out war. | But since Monika Garg took over as principal last summer, simmering tensions among parents and staff members have erupted into an all-out war. |
| On one side are parents and at least half the teachers, who accuse the New York City Education Department of installing Ms. Garg in an attempt to make the school more traditional. These parents and teachers say that she is forcing teachers to adopt prepackaged curriculums, bringing in families with little stake in the school’s approach and retaliating against teachers who resist her policies by starting investigations focused on them. They held a rally outside department headquarters on Tuesday calling for her removal. | On one side are parents and at least half the teachers, who accuse the New York City Education Department of installing Ms. Garg in an attempt to make the school more traditional. These parents and teachers say that she is forcing teachers to adopt prepackaged curriculums, bringing in families with little stake in the school’s approach and retaliating against teachers who resist her policies by starting investigations focused on them. They held a rally outside department headquarters on Tuesday calling for her removal. |
| “In the nine months that she’s been there, she sort of has done everything she can to divide the community,” said Bonnie Massey, who has a son in second grade. “She’s mistreated teachers. She’s mistreated children. She has said things that are incredibly offensive.” | “In the nine months that she’s been there, she sort of has done everything she can to divide the community,” said Bonnie Massey, who has a son in second grade. “She’s mistreated teachers. She’s mistreated children. She has said things that are incredibly offensive.” |
| On the other side are parents who see Ms. Garg as trying to return the school to its mission of serving East Harlem’s children, which they say it has lost by increasingly catering to middle-class families. | On the other side are parents who see Ms. Garg as trying to return the school to its mission of serving East Harlem’s children, which they say it has lost by increasingly catering to middle-class families. |
| “Debbie Meier said in one of her books that, without a powerful system of accountability, well-intentioned schools can easily become smug, secretive, tyrannical and even racist,” said Elaina Watkins, who has three children at the school and supports Ms. Garg. “And as a parent at C.P.E., I can see that is what has happened at the school.” | “Debbie Meier said in one of her books that, without a powerful system of accountability, well-intentioned schools can easily become smug, secretive, tyrannical and even racist,” said Elaina Watkins, who has three children at the school and supports Ms. Garg. “And as a parent at C.P.E., I can see that is what has happened at the school.” |
| What is not in dispute is that, in recent years, the makeup of the school, which does not draw from a defined zone, has changed significantly: In 2004-5, it was 92 percent black and Hispanic; 54 percent of students qualified for free lunch. Today, it is 53 percent black and Hispanic, and 25 percent qualify for free lunch. In the early years, the majority of students came from District 4, where the school is. Now, 24 percent of the students come from District 4, and the largest share of students, 29 percent, come from District 3 on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. | What is not in dispute is that, in recent years, the makeup of the school, which does not draw from a defined zone, has changed significantly: In 2004-5, it was 92 percent black and Hispanic; 54 percent of students qualified for free lunch. Today, it is 53 percent black and Hispanic, and 25 percent qualify for free lunch. In the early years, the majority of students came from District 4, where the school is. Now, 24 percent of the students come from District 4, and the largest share of students, 29 percent, come from District 3 on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. |
| The parents who oppose Ms. Garg say those changes are unfortunate but result from various factors: gentrification; a few well-connected Upper West Siders talking up the school; and the growth of charter schools in East Harlem, which appeal to many poor families because of their structured approach and high test scores. | The parents who oppose Ms. Garg say those changes are unfortunate but result from various factors: gentrification; a few well-connected Upper West Siders talking up the school; and the growth of charter schools in East Harlem, which appeal to many poor families because of their structured approach and high test scores. |
| But Ms. Watkins and other supporters believe the changes in the school’s makeup are a consequence of exclusionary admissions and enrollment practices, which they say Ms. Garg is changing. | But Ms. Watkins and other supporters believe the changes in the school’s makeup are a consequence of exclusionary admissions and enrollment practices, which they say Ms. Garg is changing. |
| Ms. Garg is not the first principal to face problems at Central Park East I, which has had five since 2003. | Ms. Garg is not the first principal to face problems at Central Park East I, which has had five since 2003. |
| She was previously the assistant principal at the Pan American International High School in Queens, which serves new immigrants. She said in an interview that there was “zero truth” to the notion that she had been directed to make the East Harlem school more traditional. Rather, she said, she had been drawn by its focus on social and emotional development. | She was previously the assistant principal at the Pan American International High School in Queens, which serves new immigrants. She said in an interview that there was “zero truth” to the notion that she had been directed to make the East Harlem school more traditional. Rather, she said, she had been drawn by its focus on social and emotional development. |
| Ms. Garg said, however, that once on the job she discovered significant problems. She said she found that some students were leaving the school after the fifth grade without basic math and literacy skills. She said she had told the teachers that they needed either to adapt a curriculum from outside the school or to write their own, which should lay out the skills students should learn in each grade. | Ms. Garg said, however, that once on the job she discovered significant problems. She said she found that some students were leaving the school after the fifth grade without basic math and literacy skills. She said she had told the teachers that they needed either to adapt a curriculum from outside the school or to write their own, which should lay out the skills students should learn in each grade. |
| In an attempt to stir a discussion about how the school might adjust its approach to meet the needs of students from different backgrounds, she sent out two articles by a black educator and author who says some progressive teaching methods do not serve poor black students well. (About half of the school’s 10 longtime teachers are black.) | In an attempt to stir a discussion about how the school might adjust its approach to meet the needs of students from different backgrounds, she sent out two articles by a black educator and author who says some progressive teaching methods do not serve poor black students well. (About half of the school’s 10 longtime teachers are black.) |
| “How do we as a school make sure all our students have equity?” Ms. Garg said in the interview, adding that it was not only an issue of students of different races, but also of students who learn differently. | “How do we as a school make sure all our students have equity?” Ms. Garg said in the interview, adding that it was not only an issue of students of different races, but also of students who learn differently. |
| “If we have a student who needs some instruction in a different way, we have to be willing to do it and not say, ‘That’s not the C.P.E. I way.’” | “If we have a student who needs some instruction in a different way, we have to be willing to do it and not say, ‘That’s not the C.P.E. I way.’” |
| Some parents said they found the articles offensive. | Some parents said they found the articles offensive. |
| Kenya Dilday, who is black and has a daughter in second grade, said, “That’s telling me, ‘You’ve chosen this education because you’re stupid or you’re just misinformed.’” | Kenya Dilday, who is black and has a daughter in second grade, said, “That’s telling me, ‘You’ve chosen this education because you’re stupid or you’re just misinformed.’” |
| Teachers, meanwhile, say Ms. Garg is using the Education Department’s investigation process to try to drive them out. Two, Yvonne Smith and Marilyn Martinez, said all 10 of the school’s veteran teachers were being investigated, including themselves. | Teachers, meanwhile, say Ms. Garg is using the Education Department’s investigation process to try to drive them out. Two, Yvonne Smith and Marilyn Martinez, said all 10 of the school’s veteran teachers were being investigated, including themselves. |
| The department would confirm only that two teachers had been investigated, on charges of corporal punishment. In one case, the teacher was removed from the school and the investigation is still continuing. The other case was closed with a finding of poor judgment on the teacher’s part, the department said, but no action was taken. | The department would confirm only that two teachers had been investigated, on charges of corporal punishment. In one case, the teacher was removed from the school and the investigation is still continuing. The other case was closed with a finding of poor judgment on the teacher’s part, the department said, but no action was taken. |
| A spokeswoman for the special commissioner of investigation for the school system said that there had also been a complaint made in January against a large number of the school’s teachers regarding the use of school funds, but that it had been closed with no further action. | A spokeswoman for the special commissioner of investigation for the school system said that there had also been a complaint made in January against a large number of the school’s teachers regarding the use of school funds, but that it had been closed with no further action. |
| Some of Ms. Garg’s supporters said she was dealing with problems that previous administrations had left to fester. | Some of Ms. Garg’s supporters said she was dealing with problems that previous administrations had left to fester. |
| Naomi Smith, the principal of Central Park East II, a 1981 offshoot of the original school, said that under the previous principal, Lindley Uehling, a small group of teachers dominated the school. Now that they are no longer in control, she said, “they’re not happy.” | Naomi Smith, the principal of Central Park East II, a 1981 offshoot of the original school, said that under the previous principal, Lindley Uehling, a small group of teachers dominated the school. Now that they are no longer in control, she said, “they’re not happy.” |
| Ms. Uehling said she did not view that characterization as accurate. She said the school was teacher-led and decisions were made by consensus, but “I always had the final word.” | Ms. Uehling said she did not view that characterization as accurate. She said the school was teacher-led and decisions were made by consensus, but “I always had the final word.” |
| For many years the school controlled its own enrollment, admitting students based on weekday parent tours and visits by prospective students, prioritizing students’ fit with the school’s model and parents’ commitment to its progressive approach. | For many years the school controlled its own enrollment, admitting students based on weekday parent tours and visits by prospective students, prioritizing students’ fit with the school’s model and parents’ commitment to its progressive approach. |
| In recent years the Education Department has taken over admissions, creating a lottery that gives priority to children from District 4. But the school has continued to offer tours, given by parents or the parent coordinator. Tour leaders emphasize the school’s philosophy that children should progress at their own pace, and that students’ not reading or writing by the second or third grade is no cause for alarm. | In recent years the Education Department has taken over admissions, creating a lottery that gives priority to children from District 4. But the school has continued to offer tours, given by parents or the parent coordinator. Tour leaders emphasize the school’s philosophy that children should progress at their own pace, and that students’ not reading or writing by the second or third grade is no cause for alarm. |
| Under the new system, students from other districts are generally not offered seats through the lottery unless they have siblings attending the school. Other students are put on a waiting list, which is also supposed to offer District 4 children priority; the list, though, seems to have offered a back door to admission for children from other districts. | Under the new system, students from other districts are generally not offered seats through the lottery unless they have siblings attending the school. Other students are put on a waiting list, which is also supposed to offer District 4 children priority; the list, though, seems to have offered a back door to admission for children from other districts. |
| Last year, only 17 of the 30 children offered kindergarten seats through the lottery ended up at the school, leaving another 13 seats to be filled from the waiting list. There were 77 students from District 4 on the list, but in the end fewer than 10 students from District 4 enrolled in the class, while more than two-thirds of the seats went to children from other districts. | Last year, only 17 of the 30 children offered kindergarten seats through the lottery ended up at the school, leaving another 13 seats to be filled from the waiting list. There were 77 students from District 4 on the list, but in the end fewer than 10 students from District 4 enrolled in the class, while more than two-thirds of the seats went to children from other districts. |
| Ms. Garg’s opponents say that no one is kept out, but that the school is not for everyone, and that to thrive it needs families who value its approach. | Ms. Garg’s opponents say that no one is kept out, but that the school is not for everyone, and that to thrive it needs families who value its approach. |
| Others, including Ms. Smith, the principal of Central Park East II, see more discriminatory forces at work: She and a mother at her school, who asked to be identified only by her given name, Diana, to protect her privacy, said Diana’s daughter was turned away from Central Park East I last spring, despite having won a spot in the lottery. Diana said that on the last day of registration, she called the school and was told she needed to show up by the end of the school day with her daughter and the girl’s birth certificate — not a copy, but an original — which she would need to get from the health department in Lower Manhattan. | Others, including Ms. Smith, the principal of Central Park East II, see more discriminatory forces at work: She and a mother at her school, who asked to be identified only by her given name, Diana, to protect her privacy, said Diana’s daughter was turned away from Central Park East I last spring, despite having won a spot in the lottery. Diana said that on the last day of registration, she called the school and was told she needed to show up by the end of the school day with her daughter and the girl’s birth certificate — not a copy, but an original — which she would need to get from the health department in Lower Manhattan. |
| She said she eventually spoke to Ms. Uehling and told her that she could not get the document and her daughter in time. Ms. Uehling told her there was nothing she could do to help. Diana went to the school to plead her case, but Ms. Uehling dismissed her, telling her if she could not meet the deadline, “my seat was given up,” Diana recalled. | She said she eventually spoke to Ms. Uehling and told her that she could not get the document and her daughter in time. Ms. Uehling told her there was nothing she could do to help. Diana went to the school to plead her case, but Ms. Uehling dismissed her, telling her if she could not meet the deadline, “my seat was given up,” Diana recalled. |
| Parents can register with a copy of a birth certificate, and schools have some flexibility in when they can allow parents to register. | Parents can register with a copy of a birth certificate, and schools have some flexibility in when they can allow parents to register. |
| “This is how you manipulate the system to lock people out,” Ms. Smith said. In the end, Central Park East II made room for the girl. | “This is how you manipulate the system to lock people out,” Ms. Smith said. In the end, Central Park East II made room for the girl. |
| Ms. Uehling said she did not remember the episode. She said she did not believe an original birth certificate was required to register. | Ms. Uehling said she did not remember the episode. She said she did not believe an original birth certificate was required to register. |
| This year, Ms. Garg said, to encourage all of the families who were offered kindergarten seats through the lottery to visit and to register she invited them to a Saturday reception. Of the 35 children, 33 enrolled. | This year, Ms. Garg said, to encourage all of the families who were offered kindergarten seats through the lottery to visit and to register she invited them to a Saturday reception. Of the 35 children, 33 enrolled. |
| After Ms. Garg announced that the school would add a second prekindergarten class next year, with District 4 students given priority, Emek Rave, the father of a first grader, wrote on the school’s email list that “by allowing only District 4 pre-K students (most of whom will not choose the school for its progressive values, but for its convenient location and current reputation as a ‘successful’ school), without any filter or the teachers’ voice in the matter, you will be crushing the school’s values beyond repair.” | After Ms. Garg announced that the school would add a second prekindergarten class next year, with District 4 students given priority, Emek Rave, the father of a first grader, wrote on the school’s email list that “by allowing only District 4 pre-K students (most of whom will not choose the school for its progressive values, but for its convenient location and current reputation as a ‘successful’ school), without any filter or the teachers’ voice in the matter, you will be crushing the school’s values beyond repair.” |
| Some parents interpreted his remarks as racist, implying that he did not want the school to be overrun by black and Hispanic families from District 4. Mr. Rave said in an interview that he had been misunderstood. He said he believed that Ms. Garg was ending parent tours, which he said would lead to the enrolling of families who did not understand the school’s approach, and would then be dissatisfied and push for changes. | Some parents interpreted his remarks as racist, implying that he did not want the school to be overrun by black and Hispanic families from District 4. Mr. Rave said in an interview that he had been misunderstood. He said he believed that Ms. Garg was ending parent tours, which he said would lead to the enrolling of families who did not understand the school’s approach, and would then be dissatisfied and push for changes. |
| “We really want children who want this type of education — otherwise it doesn’t exist,” he said. | “We really want children who want this type of education — otherwise it doesn’t exist,” he said. |
| In an interview, Ms. Meier, the school’s founder, who is supporting the effort to remove Ms. Garg, said she should have taken a year to get to know the school better. | In an interview, Ms. Meier, the school’s founder, who is supporting the effort to remove Ms. Garg, said she should have taken a year to get to know the school better. |
| But Andrew Padilla, 26, who grew up in East Harlem and graduated from Central Park East I in 2001, suggested that focusing on mistakes Ms. Garg may or may not have made was missing the point. He said the school was isolated from the surrounding community. | But Andrew Padilla, 26, who grew up in East Harlem and graduated from Central Park East I in 2001, suggested that focusing on mistakes Ms. Garg may or may not have made was missing the point. He said the school was isolated from the surrounding community. |
| “I don’t know if the people in the projects next door would miss the school if it left,” Mr. Padilla said. “And the point of C.P.E. initially was not just that it was a progressive school, but that it was a progressive school that was geared toward folks in this district.” | “I don’t know if the people in the projects next door would miss the school if it left,” Mr. Padilla said. “And the point of C.P.E. initially was not just that it was a progressive school, but that it was a progressive school that was geared toward folks in this district.” |