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Roughly 30 parents, teachers and students rallied at Muscota New School
in Inwood to protest for a teacher who was not granted tenure. PHOTO:
Daniel P. Bader
Special education teacher Annamaria Flores’ eyes were red as she walked into work on Thu., June 24. She hugged a supporter and walked quickly into Muscota New School on Broadway and Academy Street.
Outside the school, about 30 parents, fellow teachers and students rallied to save her job.
After three years teaching in New York State, teachers are evaluated for tenure. Flores, who has taught at Muscota since September, is at the end of her third year.
Whether she would receive tenure was up to Muscota principal Tomasz Grabski, who did not grant it, effectively firing Flores.
Next year Grabski won’t be coming back to Muscota, either.
This spring the school’s parents convinced the Department of Education to remove Grabski after an intense letter writing and petitioning campaign complaining about Grabski’s management of the school.
The parents and teachers who rallied on Thursday allege that Flores is being penalized because Grabski is angry and is taking it out on the staff.
“We knew this was going to happen,” said Parent Association President Shannon Park.
“It really feels like retribution,” said parent Courtney Retzler. “This doesn’t characterize how our school is.”
They also alleged that Grabski filed unsatisfactory letters for other staff too, but that it affects Flores more.
Parents say they escalated the issue to Madera, but nothing has changed.
The shame of it, they say, is that Flores excelled as a teacher in a job that is very hard to fill.
“I was part of the committee that hired her,” said parent Amy Stefano. “Annamaria stood out so much. The moment we saw her demo we were blown away.”
Park said at least 10 teachers were interviewed before Flores was given the job.
Karen Savinon’s son, Stefano, 10, is in Flores’ class. He just began reading at the end of last year. With Flores’ help, his reading skills have jumped.
“She had one kid who never spoke,” said parent Kevin Kunkel. But after working with Flores, “He spoke at graduation [this year].”
Park said this year all of Flores’ students progressed, some even jumped from a 1, the Department of Education’s lowest ranking, to a 3.
“Annamaria is a miracle worker,” Park said. “This is her third year teaching and her career is over.”
Grabski, reached at the school, declined to comment on Flores’ tenure. He referred all questions to the DOE.
Ann Forte, a spokesperson for the department, said in an email that she couldn’t comment on personnel issues, but said a principal has the power to deny tenure or extend a teacher’s probationary period for one year.
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