SOUTH BRONX SCHOOL: The World James Waslawski Created At MS/PS 279 in The Bronx

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

The World James Waslawski Created At MS/PS 279 in The Bronx

MS/PS 279 Principal James Waslawski
Every so often we here at SBSB are lucky enough to get some information that shows what a sham the NYC DOE and it's foot soldiers, the principals and assistant principals, truly are.

Last week we were fortunate enough to have an expose on MS/PS 279, District 10, The Bronx come across our newsroom. The lies, manipulation, and intimidation current principal, Leadership Academy grad, and Cahn Fellow, James Waslawski uses has not saved the school from the incompetence of principal Pedro Santana who left, or was forced out in 2004, but rather has made things worse to the point where nothing might be salvageable.

Anyone and everyone at 279 who dares to disagree with Waslawski instantly becomes a target of his wrath. Yes, as previously mentioned, Waslawski  inherited a mess. But rather that was because of the ineptness of Pedro Santana and not the dedicated, talented staff of 279.

In April 2011, the Joint Intervention Team descended upon MS/PS 279. The report was so damning that everyone and their mother truly believed that Waslawski would be gone due to his erratic and confounding lack of management and leadership. But like a cockroach in the middle of a thermonuclear blast, Waslawski survived. Is he the best the Leadership Academy has to offer?

279

One would even think that a if Waslawski would want the brightest, the most talented, the most qualified assistant principals. But Waslawski follows the Leadership Academy playbook to a T in picking an AP. Someone that lives in his colon, someone who shares his ideology, and someone who has few qualifications for the job.

That person is Hallie Iannoli. Yes, that Hallie Iannoli who is the daughter of former Monkee, Peter Tork. While Peter Tork was and still is extremely talented, it appears that not only is Hallie an enigma wrapped in a riddle, she apparently is untalented and useless as well.

Hallie graduated from The New College of California (San Francisco) in 1996. This is a college that operated from 1971, to 2008 in which it lost its accreditation due to many failures including erratic bookkeeping. In fact, Hallie earned her BA in 3 years from such a failed institution should raise eyebrows.

But one cloud hangs low over Hallie. Why did she leave her previous school, Urban Action Academy, a school she helped found to go be an assistant principal at 279? The crack team is working on this at press time.

Troubling too is the fact that Hallie has been teaching for only 8 years. Back in the day, an AP and/or Principal was a veteran teacher with at least 15, sometimes 20 years, under their belt. In fact, even though the AP position was advertised as AP for ESL, Hallie has only a temporary TOESL certificate that expires today, January 31.

Allegedly, what Waslawski told the School Leadership Team was that the C-30 was irrelevant. That he would pick the candidate and too bad what the SLT wants. DOE rules call for the entire C-30 process to be completed in 3 months from date of advertisement. It now has been more than 3 months since the advertisement closed and the DOE has apparently sanctioned the alleged violation of its own rules.

The SLT has gone from delays to a rush in completing the process. At press time we do not know if Hallie's TOESL license has expired, been extended, or made permanent.

Hallie has never had a permanent teaching or leadership license. This should lead one to question the fairness and openness of the C-30 system and the entire system as well. The lack of transparency from the DOE and its principals is not only damaging the great history of the New York City Schools, but inevitably, and it is happening already, will damage education in NYC.

The injustices keep coming. Yesterday we had to read how Little Evan Stone and Princess Sydney Morris were parroting Uncle Mike and Sock Puppet Walcott in coming out against an independent arbitrator for teachers to appeal ineffective ratings in the new system. One would wonder what they would say knowing that Waslawski has given a U rating last year to anyone who stood up to him. Apparently, 279 is becoming more like Iran and North Korea. Threat and intimidation rule the day.

Our sources have told the crack team that former chancellor Klein revised C-30 and put in a clause that any irregularities must be reported within 15 days. At 279 it was more than 15 days since the highly qualified candidates found out that someone else was appointed.

Administration needs to learn that it is the kids that come first, not themselves and their little petty crap. With all this testing, data, VAA, crap after crap, the upper echelon cares nothing about the well being and education of the students. Rather, the upper crust, the elite, of the schools will do whatever self preserving acts out there to save only themselves.

But worse is the fact that the DOE not only enables this incompetency to influence our children, our students, but the DOE turns a blind eye to the inevitable, when these incompetents completely fuck up.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a real Bloomberg setup. Ignore reports, let the mentally challenged Principal continue to do as he pleases, close the school, throw dozens of dedicated teachers into the ATR pool, then blame teachers for the school's failure. I'm starting to believe that the Bloomberg agenda is to destroy every public school.

Anonymous said...

Isn't this what the battle over teacher evaluation is all about? If you get a Principal who refuses to work with staff and parents, he may punish anyone who doesn't fit his mold and be his puppet with a 'U' rating. I saw in the report that that the school has low staff turnover. Those teachers must be very dedicated. Let's hope they survive the crisis created by this despot.

Anonymous said...

How about this sounds like a disgruntled teacher, that should probably work on getting a satisfactory rating instead of pointing the fingers elsewhere! If the kids come first then he/SHE should work on their own skills and help the administration get the scores up!

Anonymous said...

GO GIANTS!!!!

Anonymous said...

From that last comment, I would say that Michael Bloomberg or James Waslawski are posting here, although those comments make no sense if you read the Joint Intervention Team report. Here is a failing school with a report that tells us that the Principal doesn't know the meaning of words like cooperation and trust, and it looks like he is being allowed to run the school into the ground with more of the same. What the hell does that have to do with a disgruntled teacher?
Before I saw that inane comment I just wanted to say that I did a little research and found that James Waslawski was selected for the Regents Task Force on Teacher Assessment. Doesn't Bloomberg have any successful stooges who can serve as puppets on that task force?

Anonymous said...

This wouldn't be allowed where Bloomberg lives, or the West Side or in Brooklyn Heights. Schools in the ghetto are a plaything for Bloomberg, and he would rather leave his boy in place than give children of color a real education. It suits his purpose.

Anonymous said...

That report is very concerning as someone who is a concerned with the public school system.

The report says he is not training teachers, moving teachers around every year and failing to lead the school properly.

What is the DOE waiting for? It seems like they're ignoring the bad schools and focusing on teachers who are "ineffective" I haven't read a report that damning in a long time.

Who is in charge of this district and what are they doing about this situation?

It's been several years based on the reports in this article and Mr. Waslawski is still in charge. Is everyone asleep behind the wheel?

For the person with the pro-Waslawski/disgruntled teacher theory, did you read the report? It basically says he isn't help the teachers at all.

If Mr. Waslawski rated a teacher as poorly as he was rated in this report, that teacher would be fired.

This reeks of DOE negligence.

Anonymous said...

I don't want to take the discussion in an unusual direction, but I am an attorney who sees something in this situation. When public positions are filled by committee, participants must sign a confidentiality and impartiality agreement. If this Principal signs that statement after his public declarations, he could be prosecuted for perjury. Applicants could also sue the Department of Education for their shoddy supervision of this process. In theory, parents and parent advocates could also sue.

Anonymous said...

The JIT reports for many inner city schools look a lot like this one, which documents a comprehensive failure of leadership. Yet in the inner city, Principals like James Waslaski are allowed to continue. Principals like this are part of the Bloomberg plan. Bloomberg touts his own educational success for political purposes, but he seems to be committed to making Latino and Black students who are poor part of a new permanent underclass in New York City. For most of these 999 students and their families there is no hope.

Anonymous said...

I worked for JW at 279 and everybody, teachers, students, janoitors, everyone hated him. His social skills are minimal to begin with, but to make matters ever worse he is a LIAR with NO HONOR and NO INTEGRITY. Even just thinking about him makes my skin crawl. I hope karma catches up with him and gives him what he deserves by explosing what an incompetent disgusting person he is through and through. Ick.

Anonymous said...

He opened a new school named New Directions Secondary School in which he has destroyed teacher's talents and hopes and has done a huge dis-service to the children of NDSS. More stuff coming up from this reporter.
DO NOT APPLY TO NEW DIRECTIONS SECONDARY SCHOOL.

Anonymous said...

Honestly New Directions has none. After working here for a few, Waslosersrskis another moron of Doombergs Prinipal Academy in the flesh. He has NO shame in trying to being a disgusting individual. Tries to strong arm teachers into doing what he feels is appropriate when one size shoe doesn’t fit ALL. His entire school needs to be closed, not just the middle school. This transfer school crap is garbage. When are these clowns in BK going to realize that public education sucks! Budget cuts, inept administration ever mind racists like those in the old Herman Ritter bldg on the third flr are a big problem in this system. It is always the teachers fault but not from where I am standing. Once big schools like Taft were dissolved, education lost all its morale. Many staff members here and other places are just so disgruntled. New teachers are faced with unsurmountable tasks of acclimateing into this job. Then w/limited assistance they are thrown into the wolves and left for the kill w/demeaning observations. Did admins like Waslawski and other APs give some guidance....NO! When does this circus of promoting kids who can’t read, write and speak properly end. That’s the claim and the evidence is no work but psh&pass. This principal is piss poor 4 real

Anonymous said...

Honestly New Directions has none. After working here for a few, Waslosersrskis another moron of Doombergs Prinipal Academy in the flesh. He has NO shame in trying to being a disgusting individual. Tries to strong arm teachers into doing what he feels is appropriate when one size shoe doesn’t fit ALL. His entire school needs to be closed, not just the middle school. This transfer school crap is garbage. When are these clowns in BK going to realize that public education sucks! Budget cuts, inept administration ever mind racists like those in the old Herman Ritter bldg on the third flr are a big problem in this system. It is always the teachers fault but not from where I am standing. Once big schools like Taft were dissolved, education lost all its morale. Many staff members here and other places are just so disgruntled. New teachers are faced with unsurmountable tasks of acclimateing into this job. Then w/limited assistance they are thrown into the wolves and left for the kill w/demeaning observations. Did admins like Waslawski and other APs give some guidance....NO! When does this circus of promoting kids who can’t read, write and speak properly end. That’s the claim and the evidence is no work but psh&pass. This principal is piss poor 4 real