Is DR Alison Coviello; PhD, Qualified to Lead in Harrison NY?

I often stay up at night wondering how things differ in my son's school (Harrison NY) vis a vis how things are done in NYC, in particular, PS 154. We can say, "What Would Harrison Do?" or WWHD? But please make a mental note of Harrison, for this soon will be the topic of another blog post in the

not too distant future.

First a little background.

We had a SAVE room this past year at PS 154. Not really a SAVE room, more like a Happy Good Time Emotion Response SAVE room. It was poorly run and students that got in trouble were rewarded with ice cream parties and candy. For reasons the Crack Team can only speculate, the Happy Good Time Emotion Response SAVE room was shut down in February of 2013.

Now, with elementary schools having SAVE rooms this means that such schools become suspension centers for other elementary schools from within and without the district. Students put on superintendent's suspensions are sent to such schools.

With me so far?

So these students, students that are deemed too dangerous or violent to be in their normal school setting, are sent elsewhere to schools that have a SAVE room. In fact, we at PS 154 received such a student in March.

What's that you ask? How can we have a student sent to us from another school to the SAVE room in March when you just shared that the Happy Good Time Emotion Response SAVE room at PS 154 was shut down in February?

Someone, ***COUGH*** DR Alison Coviello; PhD ***COUGH*** obviously had not. Now, was it a outright "liar, liar, pants on fire," lie, or a lie of omission?

A 5th grade student, Ezra Horowitz, was sent to PS 154 from District 10 for about 3 weeks. He punched out a teacher.

But where did they put this student that had no SAVE room to attend? Simple.

With another 5th grade class. And of course, the parents of the students in this class were never notified.

If this is not a breach of state law and the being concerned with not only the safety of the students of the 5th grade class at PS 154, but what about the education of Ezra?

According to Chancellor's Regulation A-443, Ezra is supposed to receive a classwork packet from his class. Ezra had not.

Ezra is also entitled to all related services that are on his IEP, provided he has one. Did he? Don;t know, but if he did, I doubt it.

Were Ezra parents notified that he would be in a classroom? Was his school? Were the parents of the 5th grade class.

These are all pertinent questions that should have been addressed. In fact, never needed to have been addressed, if DR Alison Coviello; PhD was doing her job and following, and not interpreting NYS law.

But apparently Ezra had some issues. On one occasion Ezra told a teacher that he wants to go bring a gun to school and shoot all the students in the 5th grade class he was assigned to at PS 154. That teacher immediately went to the chain of command to share this information. Nothing was done at all.

Which brings us back to Harrison NY.  This school year a troubled student in my son's grade, whose father happens to be a New York police officer, threatened to bring one of his father's guns to school and shoot up the entire grade. My son and a friend heard this and shared it with the principal. At no time was the buck passed, heads buried in the ground, or excuses made. This student was dealt with fairly and in an extremely timely manner. He was suspended (I forget if it was in house or at home) for two weeks.

Which leads to this question. Is DR Alison Coviello; PhD, qualified to be a school leader in Harrison NY? That is for you the reader to discuss. Remember, having PhD. really doesn't mean anything.

And would DR Alison Coviello; PhD, be able to get away with what she does at PS 154?

My son's principal doesn't have one and he knows bulletin boards are bullshit.