Mulgrew Goes Missing Yet Again

 I have a routine on Sunday mornings. I get up, get dressed and go out and get myself a breakfast. Usually it's a breakfast burrito and black coffee from McDonald's or I substitute the burrito for a bagel. But it's good alone time. The one thing that never changes is picking up a copy of the Daily News. Even at $3.50 and the sports section a shell of what it used to be, old habits are hard to drop. 

Today's News had an interesting article. Apparently, PS 211 in District 12 has an abusive principal and things on in an uproar. 

According to the News...

Parents and teachers are calling for the ouster of a Bronx elementary school principal they say has bullied educators, denigrated kids and parents, and turned a once warm and loving school culture into a hostile and chaotic environment.

And even more important...

...principal Tanya Drummond has waged a years-long war with teachers, sparking a mass educator exodus and prompting 55 of the school’s 64 unionized employees to sign a scathing letter of no confidence in 2019 blasting the “toxic work environment,” according to records reviewed by the Daily News.

I did a Google search on the school and found that James Eterno blogged about this school two years ago. So think about this. Let's do a timeline. 

In 2019 eighty five percent of the unionized employees of 211 voted no confidence in the principal. 

On February 27, 2020, James Eterno blogged about this school.

Today, Sunday, March 13, 2022 the Daily News reported basically reported information that is over two years old. A wee bit late, but better late than never. 

Anyone notice something? Or something missing? Not sure? Read the Daily News article again. I'll wait. 

OK, I'll tell you. There is not one person quote from the UFT. Nothing. Nada. Bupkus. Where is the outrage from OUR (REMEMBER THIS! IT IS OUR UNION. THE RANK AND FILE.) union? OUR union that should be rolling up its sleeves and supporting the staff, and just as important, the students and community of CS 211. 

Where is the outrage from 52 Broadway for this...?

That same year, 18 classroom teachers, a full third of the school’s teaching force, left the school — a turnover rate nearly 20 percentage points higher than that year’s city average, according to figures provided by the United Federation of Teachers.

Since 2014, 78 of the 127 educators who worked at P.S. 211 had left by the start of this school year, according to the UFT.

Does this kind of turnover not have an effect on the learning outcomes of students? If the UFT won't be there for the staff of the school at the very least be there for those at the school who are most vulnerable.

Will Mike Mulgrew be at CS 211 tomorrow morning to support the teachers and the community? Hell no! If this were a police precinct, you can bet your life that Pat Lynch would be in front of the precinct before the crack of dawn showing his support. 

This is all the more reason why a change is needed. Camille Eterno would not only be at the school first thing tomorrow morning, but she would be working all day on a Sunday coordinating with local UFT leaders on how to address this issue. She would be reaching out to staff and the community to give her support, while hitting the media outlets like there was no tomorrow. 

This is what a leader does. A leader doesn't hide out on Staten Island. We need a leader that is proactive and takes the bull by the balls and leads. At what point do the members of the UFT 

It's time for a change. Time to say UFT President elect Eterno and say goodbye to UFT President Potemkin. The time of smoke and mirrors is over.