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• LITTLE NECK LEDGER
• WHITESTONE TIMES
Dec. 10 - Dec. 16, 2021
DOE removes Flushing Townsend Harris High School
teacher following sexual misconduct accusations
Local elected officials join community leaders outside of Martin Van Buren High School
in Queens Village to announce the new green flood-reducing project that will improve
waterways and beautify the streetscape in the neighborhood. See story on Page 2.
Courtesy of Councilman Barry Grodenchik’s offi ce
GOING GREEN BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
A former English teacher at
Townsend Harris High School
in Flushing has been removed
from the campus following allegations
of sexual misconduct
with students.
Joseph Canzoneri, who was
removed from Townsend Harris
High School in 2018 and reinstated
this fall by the city Department
of Education (DOE),
has been reassigned outside of
the school building, according
to the DOE.
“Our number one duty is ensuring
the safety of our school
communities and there is nothing
more important than the
well-being of each and every one
of our students,” DOE spokesperson
Katie O’Hanlon said.
“This employee was immediately
removed from the classrooms
once these deeply disturbing
allegations came to light and
will never be permitted back in
Townsend Harris again.”
A report from student journalists
at the school’s newspaper,
The Classic, revealed
that although Canzoneri was
removed from the classroom,
he still came into contact with
students for extended periods
of time in an office area in the
building.
One student had told The
Classic that she felt “disgusted
at the school for putting her in
a dangerous situation” and that
Canzoneri still had a job. Anoth-
er student told the student newspaper
that they felt “unsettled
and concerned” as Canzoneri
was a constant presence in the
room.
The reporters obtained a
document that showed Canzoneri
was assigned to help supervise
a schoolwide gathering in
the auditorium along with other
teachers.
The outlet also received a
report from the special commissioner
of investigation for
the New York City School District
that outlined Canzoneri’s
alleged misconduct.
The report was sent to then-
Schools Chancellor Richard
Carranza on May 31, 2019. According
to the school newspaper,
SCI investigators concluded
that Canzoneri “demonstrated
a consistent and troubling pattern
of inappropriate behavior.”
The office had recommended
that Canzoneri be fired and
prevented from securing any
future employment from the
“DOE, its vendors, or in any of
its facilities.” The DOE appropriately
pursued Canzoneri’s
termination after the SCI report,
but all charges against
him were later dropped because
the involved students refused to
testify against him in a hearing.
The DOE told QNS that
based on state law and labor
agreements, the department
had to reinstate Canzoneri in
his former position.
The principal of Townsend
Harris had refused to give him
any class assignments and
worked with the DOE to completely
remove him from the
school.
“Canzoneri was immediately
removed from the classroom
when the investigation began,
and following the SCI report
the DOE pursued termination
against him,” the DOE said.
The DOE said they’re bound
by New York State Education
Law, which states that a school
district cannot terminate a tenured
teacher without a hearing.
These hearings are known as
3020-a proceedings, and termination
can only occur following
an independent hearing
officer’s decision.
“This case’s hearing officer
dismissed all charges against
Canzoneri and ordered him to
be reinstated in his prior position,”
the DOE said. “We are
bound by state law to follow the
hearing officer’s orders, and
have been able to reassign him
outside the school building.”
Following The Classic’s inquiries
on Canzoneri which led
to his removal, three senior students
organized a sit-in protest
on Nov. 23 in the school’s lobby.
The students called for
“transparency regarding credible
sexual misconduct accusations
that are made against
teachers within the school, the
banning of the accused from
entering the building and interacting
with students, training
for students, transparency for
past failures, and the revision
of DOE sexual misconduct policies,”
according to The Classic.
Read more on QNS.com.
Vol. 87 No. 50 32 total pages
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