WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES MARCH 5, 2020 23
Carranza responds to D24 parents’
safety concerns at Elmhurst town hall
CEC 24 members and Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza at March 2 town hall. Photo: Angélica Acevedo/QNS
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
AACEVEDO@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza’s
District 24 town hall on
March 2 proved to be much calmer
and organized than District 26’s contentious
education event earlier in the
year — but it still had its moments.
More than 1,000 parents, students
and educators attended the Department
of Education’s town hall at I.S. 5
in Elmhurst, taking up the auditorium
where Carranza sat with the Community
Education Council (CEC) 24
members, the gym and the cafeteria,
where it had to be live streamed.
The growing size of the town halls
prompted CEC 24’s President Phil
Wong to joke that the next town hall
would “have to go to Shea Stadium or
Yankee Stadium.”
Carranza began with opening
remarks in which he addressed the
coronavirus by encouraging people
to wash their hands, and told parents
to keep children at home if they’re sick.
He then answered several pre-written
questions, with topics that ranged from
school integration to safety, for one
hour.
The fi rst question of the night was
on Carranza’s mission to integrate
schools. A CEC member asked why they
DOE is attempting to create a “one size
fi ts all citywide approach” when D24
has 39 schools that are “working so
well.” They noted that their schools are
committed to retaining locally zoned
schools.
Carranza said he agreed with many
of the things they said about the
district.
“What I’m going to, in a very friendly
way, push back on is the notion that I
have a plan to integrate District 24 —
there is no such plan,” Carranza said.
“What I have talked about is that in
schools and school communities that
diversity isn’t as apparent as what is
being stated in the question, we should
have a conversation about what it
would look like to have more diverse
schools. Unfortunately, not all schools
everywhere are as diverse as what has
been stated here today.”
When asked about specialized
testing, or SHSAT, Carranza invited
supporters of the practice to show
him research proving it’s the best
way to identify intellectually gift ed
children. He also called for the state
and city legislature to “get out of the
school board business” and repeal the
Hecht-Calandra Act.
There were also many questions
about school safety.
Carranza pushed back on the notion
that the DOE has a “lax discipline
policy” when asked about how they
plan to deal with violence in schools,
using the various incidents at M.S. 158
(Marie Curie) as an example.
“There is a zero tolerance for any
physical abuse, zero tolerance for
anything that we could consider to be
breaking the law, and, believe me, we
work with NYPD in those situations,”
Carranza said. “But we also know that
we’re an educational institution. And
as an educational institution, forgive
me, but we think it’s part of our job to
help students learn what it’s like to be a
law abiding citizen, a caring individual
with those around them, to understand
how they function in this society.”
Carranza said that when the DOE
was informed of the various incidents
in M.S. 158, central and field staff
monitored the school on a daily basis,
provided additional training for staff
members, sent letters to the community,
had several meetings with parents and
met with elected offi cials.
Lucy Accardo, a former CEC 24
president, asked what the DOE is planning
to do for D24 schools with “more
than 2,000 students, but only one security
guard.” Accardo mentioned that
parents tend to disagree with having
an armed security agent or a retired
police offi cer, but want more security
overall.
Carranza said he’s “not a supporter
of making our schools look like jails.”
And while he thinks the school’s security
agents are doing a “phenomenal
job,” he said they’re open to listening
to specifi c cases where they need more
assistance.
Success Academy made its own
statement with a large group of parents
and children wearing orange
shirts and holding signs that read
“Kids Over Politics” at the town hall.
CEC 24’s President Phil Wong asked
Carranza if he had any updates
for them, to which the chancellor
responded by saying that they’re
working with SA on two temporary
co-location proposals.
“We had a school site that we thought
was perfect, they wouldn’t even have
to co-locate but there turned out to be
a number of issues,” Carranza said.
“We expect to post proposals later this
week. I just want to assure Success
Academy parents, staff and students,
that we hear you and we’re engaging
with you.”
Although the town hall was fairly
organized, there was a brief moment
toward the beginning of the meeting in
which Dao Yin, a candidate for Queens
Borough President, stood up and addressed
Carranza before walking out
of the auditorium.
Yin told QNS that he left because he
felt Carranza was “showing off .”
“The chancellor needs to listen to different
voices and not show off ,” Yin said.
“It’s a serious community education
meeting, not anybody’s showtime.”
link
/WWW.QNS.COM
link
