Monday, January 13, 2014
What else doesn't the NYC DOE not know about?
Worst principal forced poor kids to pay for bizarre bash
Kids at Queens’ notorious “School of No” have been forced to pay for a bizarre fifth-grade party at which their principal makes them dress up as little brides and grooms, The Post has learned — as the DOE announced that it would probe conditions at the school.
PS 106’s fur-clad principal, Marcella Sills — who is known for frequently being absent — has for at least the past three years orchestrated an annual prom at a posh rental hall.
She has required parents to pay more than $110 per child for the shindig.
The girls must wear white wedding-type dresses, and the boys rent tuxedos with tails, sources told The Post.
The kids, many of whom live below the poverty line, must foot the bill for the strange get-ups, which Sills personally picks out at stores such as Men’s Wearhouse and David’s Bridal, parents and ex-teachers said.
Sills, meanwhile, sets herself up as the belle of the ball — donning her own long, white bridal-type gown for the event, which was held last June at Russo’s on the Bay in Howard Beach. Last year’s strapless outfit came with elbow-length white gloves, photos show.
“It’s absurd,” said one former teacher at the crumbling Far Rockaway school.
“This is a school where children are given a free breakfast and free lunch, and you’re asking them to pay money for a lavish, unnecessary event.”
As the school put on a yearly formal ball, kids don’t have basic school necessities. “Some children didn’t have materials because their parents couldn’t afford them,” a former teacher said. “It was a struggle and a fight to get crayons, pencils and a notebook.”
Sills could not be reached for comment.
The school struggles to provide basic classroom supplies and actual instruction, said former teachers and students.
It became known as the “School of No” because it provides no gym, no art classes, no textbooks covering the Common Core standards and no proper nurse’s office.
Sources described PS 106 as dysfunctional, with rat-infested trailers for kindergarten classrooms and movies playing daily for all grades.
Sills often doesn’t show up, and is hours late when she does come in. Last week, she missed every school day but one. Nevertheless, she manages through fear and retaliation, sources said.
She cuts quite a figure, when she does appear. She arrives in a BMW wearing expensive fur coats. She makes a base $128,000 salary. “She’s evil,” former PS 106 teacher Patricia Walsh said. “She finds pleasure in ruining people’s lives.”
“She’s been getting away with it for years,” said Silaka Cox, an NYU freshman who graduated from PS 106 on Sills’ watch.
After reading The Post’s report on the school, schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña on Sunday announced an investigation into what she called “deeply troubling” revelations.
Fariña said she is sending her second-in-command, Deputy Chancellor Dorita Gibson, to the school Monday morning “to review the situation at PS 106 and determine what is going on there.”
Labels:
Corruption,
education
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