Students wonder why two teachers are let go

Nearly three dozen Glen Cove High School students crowded Monday’s Board of Education meeting to protest the city school district’s decision to dismiss two of its teachers. Students came brandishing signs and spoke on behalf of the educators.

The students said they had no idea why the teachers were being let go, and district officials did not offer an explanation. Officials said they could not comment on the cases, adding that they were personnel matters.

As the meeting wore on at Gribbin Elementary School, the gymnasium filled with students and parents in what one attendee described as an unusually high turnout for a board meeting.

Superintendent Dr. Maria Rianna said that no one had been fired or laid off. The teachers could not be reached for comment at press time.

Alex Cota, a Glen Cove High senior, said he had presented the board with a 500-signature petition in support of one of his teachers at a previous meeting.

“I’m just here as a voice for the students,” Cota said. “Parents have become aware of this, more students have found out, and we all feel like [our teacher] has an important role in this school.”

Cota said that students throughout the high school would be affected if his teacher were let go.

Jay Charon, a freshman at the high school, said that his teacher's dismissal was announced in class earlier that day. Charon said he immediately started a petition in support of his teacher, and by the end of the day he had collected 197 of his peers’ signatures, which he presented to Rianna and school board President Amy Franklin.

“She’s not just great as a teacher, she’s also great as a person,” Charon said. “She makes your mind expand to all new levels and makes us want to learn.”

Rianna and the board members listened as the students made their case. The board thanked Cota, Charon and the other students.

“The students are supportive of their teachers, and I’m happy to see that,” Rianna said.

Officials said nothing further, but applauded for the students, as did members of the audience.

In other news:

Toni Curran, co-president of the Gribbin Elementary Parent Teacher Association, said that board meetings are not usually as crowded as they were on Monday.

She put together a timeline of the Gribbin School Greenhouse Project, dating back to 2012, and handed out copies of the plan to the board. She said that the project was designed by the PTA committee as a “learning tool” for all Gribbin students.

Yet it has gone nowhere.

“I’m a little disheartened that it’s five years later, and we still have no answer,” Curran said. “There are way too many kids that have not been able to enjoy this experience.”

Curran and the PTA, have held several fundraisers in the hope of moving the project forward. Trustee David Huggins said that he and the board had brought up the Greenhouse Project at “every single” facilities meeting.

“I see the frustration of people who attend our meetings,” Huggins said, “and I read all the emails.”

Tricia Lebowitz, a local resident who is involved in several PTAs in the district, said that the project has stagnated because there have been three district facilities directors in three years.

“We had to bring the next director up to speed before anything could happen,” Lebowitz said. “Then all of the paperwork sat on the director’s desk for a year before it was actually brought to the board.”

Curran and Lebowitz emphasized that they were frustrated. They both have continued to communicate with the board through calls, emails and board meetings. Curran said she did not want to see their efforts go to waste. “I’m just hoping that the board can get the ball rolling,” she said.

The next board meeting will be April 3 at Connolly Elementary School.