Communities in Support of KGIA

May 6, 2008

The group of community leaders and concerned individuals below wrote and asked to meet with the Mayor, but he (his office) turned them down. Rabbi Matalon wrote on behalf of the group twice more but they still said no. They said it was because of the lawsuit; however, the Mayor regularly talks about things he’s being sued about.

Dear Mayor Bloomberg,

As members of the religious, higher education, and K–12 communities of New York City, we request a meeting with you to discuss the current status of Debbie Almontaser, the founding principal of the Khalil Gibran International Academy, and the growing threat to democratic education imposed by a small group who make the hateful and unfounded claim that “radical Islam” is being promoted in the school system

There is a general consensus among fair-minded New Yorkers, confirmed by this past week’s article in the New York Times, that Ms. Almontaser was the victim of a campaign of religious and ethnic bigotry that threatens the integrity, diversity, and democracy of public education K - 12. The impact has gone well beyond the wrong that was done to Ms. Almontaser. New York City’s public education system is recognized nationally and internationally for our commitments to pluralism, the small schools movement, and our rich history of dual language programs.

The episode has sent a chill through the small school movement and dual language programs, both of which, as you know, are such a vital part of our City’s public school system, and has dangerously circumscribed the range of acceptable discussion, debate and even hirings in our colleges and universities. In the City at large, the attacks on Ms. Almontaser and KGIA have re-ignited the forces of hate and intolerance, censorship and intimidation that have afflicted not only the Arab and Muslim communities since 9/11, but the Jewish communities, the world of higher education, and public K – 12 educators.

We would like to meet with you to enlist your help not only in rectifying the grave injustice done to Ms. Almontaser, but to also address these other critical issues affecting all New Yorkers.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Imam Shamsi Ali, Islamic Cultural Center of New York

Professor Louis Cristillo, Teachers College, Columbia University

Professor Michelle Fine, The Graduate Center–City University of New York

Professor Ofelia Garcia, Teachers College, Columbia University

Dr. Paula Hajar, educator

Deborah Howard, consultant and member, KGIA Design Team

Rabbi Rolando Matalon, Congregation B’nai Jeshurun

Professor Deborah Meier, Steinhardt School of Education, New York University

Pomposa Pena, PTA president, Khalil Gibran International Academy

Muhammed Shahadat, parent, Khalil Gibran International Academy

Rabbi Burton L. Visotzky, Jewish Theological Seminary

*affiliations for identification purposes

Please respond to:

Rabbi Rolando Matalon

212-787-7600 ext 234

RMatalon@bj.org

6/19/08

For those concerned, as we are, with the future of the Khalil Gibran International Academy….

THESE ARE THE LEAFLETS WE (KGIA PARENTS) WERE GOING TO HAND OUT IN FRONT OF THE KGIA FUND-RAISER BEFORE IT GOT CANCELED AT THE LAST MINUTE:

We are writing you now because you are participating in a one-year anniversary celebration for KGIA. We wish we could be celebrating with you but the letter below, which has already been signed by many KGIA parents and which we will be sending to the Chancellor and Mayor, will explain why we cannot. We believe it is important for you to know what is really happening at KGIA and why it is a cause for great concern, rather than celebration. We hope that, after reading his letter, you will come to the school and learn for yourself what is really happening inside our school. We believe that, if you do that, you will understand why it is inappropriate and insulting to those of us who have had to endure the realities of this past year at KGIA to have such a celebration right now.

In addition to the reasons explained in the letter below, there are a few additional things that have happened that you may not be aware of:

In a closed meeting last month, Department of Education officials decided to make KGIA a 6-8th grade school rather than 6-12th. That is a very significant and detrimental change for a dual language school, which cannot achieve its goals within 3 years. KGIA administration did not discuss this with parents or inform them of the decision.

For the past several months, a substitute teacher has been teaching our children literacy out of license.

Our highly-regarded science teacher, who has been the most outspoken about the problems at the school, was removed from KGIA. KGIA administration has refused to give parents any information about his status as a KGIA teacher and claims falsely that he continues to grade students’ work.

Our children with special needs have been neglected this year.

Though the school’s original teachers are excellent and highly-skilled, the administration has not created an environment at the school that is conducive to teaching and learning. There are an unusually high number of discipline problems on a regular basis because the Department of Education has not provided the school with the leadership and resources it needs to succeed.

Please do not hesitate to contact us (347-445-0733) if you would like additional information. We send this to you with very heavy hearts.

Sincerely,

Pamposa Pena, PTA President Muhammed Fakir Shahada, KGIA Parent Susan O’Grady KGIA Parent

THIS IS THE LETTER (SIGNED BY 16 PARENTS AND FAMILY MEMBERS) THAT WE SENT TO THE MAYOR AND CHANCELLOR:

Dear Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Klein:

We are parents and family members at the Khalil Gibran International Academy in Brooklyn. We came to KGIA because we hoped for an excellent education for our children. We also wanted our children to attend a school that taught Arabic language and culture.

We are pleased that the New York Times has brought to the public’s attention what has happened to our school and its founding principal.

We would like to correct two points from the article:

1. The current principal is quoted as saying that the media attention has led to a “chaotic experience” for students. She is quoted as saying that “adults have created this, and children are the ones who have had to endure.” This is a false statement. The problems we have experienced are completely a result of what has been going on inside the school, the lack of resources and leadership, and the lack of support from the Department of Education.

2. The article says that, in recent weeks, conditions have improved. What the reporter may have been told is that we now have 3 classes, rather than 2, which is an improvement. As the rest of this letter will show, most things are not improving at the school.

In fact, we are very disappointed with how things have turned out at the school, and many of us are already pulling our children out of the school or are thinking of not returning next year. We hope it won’t come to that. One of the reasons we are thinking about leaving is that our school is moving to a neighborhood that is not easy to travel to and not near an Arab community, which is important for an Arabic language Dual Language program.

But, more than that, we are disturbed by the fact that the school has not had many of the resources it has needed since the beginning of the school year. Our children with special needs have not had proper instruction. Our social worker, whom students loved, was let go, though she has now been replaced with a guidance counselor. Students learning English as a Second Language went for seven months without proper language instruction. The walls that divide classrooms do not nearly reach the ceiling, creating a noisy environment that is difficult for teachers and students. Additionally, there have been numerous discipline problems, which continue to go unaddressed.

Most significantly, we worry about the school losing its identity as an Arabic dual langue program. In addition to the plan to move the school far from an Arab community, our Arabic language instruction has decreased to a little over two hours a week. We have seen little appreciation of Arabic language or culture within the school. There has not been a single cultural event where parents were invited to participate, and there are very few opportunities for our children to receive instruction about the culture.

As parents of KGIA students we believed we would be sending our children to a school that welcomed parent participation in the school community. We want and deserve a voice in our children’s education. However, the current leadership does not welcome us into the school or our children’s classrooms. Although we were told we would be included in discussions about whether and where the school should move before a decision was made, that did not happen. We ended up learning about the decision to move after the fact. Further, our children made and were circulating a petition to bring back the social worker that was fired. The principal took the petition from the children and ripped it up, showing no respect for their attempt to express their views and leadership on an issue that was important to them.

We believe the current leadership is not exhibiting a commitment to the mission of the school nor any ability to run the school effectively on a day-to-day basis. Under the current leadership, we have little faith that this will ever be the school we want for our children.

We are calling on the Department of Education to provide our school with better resources and leadership to educate our children. We want the school we were promised—the one envisioned and created by founding principal Debbie Almontaser. Our children deserve no less than that.

Compiled by Victoria Williams

May 6, 2008

Critics Target Arab American Educator

Debbie Almontaser dreamed of a school where Arab and non-Arab children would learn together. Instead, she found herself in the midst of a controversy about assimilation — one fueled by anti-Arab bias.

View the lesson based on the front page New York Times Article

Check out the blog in full! Here are a few quotes:

Finally, after eight months the truth about Debbie Almontaser and the Khalil Gibran International Academy (KGIA) comes out! My only question is, what took so long?

Debbie’s staff stood by helplessly, in tears, while someone we all came to care about, and develop great respect for, was forced, yes FORCED, out.

I had the privilege of being Debbie Almontaser’s administrative intern during in July and August of 2007. Together with a carefully chosen, fully committed, extremely hardworking “Dream Staff”, I worked in small ways to help Debbie create a school I knew as a New Yorker, educator and citizen I would be proud to be part of. I had recently resigned my position as a teacher with the D.O.E., in part, like many others, because of the frustration with “the system”. Being at KGIA that summer reenergized me, and my belief that the education system could make a difference…

— Denise Harding, Brooklyn, NY

As a teacher at KGIA I have to say things have barely improved since Holly Reichert’s appointment. This week alone we have 6 students out on Suspension, one for carrying a knife to school. We have a teacher on a medical leave of absence after a student threatened to beat her, this caused her blood pressure to spike to a very unhealthy level. Ms. Reichert has threatened to fire this teacher, who is on medical leave, for missing work. She has given a new teacher, from Egypt, absolutely no support, which he has asked for on multiple occasions, but has rated him unsatisfactorily, grounds for termination at the end of the year. She has given another teacher an unsatisfactory rating after he followed her advice on how to teach a lesson. She speaks to the Arab-American teachers in a most disgusting manner saying things like, “You’ll do it cause I’m the principal” and “This isn’t a discussion.” She has zero ability to work with staff members. She makes policy up behind our backs and imposes them upon us without addressing any of our concerns.

KGIA is a mess and we believe that this was the city’s intention all along, open the controversial school so they don’t get tied up in a Constitutional Lawsuit and then do everything they can to close it down. We have been denied supplies. Daniel Pipes is curious what text we use to teach Arabic, we don’t have text. The administration will not supply a text or a curriculum. We have no proper science materials: microscopes, beakers, goggles, gloves, etc etc. We have a map that we can’t use. We don’t even have looseleaf paper.

You may not like the idea of a school teaching Arabic, but the only ones being hurt here are the kids. Given the current culture of the school, a culture of fear, the staff is afraid; afraid we may not have jobs next year because a political anti-Arab agenda, afraid we may get hurt: multiple staff members have been threatened, harassed, and hit by objects.

All we want is to do our jobs and do them well. Help us. We need materials that the Administration and DOE are denying us: looseleaf paper, folders, art supplies, science supplies, maps, atlases, the list goes on and on. So put your money where your mouth is, don’t just type your thoughts help us challenge what is being done. If the Mayor sees that ordinary citizens are providing us our materials they will be forced to take notice.

— A Teacher, Brooklyn

One last thing, if I may. KGIA does not, will not, nor was ever planned to teach an “Islamic Curriculum.” We teach the same curriculum as every other school in NYC. In fact the only thing we teach that differs is a language. That’s it. A language. People are up in arms over language. Yes, we want to include culture, which we haven’t, just like when I took Spanish in high school I learned about Spanish holidays such as Dia De Los Muertos or when I took Latin in high school and went on a trip to Italy.

Language. That’s what this is all about.

— A Teacher, Brooklyn

Open Letter to the Jewish Community

At this time of Passover, when we gather as families at our seder tables, it is an auspicious time to remember that our “family” extends outward to all of God’s creation and therefore to all members of the human family. Every act we undertake to bridge differences and enhance the dignity of other human beings brings all of closer to the liberation and redemption that we celebrate during these eight glorious days. Building friendships across borders of religion and culture is a powerful lesson of the Pesach holiday. Walking through uncharted territory with sometimes threatening waters on both sides of us is in the spirit of our celebration and commemoration.

In this spirit we seek your support and respect for a colleague and friend who has suffered and continues to suffer from a disturbing and growing prejudice in our midst. You are certain to have heard of her, but may not be fully aware of her goodness, competence, and openness to all people. We are speaking of Debbie Almontaser, the founding principal of the Khalil Gibran International Academy, NYC’s first Arabic language public school. Many of us know Debbie personally, others from a distance. But we all respect and admire her and we believe that she has been wronged. In the spirit of Passover we ask your support to right this wrong and your help in achieving her reinstatement at the Academy. As Jews, we have experienced Debbie’s friendship to us. We are certain that her return to her children will only bring greater peace and understanding between people of all faiths in our educational system and in our city as a whole.

Dayenu!

Jacob Bender, Filmmaker
Rabbi Marcelo Bronstein, Congregation B’nai Jeshurun
Rabbi Rachel Cowan, Institute for Jewish Spirituality
Rabbi Anne Ebersman, Abraham Joshua Heschel School
Rabbi Barat Ellman
Leonard Fein, writer
Rabbi Michael Feinberg, Greater New York Labor-Religion Coalition
Peter Geffen, Founder, Abraham Joshua Heschel School
Susannah Heschel, Eli Black Professor of Jewish Studies, Dartmouth College
Melanie Kaye/Kantrowitz Visiting Professor, Jewish Studies, Comparative Literature, & History, Queen’s College/.CUNY
Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky, Congreegation Ansche Chesed
Rabbi Irwin Kula, CLAL-The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership
Rabbi Ellen Lippmann, Kolot Chayenu
Rabbi J, Rolando Matalon, Congregation B’nai Jeshurun
Marilyn Neimark, Co-founder, Jews for Racial and Economic Justice
Donna Nevel, Co-founder, Jews for Racial and Economic Justice
Letty Cottin Pogrebin, writer and activist
Dara Silverman, Director, Jews for Racial and Economic Justice
Rabbi Felicia Sol, Congregation B’nai Jeshurun
Alisa Solomon, writer
Rabbi Mychal Springer, Jewish Theological Seminary
Aaron J. Hahn Tapper, Co-executive Director, Abraham’s Vision
Rabbi Burton L. Vizotsky, Jewish Theological Seminary
Rabbi Melissa Weintraub, Encounter
Rabbi Simkha Y. Weintraub, LCSW, Brooklyn
Rabbi Arthur Waskow, The Shalom Center

*affiliations for identification purposes

April 8, 2008- Below is a brief speech (in English and Spanish) given by Pomposa Pena, president of the P.T.A. at the Khailil Gibran International Academy, at a press conference held today protesting yet another example of the DOE’s disrespect and lack of regard for the views and voices of communities and parents about what is best for their children.

My name is Pomposa Pena and my son Ibrahm is a student at Khalil Gibran International Academy (KGIA). I am also the president of the PTA. I would like to thank Councilwoman James for giving me the opportunity to speak.
I am here today to support all of the parents and community members concerned about the Department of Education and the leadership of KGIA’s failure to include parents in crucial decisions regarding our school.
For example, KGIA parents were not involved in the decision to move the school and believe it will contribute to more instability in the school community. But it is not only the move that we are concerned about.
Our school was originally envisioned as a place where parents would be encouraged to participate in the school community, yet our access to the school is limited.
Our children are facing many problems. Our special needs students are not receiving the necessary resources they deserve, school facilities are not sufficient for student’s needs, and Arabic language and cultural studies, which represent the foundation of the school, have been significantly cut back.
We are calling on the DOE to listen to the concerns of parents and support the school by providing it with the resources and leadership it needs to be successful. If the Department of Education does not give us the resources or support we need, we will have to take our children out of the school. But we do not want that.

Mi nombre es Pomposa Peña. Mi hijo Ibrahm es un estudiante en Khalil Gibran International Academy (KGIA). Yo soy la presidente de la Asociación de Padres y Maestros. Quisiera agradecer a la Regidora James por la oportunidad de hablar con ustedes hoy.
Estoy aquí hoy para apoyar a todos los padres y los miembros de la comunidad que se preocupan de la falta del Departamento de Educación y del liderazgo de Khalil Gibran en involucrar a los padres en decisiones importantes sobre nuestra escuela.
Por ejemplo, no se les invitó a los padres de Khalil Gibran a participar en la decisión de mover la escuela a otro local, y creemos que esta decisión contribuyerá a la inestabilidad para la comunidad escolar. Pero nos preocupamos de más que la mudanza.
Al principio, se imaginó que nuestra escuela sería un lugar donde se les promoverían a los padres participar en la comunidad de la escuela. Sin embargo, han limitado nuestro acceso a la escuela.
Nuestros hijos enfrentan muchos problemas. Nuestros estudiantes con discapacidades no reciben todos los recursos que merecen. Las facilidades disponibles en la escuela no son suficientes para las necesidades de los estudiantes. Se han reducido el estudio del idioma arabe y la cultura arabica que se representa en la fundación de la escuela.
Les pedimos al Departamento de Educación que escuchen a los padres y que apoyen a la escuela con los recursos y el liderazgo que necesita para tener éxito. Si el Departamento de Educación no nos da los servicios o la ayuda que necesitamos, tendrémos que sacar a nuestros hijos de la escuela. Pero no queremos eso.

COMMUNITIES IN SUPPORT OF KHALIL GIBRAN INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY JOIN COUNCIL WOMAN LETICIA JAMES IN CALLING FOR MORE COMMUNITY INVOLMENT IN THE DECISION TO MOVE DUAL LANGUAGE SCHOOL

KGIA Parents Also Express Concern about Ongoing Instability in the School

New York, NY April 8, 2008, Today, in the wake of criticism by City Council members about the Department of Education’s (DOE) decision to move the Khalil Gibran International Academy (KGIA) into PS 287 in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, a community coalition and parents of students at KGIA echoed Council member Leticia James concerns. Communities in Support of Khalil Gibran International Academy (CSKGIA) say the DOE’s lack of consideration for community input and involvement is part of an overall pattern of neglect.

CISKIGA and the parents released the following statement:

As community members and parents, we share the concerns of City Council member James.  We believe that moving KGIA to this location would be another blow to the school’s stability. As parents we are troubled that we were not consulted in the decision making process to move the school, and that our concerns have not been taken into account.  However, we also believe that this reflects a pattern of neglect that dates back to the forced resignation of KGIA’s founding principal Debbie Almontaser and the Department of Education’s continued undermining of the schools mission.

The school, as it was  envisioned and designed by the school’s design team, under the leadership of Ms. Almontaser, who has deep roots in the community and connections to cultural institutions across the city, was meant to be a multicultural oasis of community and learning.

Since Ms. Almontaser’s forced resignation, the school has suffered. The school is supposed to be a place where parents are encouraged to be actively involved in the school, yet parents are not allowed in or near the classrooms and don’t feel welcome in the school. It was meant to be a place where students receive intensive Arabic instruction enabling them to graduate as bilingual speakers, yet this not the case; KGIA students receive no more language instruction than students at schools without dual language curricula. Special needs students are supposed to receive appropriate instruction, yet they have gone much of the school year without proper resources to meet their educational needs.

It is our belief that KGIA is not only being denied the support and resources needed to fulfill its mission, but worse, it is being denied the support and resources critical for it to be a quality school of any kind.

As a community, we are calling on the DOE to show their full support for the students, teachers and parents of KGIA by standing up for the school and providing it with the leadership and resources it needs to be successful.

“One of the reasons I sent my child to KGIA is because I wanted her to go to a school where parents had a voice,” said Muhammed Shahadat, a parent of a student at KGIA. “Before the school opened,  we were told that parents would be welcome to visit their children’s classrooms;  however, parents are not invited into classrooms and do not feel welcome in the school by the current leadership.”

“I don’t want the school to move because it will be difficult for our children to come and go but, whether it moves or not, the school has fundamental problems that need to be fixed so that my child can get the best education possible,” said Pomposa Pena, parent of a student at KGIA and PTA president.

April 2, 2008

Dear Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Chancellor Joel Klein,

In 2007 the New York City Public Schools approved the establishment of the first-ever NY public school focusing on Arabic language and culture. This new small dual-language school, Khalil Gibran International Academy (KGIA), addressed a need and dream of many in New York’s Arab communities. Leading the campaign for this specialty academy was Debbie Almontaser, a respected educator and community leader, who was selected to become the school’s founding principal.

Before the school ever opened its doors, Almontaser was forced to resign. When Debbie Almontaser was forced out as principal of the Khalil Gibran International Academy, a blow was struck against the rights and academic freedom of educators everywhere. Principal Almontaser was the guiding light and the pioneer behind the founding of the new school, which was envisioned as part of a vibrant small-schools movement fostering personalization, autonomy, and the empowerment of teachers.

A campaign of lies, racial fear, and anti-Arab prejudice, emanating from a conservative media group including the New York Post and supported by Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Klein, forced Almontaser from her post. Prior to and during the first semester of the school’s existence, Almontaser was replaced by two principals, neither of whom possesses her exceptional academic qualifications, her leadership capabilities, her relationship with the school community, nor her knowledge of Arabic language and culture.

KGIA was attacked by a small group of fear-mongering bigots. It was labeled a “terrorist school” and a “madrassa.” But this campaign of slander has been met by a broad coalition supporting the school and its intended principal, including leading organizations spanning the many diverse communities in New York. This coalition is pursuing every channel to restore Almontaser to her rightful position and to clear her name and her reputation.

Debbie Almontaser did nothing wrong. She committed no crime. She violated no rules nor any terms of her contract. She was forced to resign after doing nothing more than answering a reporter’s question about the root meaning of the word “intifada.”

For those of us working in the field of education, the treatment of Debbie Almontaser represents a threat not only to our rights as educators and citizens in a democratic society; it is also an attack on the small-schools movement and on the push for diversity and equity within our system of public education. Will bigotry be allowed to decide which public schools can exist and who can lead them?

We the undersigned insist that Debbie Almontaser be returned to her post as founding principal of the Khalil Gibran International Academy.

Bernadette Anand, Bank Street Graduate School of Education

Gary Anderson, Steinhardt School of Education, N.Y.U.

Rick Ayers, UC Berkeley Graduate School of Education

William Ayers, University of Illinois at Chicago

Carmen Colon, Association of NYC’s Educated Communities

Kathleen Cushman, Education Writer

Lisa Delpit, Center for Urban Education and Innovation, F.I.U.

Michelle Fine, The Graduate Center – City University of New York

Ofelia Garcia, Teachers College, Columbia University

Maxine Greene, Teachers College, Columbia University

Kris D. Gutierrez, Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, UCLA

Paula Hajar, Bronx Charter School for Better Learning

Annette Henry, Education Program, University of Washington, Tacoma

Jay P. Heubert, Teachers College, Columbia University

Mike Klonsky, Small Schools Workshop

Susan Klonsky, Small Schools Workshop

Kevin Kumashiro, University of Illinois at Chicago

Gloria Ladson-Billings, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Carol Lee, Northwestern University

Sally Lee, Teachers Unite

Linda Levine, Bank Street Graduate School of Education

Tara Mack, Education for Liberation Network

Edwin Mayorga, New York Collective of Radical Educators

Deborah W. Meier, Steinhardt School of Education, N.Y.U.

Jon Moscow, The Brotherhood/Sister Sol

Arwa Nasser, United Nations International School

Donna Nevel, Center for Immigrant Families

Pedro A. Noguera, Metropolitan Center for Urban Education, N.Y.U.

Gary Orfield, Civil Rights Project/Proyecto Derechos Civiles, UCLA

Mica Pollock, Harvard Graduate School of Education

Granville Leo Stevens, Independent Parents Organizations

Endorsers of Educators Letter

Bill Bigelow, Rethinking Schools MagazineCharles E. Butterworth, University of MarylandLuis O. Reyes, Coalition for Educational Excellence for English Language Learners
Eleanor J. Bader, Pratt Institute
Renate Bridenthal, City University of New York
Annette Swierzbinski, Others Are Us
Melanie Kaye/Kantrowitz, Queens College/CUNY
Jessica Klonsky, EBC High School for Public Service-Bushwick
Electa Arenal CUNY/Graduate Center
David Stovall, University of Illinois at Chicago
Osmond Wilson, TESOL instructor NY
Steve Quester, UFT chapter leader, The Children’s School
Bree Picower, New York University
Joel Kovel, Bard College
Gregory Tewksbury, Eugene Lang College, The New School
Jack Arnow, Kingsborough Community College
Cristen Chapman - Chicago Public Schools
Louis Cristillo, Teachers College Columbia University
S. E. Anderson- Black New Yorkers for Educational Excellence
Ellen Raider, ICOPE
Albert Ruben
Naomi Braine, Brooklyn College, City University of New York
Nancy Rosen
Sean Ahern, NYC teacher and member, UFT
Abigail Levine, artist/educator
A.S. Evans, public school parent and writer, NYC
Zachary Lockman, New York University

*affiliations listed for identification purposes

From NYU to UCLA Educators Rally around Debbie Almontaser

New York, April 2nd, 2008 - Today, a group of leading educators from across the nation delivered an open letter to Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Joel Klein urging them to reinstate Debbie Almontaser to the post of principal at the Khalil Gibran International Academy (KGIA), the dual language public school that she envisioned and designed. Before the school opened its doors, Ms. Almontaser was forced to resign as a result of a race-based campaign orchestrated by opponents of the school.

In their letter the educators state that Ms. Almontaser is “a respected educator and community leader” who “was the guiding light and the pioneer behind the founding of the new school, which was envisioned as part of a vibrant small-schools movement fostering personalization, autonomy, and the empowerment of teachers…When Debbie Almontaser was forced out as principal of KGIA,” they note, “a blow was struck against the rights and academic freedom of educators everywhere.”

In calling for her to be restored to the position of KGIA principal, the educators are uncompromising in their concern about the implications of permitting intolerance to shape public education: “For those of us working in the field of education, the treatment of Debbie Almontaser represents a threat not only to our rights as educators and citizens in a democratic society; it is also an attack on the small-schools movement and on the push for diversity and equity within our system of public education. Will bigotry be allowed to decide which public schools can exist and who can lead them?”

Ms. Almontaser has filed a lawsuit against the City and the Department of Education, charging them with discrimination and violation of her First Amendment rights. A trial date has not been set.

CONTACT: Riptide Communications, Inc. (212) 260-5000

APPEALS COURT SENDS ARAB-AMERICAN EDUCATOR’S CASE BACK TO DISTRICT COURT FOR FULL TRIAL

District Court Told to Consider Whether Department of Education May Punish Debbie Almontaser Based on an Inaccurate and Misconstrued News Story

New York, NY March, 20, 2008: Today, the court of appeals declined to reverse the decision of a federal district court judge who had denied a preliminary injunction to the founding principal of the Khalil Gibran International Academy, Debbie Almontaser. The court did not say that it agreed with the district judge, only that his decision was not “an abuse of discretion.”

In its opinion the appeals court made clear its concern that Ms. Almontaser was punished “for speaking accurately when her statement was, as her employer knows, inaccurately reported and then misconstrued by the press.” However, the court said that was an issue to be first addressed by the district court.

The case will now return to the district court for a full trial.

“It is evident from the judges’ opinion, as it was from their questioning of the DOE’s lawyer when the case was argued, that the court is troubled by the actions of the DOE in Ms. Almontaser case,” said Alan Levine, attorney for Ms. Almontaser. “The idea that people can lose their job because the press distorts what they say seems to disturb the court. It should disturb Chancellor Klein as well,” he added. “There is something fundamentally wrong when the DOE insists that school employees speak publicly on an issue and then fires them when they do no more than accurately define a controversial word.”

The district court originally denied Ms. Almontaser’s motion for a preliminary injunction in December 2007. The case was then appealed, and during the argument of the appeal, judges criticized the DOE for overreacting to what they called “garbling” of Ms. Almontaser’s words by a New York Post reporter.

In 2005, Ms. Almontaser was asked by New Visions for Public Schools, an educational reform organization that assists the DOE in establishing new schools, to spearhead the development of KGIA and then to become its founding principal.

KGIA was designed as a school that would focus on Arabic language and cultural studies, and, as one of its missions, would promote understanding between New York’s Arab and non-Arab communities.

Ms. Almontaser was initially named Project Director, the title that is given by the DOE to all persons who lead the development of a new school. In July 2007, the DOE named Ms. Almontaser the interim acting principal of the school, which is the title that leaders of new schools are customarily given until a permanent principal is selected. During that time Ms. Almontaser supervised the development of curriculum, hired and trained staff, recruited students and parents, purchased supplies, and prepared the school for its September opening.

As a result of a series of attacks on the school by a conservative blog and an article in the New York Post that quoted Ms. Almontaser on a matter completely unrelated to KGIA, the DOE forced her to resign her post and further, denied her the opportunity to apply for the job of permanent Principal.

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David Lerner, President
Riptide Communications, Inc.
Suite 1300
270 Lafayette Street
New York, New York 10012
(212) 260-5000
www.riptideonline.com
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