A group of current and former students from the Bronx High School of Science, organizing under the name “Take Back Bronx Science,” rallied  across the street from the prestigious public school last Thursday, protesting administrative policies they say are harming the school’s reputation and causing a number of  teachers there to resign or retire prematurely.

The students, a few dozen in number, stood on the edge of Harris Field across the street from the school, holdings signs that read “Where Have the Teachers Gone?” and “We Have a Voice.” Organizing members of the group said the dissention stemmed from reports that a number of teachers have left the school in recent years over conflicts with administrative staff, namely the school’s principal, Valerie Reidy.

“Me and other alumni, and also current students, saw wonderful teachers who were very intelligent, very effective, leaving because they’ve had enough of the harmful, hostile working environment,” said Jonathan Aris, a graduate from the class of 2010.

“Everyone has a story of, ‘oh, this teacher saved me from failing all these classes,'” he said. “Some of these teachers helped us get into college. They wrote us letters of recommendation.”

In September, an article in the New York Times,  reported that eight of the school’s 20 social studies teachers had opted not to return to Bronx Science this year. The story cited interviews with teachers who claimed to being publicly berated by administrators, and who said that Reidy was overly-critical and unfairly discriminated against teachers who didn’t subscribe to her preferred style of instruction.

“When I read that article, I was like, something has to be done,” said Catherine Jung, a graduate of the class of 20o8 who is now studying at Cornell University. She found out about the protest, she said, through an alumni group on Facebook.

“It’s about so much more than the prestige factor,” she said. “It breaks my heart to hear that there’s this intimidation and fear.”

Conflicts at Bronx Science are nothing new; tensions between teachers and administrative staff have been simmering on and off for most of the decade that Reidy’s been in charge. In a phone interview Thursday, the principal said that while she understands the students’ feelings of loyalty to their teachers, the issue is a bigger one of instructor accountability.

“There have been teachers who have been rated poorly because they did their job poorly,” she said. “A kid will say, ‘I like that teacher.’ Perhaps that teacher related to you. But my job is to asses teacher performance, and that is an arduous process.  It’s not something I take or do lightly.”

“W have very high standards for our teachers, just like we have very high standards for our kids,” she said.

Reidy dismissed accusations that she forced any one particular teaching method in classrooms.  Teachers leaving the school, she said, was “not an exodus at all,” but due to the fact that she inherited “a very senior staff,” at the time she took over as principal.

Students, however, were still skeptical.

“There is this big disparate between what she says and her actions,” Jung said. “How can she explain and justify teachers leaving in droves?”

According to the New York Times, the teacher turnover rate at Bronx Science last year was 19 percent, compared with 14 percent citywide.

“We have high standards here,” Reidy said. “We hope you can meet those standards. We will help you meet those standards. But if you can’t, then perhaps it is best if you move on.”