CEC Meeting Doubles as JHS/MS 80 Pep Rally

By DAVID CRUZ and NIALL RIDGLEY

They came prepared with signs defending the school’s reputation. And they were very vocal about praising it.

Despite reports by the New York Post portraying a school in turmoil, students and parents of JHS/MS 80 rallied behind the school. They came together at the recent Community Education Council (CEC) meeting on Jan. 18, packing the school’s auditorium. Signs held aloft by a group of students displayed the hashtag “#IstandwithMS80” superimposed on images of children holding hands in a hallway, while another student raised a hand-drawn sign reading “We R Staying.”

Among the guests was Antonio Ramos, an online celebrity regularly seen on MTV’s “Wild N’ Out” and a graduate of MS 80, who praised the school. “Where I am now is because of 80. If it wasn’t because of 80 I wouldn’t be where I am at right now,” Ramos, known as Tonio Skits, told students.

Ramos spoke in support of the school’s polarizing principal, Emmanuel Polanco, adding, “[Polanco’s] vision from what this school used to be to what he brought it to – I was here, I see the difference.”

Polanco has been the subject of several stories by the New York Post chronicling alleged cronyism and general abuse of his position. The stories also cite years of poor math and English scores by students, with no mention of the fact that many of MS 80’s students are first-generation immigrants.

Teachers and students alike spoke out against misleading media coverage in their speeches at the two-hour meeting, outsiders misrepresenting MS 80’s culture being a common thread. Sylvia Lugo, a parent volunteer, spoke in praise of the school, saying, “Regardless of what you’ve heard, this school has been like family. From the principal to the teachers, the staff, you have to be here every day.” “You know all I have to say is talk to your child. See what your child says and you are going to hear what is really going on in this school,” she concluded.

CEC Meeting Turns to JHS-MS 80 Pep Rally (Picture 2) — **ANTONIO RAMOS (AT MIC)** speaks at the Community Education Council meeting.
Photo by David Cruz

This sentiment was confirmed by student Jazmine Bailey, an eighth grader, who said that she loves the school and felt welcome right away after enrolling this year. “It’s amazing, this school. I really don’t like what they say in the media because it’s not true. If you’re not here I don’t understand why you are saying all these things about this school and it’s not true,” Jazmine said in front of an audience comprised of faculty, parents and peers.

But not everyone feels that about the school. Over the last month, a war of words has broken out between parents who’ve praised the school and parents sick of the administration, with comments spilling into the Google Reviews page for MS 80 and Polanco’s Don’t Tread On Educators (DTOE) profile.

DTOE is a site where educators can speak out publicly and anonymously against perceived abuses of power. One commenter, posting under the pseudonym of ‘Star Chamber Master of Justice’ writes, “This man [Polanco] has been judged and is guilty. His sentencing is being decided when the Star Chamber meets in three months. May God have mercy on his soul and his progeny.”

Students were not required to attend the CEC meeting, according to parents.

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Bronx Educator

January 31, 2018 at 11:38 pm

School Contruction Authority did a presentation of expenditures. CEC outlined goals to be met mainly by outside consultants. The mtg was scheduled in August, and was hijacked by opportunists and attended heavily by members of CSA, the principals union. No one responded to the focuse of the meeting. No one questioned the priorities outlined by CEC or the amounts taken out of the classroom and the effectiveness and vetting of consultants. It would have been better to hold a pep rally on a day that could be dedicated to the children alone instead of using them as props in a pep rally and derailing the CEC mtg. These parents are capable of being engaged and involved in the business of the CEC and expenditures of SCA. They should have been encouraged to attend for the agenda that was planned. Children who are recent arrivals should not hold the burden of the failure rate. It is a very dangerous road to explain away low achievement on standardized exams on the presence of immigrants or students with disabilities. Community schools cannot cream. Good schools can educate any student in any circumstance. labeling and scapegoating subpopulations is a form of abuse.As an alumna of JHS 80, and an educator myself, I was alarmed to see the production. The confusion of parents was voiced in the audience. They didnt know what they walked into. The sign up sheet was already full when I walked in. There was no way to really respond to amounts alocated to libraries, ask for transparency on the contracted vendors used for consulting, or question the prescription for the district and ask for analyses the judgements were based on. This was the lesson taught to the kids. Occupy, disrupt, derail, deflect, dominate time and space and make a spectacle. Dont question the wall of principals and admin taking video and still photos to use on social media. Dont question why the mtg was not about the school and the call went out that it was. Way to teach kids about participatory democracy, civic engagement and involvement.

One thought on “CEC Meeting Doubles as JHS/MS 80 Pep Rally”

Bronx Educator

January 31, 2018 at 11:38 pm

School Contruction Authority did a presentation of expenditures. CEC outlined goals to be met mainly by outside consultants. The mtg was scheduled in August, and was hijacked by opportunists and attended heavily by members of CSA, the principals union. No one responded to the focuse of the meeting. No one questioned the priorities outlined by CEC or the amounts taken out of the classroom and the effectiveness and vetting of consultants. It would have been better to hold a pep rally on a day that could be dedicated to the children alone instead of using them as props in a pep rally and derailing the CEC mtg. These parents are capable of being engaged and involved in the business of the CEC and expenditures of SCA. They should have been encouraged to attend for the agenda that was planned. Children who are recent arrivals should not hold the burden of the failure rate. It is a very dangerous road to explain away low achievement on standardized exams on the presence of immigrants or students with disabilities. Community schools cannot cream. Good schools can educate any student in any circumstance. labeling and scapegoating subpopulations is a form of abuse.As an alumna of JHS 80, and an educator myself, I was alarmed to see the production. The confusion of parents was voiced in the audience. They didnt know what they walked into. The sign up sheet was already full when I walked in. There was no way to really respond to amounts alocated to libraries, ask for transparency on the contracted vendors used for consulting, or question the prescription for the district and ask for analyses the judgements were based on. This was the lesson taught to the kids. Occupy, disrupt, derail, deflect, dominate time and space and make a spectacle. Dont question the wall of principals and admin taking video and still photos to use on social media. Dont question why the mtg was not about the school and the call went out that it was. Way to teach kids about participatory democracy, civic engagement and involvement.

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