Take Back Bronx Science
List of Grievances
(Interim)
As recent alumni of and current students at the Bronx High School of Science, we take pride in our connections to this highly esteemed school of learning. Whether it be the character building experiences and knowledge that we have absorbed from our high school years or the meaningful relationships we have formed with our student friends and faculty mentors, our time at Bronx Science has been a noteworthy stage of all our lives. It is for this reason that we share a grave concern regarding the continuing reports of there existing an unhealthy student and professional working environment at our esteemed school and alma mater.
We therefore wish to bring to the attention of the Bronx High School of Science administration and all other interested parties the following grievances which have been voiced by members of the Bronx High School of Science community. The grievances listed here represent the concerns and opinions of a number of students, parents, faculty members, and alumni who suggest that certain aspects of the state of affairs at Bronx Science warrant improvement. It is our collective and sincere hope that the school’s administration will bear these concerns into serious consideration and work together with the Bronx High School of Science Community to continue to ensure that the Bronx High School of Science provides the best possible learning and working environment possible.
We thus bring the following to the attention of the school’s administration:
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S-I) Students do not have faith in or trust the school’s administrative leaders.
S-II) Students do not see their school’s administrative figures as role models based on their professional actions and decisions.
S-III) Students do not feel that their concerns and opinions are adequately related to and addressed by the school’s administration.
S-IV) Students do not feel that the actions and policies of the school’s administration are especially directed towards the benefit of their student lives.
S-V) Students are bothered by the fact that a substantial number of faculty members whom they admire and sometimes view as mentors have departed the Bronx High School of Science with their stated reason for doing so being a unhealthy and sometimes hostile relationship with the school’s administration.
S-VI) Students, while recognizing the importance of standardized exam grades and rankings to their future academic careers, are bothered by what they perceive to be the greater focus placed by the school’s administration on standardized test performance rather than the quality of student life at Bronx Science.
F-I) Faculty members do not feel that the school’s administration adequately communicates and engages with them professionally.
F-II) Faculty members do not feel that the school’s administration adequately takes into consideration their professional concerns and views.
F-III) Faculty members do not feel that the school’s administration runs the affairs of the school in an effective and smooth manner.
F-IV) Faculty members do not feel that they have the support of the school’s administration
F-V) Some former faculty members feel that they were unjustifiably engaged in a hostile manner by the school’s administration and received ungrounded poor professional evaluations.
P-I) Parents feel that the actions and behavior of the school’s administration has directly led to the departure of faculty members who they hold in high regard.
P-II) Parents feel that their students are not being given the support and
resources by the school’s administration to adequately accomplish the highly competitive academic tasks set before them.
P-III) Parents feel that their concerns and opinions are not adequately related to and addressed by the school’s administration.
P-IV) Parents are concerned by the lack of respect and trust that their children have in the school’s administration.
A-I) Alumni are concerned that current students at Bronx Science do not appear to hold a great deal of faith or trust in the school’s administration.
A-II) Alumni are concerned that current students at Bronx Science appear to be under the impression that school’s administration is acting in a way that makes their lives as students less fulfilling and productive.
A-III) Alumni are concerned by the fact that current students at Bronx Science have communicate to them that the general state of affairs at Bronx Science has worsened as a result of the actions taken by the school’s administration since their departure.
A-IV) Alumni are concerned that a substantial number of faculty members whom they admired greatly while they were students have departed Bronx Science because-as stated by them-of actions taken by the school’s administration.
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We the members of the Bronx High School of Science community are not blind to the difficulties involved in managing the state of affairs of one of the crown jewels of the NYC public educational system. We have faith that the school’s administration ultimately seeks to act in a manner that it believes is in the best interest of the students, parents, and faculty members of Bronx Science. However, we are firmly resolved in our collective belief that certain aspects of the actions and policies undertaken by the school’s administrative have been detrimental rather than beneficial to these very individuals, and thus seek to have them remedied where possible.
Take Back Bronx Science is a volunteer advocacy group managed by a group of 5 recent Bronx High School of Science alumni and two upperclassmen Bronx High School of Science students. Together, we seek to obtain greater transparency from the administration of Bronx Science in how it runs the New York City specialized high school as well as greater inclusion of the members of the Bronx Science community in how that function is carried out. We believe that the administration of the Bronx High School of Science has not given adequate and fair consideration to the voices of students, parents of students, and educators over current Valerie Reidy’s decade long tenure as the school’s Principal. We are convinced, as many members of the Bronx Science community are, that these individuals who have such a great deal at stake in the outcome of how Bronx Science is administered should have a greater say in how the affairs of the school are decided and managed. It is therefore the intention of Take Back Bronx Science to organize concerned members of the Bronx Science community to civilly seek a greater degree of administrative transparency and community inclusion regarding how the Bronx High School of Science is run.
Take Back Bronx Science and many members of the Bronx Science community are fully aware that achieving these objective will not come with exceptional ease or swiftness. The obtainment of our collective goals will require a focused, organized, and prolonged multi-part effort. Yet we are no less determined to ensure that the Bronx High School of Science provides an enjoyable, enlightening, and productive experience for the students and educators who pass through its doors year after year. We firmly believe in the incredible potential of Bronx Science to create amazing experiences both inside and outside of the classroom and the school itself. We sincerely hope that our collective efforts will help to ensure that both current and future members of the Bronx Science Community are able to continue to take as much of an advantage as possible of the opportunities that Bronx Science can offer. The students, parents of students, and educators of Bronx Science deserve to have their voices heard and taken into just consideration
In future blog entries, Take Back Bronx Science will provide information regarding the tenure of Principal Valerie Reidy’s administration based on data available in the public domain. We cannot vouch for every allegation leveled against Principal Reidy’s administration or every counter allegation that her administration responds with. What we seek to do is to inform the public as to the issues surrounding Principal Reidy’s administration of Bronx Science by disseminating whatever information pertaining to this matter that is available. We hope that our efforts will help interested individuals gain a more detailed understanding of the controversy attached to Principal Reidy’s administration and thus come to their own conclusions regarding the topic. Take Back Bronx Science will also post updates regarding its organized efforts as well as that of all members of the Bronx Science Community and its supporters as they occur. Regardless of your association with the Bronx High School of Science, we hope that you will join us in working with the school’s administration to achieve our goals and help ensure that Bronx Science continues to stand out as a bright jewel among the nation’s many educational institutions.
Take Back Bronx Science encourages and welcomes your comments, ideas, suggestions and thoughts, regardless of your stance on the issue of how its present administration has and continues to manage the affairs of the Bronx High School of Science. In addition to posting comments on blog entries, you may post comments on our Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/TakeBackBS) and LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Take-Back-Bronx-Science-4276840?trk=myg_ugrp_ovr) pages as well as send a message to our group’s email address (Take.Back.Bronx.Science@gmail.com). Additionally, please check out and subscribe to our Youtube Channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/TakeBackBS?feature=mhee) where a new video will be uploaded every Friday in which Take Back Bronx Science provides answers to questions submitted by members of the public via email as well as updates regarding its organized efforts.
From all of us at Take Bronx Science, we thank you for your time and invite you to make your voice be heard.
