Editorials

From toxic to tonic

Apr 10, 2008 11:20 AM

Not to be Pollyannaish about it, but there are school turnarounds that give us hope. We don’t mean academic turnarounds, though, of course, those are great, too. We mean turnarounds in school atmosphere, like the one explained in the article on page 4. PS 276 in Brooklyn was, for a long time, not the kind of place most educators would choose to work in. Things there seemed to lurch from strife to crisis. The principal continually alienated the staff. The district rep had to be there almost on weekly basis to put out fires. The principal called the union “toxic” and refused to meet with the UFT president when she visited the school.

If ever a principal was in need of improvement …

Well, he has improved. Some. There is still a long way to go, but PS 276 is, at least, on the road to recovery. The principal now is willing to work with the chapter leader and the union to solve the school’s problems. Where there was only antagonism now there is something of a spirit of collaboration. That, at PS 276, is a quantum leap.

We don’t know if the strong, united action by the staff finally made an impression. Or if the increased responsibility dumped on principals made it imperative that the principal finally try to develop a better relationship with the staff on which he has to rely so heavily. Or if the principal finally realized the UFT is not about to disappear into the woodwork. Probably some measure of all these factors came to bear in starting the turnaround.

Whatever the reason, we are encouraged and look forward to learning of even more improvements at the school.