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Alleged Incident at Garrison School Sparks Anger about “Seasonal” Political Correctness
Foreign language instruction expansion being considered
by Margaret Sternberg
Garrison resident Chris Simone appeared to surprise the Garrison Board of Education at their December 6, 2006 meeting when he brought up an alleged incident that had occurred several weeks before between his children and a music teacher at the school. Although he had discussed the incident with both Superintendent Gloria Colucci and Principal Stephanie Impellittiere previously, Simone said that he wanted to apprise the Board of the situation as well.
Simone alleged that the children were informed that they would not be performing the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah because “the Administration would not allow it.” Simone said he was still trying to resolve what happened subsequently with the teacher who, he said, first told his daughter to go to the principal’s office to discuss the reason for the decision and then, according to him, changed her mind.
Simone charged that the incident represented “a pattern” of political correctness, stating, “we are now diminishing in my case, what I consider my Christian religion,” while allowing that both Mrs. Colucci and Mrs. Impellittiere had assured him that was not the case and that the basis for the cancellation was the length of time the children had to practice the long, complex piece.
Simone, however, asserted that the teacher involved had told the members of the chorus who were present that day that the reason the song had been decided against was “because the Administration said no.” Simone felt that the teacher’s behavior was not respectful of students’ feelings and that the teacher should be disciplined.
Colucci replied that the Administration had clearly responded that his and his childrens’ impression had been a misunderstanding or miscommunication, and the piece had been pulled only because of a lack of preparation time. Colucci said that she had told Simone that if they wanted to do the piece next year, arrangements could be made to start earlier so that the piece could be prepared.
In an extensive discussion, Pauline Fusco, among several parents speaking that evening, said that “if we’re going to acknowledge Kwanzaa, Chanukah, you had better well acknowledge my religion…Christmas is our holiday, and the fact that the kids who are Christian are not able to bring in their Christmas trees or do their Christmas decorations, but are able to make dreidels; I have a big problem with that.” Fusco went on to talk about the need for “tolerance” of all faiths.
Ray DiFrancesco followed, asking for clarification on whether there can be a Christmas tree in his daughter’s classroom. Principal Impellittiere responded that it was fine to “donate trees as long as there is a balance,” further explaining that the policy on decorations is that they should be reflective of “tolerance, acceptance, understanding and balance” in dealing with other beliefs and practices. DiFrancesco and others appeared satisfied with the way in which decorative displays were being handled and the way the children were being told to think about the season.
Ed Mrozik added that he thought the “issue” lay with the parents, not the children, summarizing his feelings in “live and let live.”
In other business, Superintendent Colucci reported no new developments in any of the issues between the District and St. Basil; however, resident Howard Davis asked the Board many questions, most of which were hypothetical in nature, about the financial ramifications of the admission of the St. Basil students into the Garrison school.
After recapping information he had read and receiving some clarification and a brief background from the Board regarding Garrison’s part in the legal proceedings in St. Basil’s request for licensing from the Office of Children’s and Family Services, Davis exhorted the Board to pursue legal action based upon his perception of an enormous financial impact placed upon the families who make up the school district.
President Prentice appeared to sum up much of the conversation, which featured a number of qualified answers with varying degrees of uncertainty, when she, at one point, said, “We’re looking at…uncharted territory. St. Basil is looking at uncharted territory; they have never been a legally licensed childcare institution before, so they need to follow the law, and we need to do the same.”
During the Technology Committee report, Superintendent Colucci announced that the operating systems on all of the school’s computers had been upgraded and the computer cart had been implemented. She also said the teachers were completing surveys regarding professional development needs in the area of technology.
In the Education Committee report, Chair Marilyn Palefsky said that most of the recent discussions had focused on foreign language and the coordination with the receiving high schools of the language(s) offered by the three schools involved. She said the Committee is considering surveying parents on their preferences as to what language is offered and will also be considering increasing the part-time language position in order to facilitate offering foreign language to the lower grades.
Trustee Eric Jacoby said the Audit Committee had reviewed the various candidates for the state-mandated role of Internal Auditor and recommended Joseph Modafferi, CPA for the position, which was later approved by the Board. The recommendation was based upon the firm’s experience, familiarity with the process and having professional ties in Albany.
President Prentice noted that the Board is supporting Sandy Galef in her attempt to change the ways in which NYS funds education and is also supporting groups suggesting alternative testing to ‘No Child Left Behind’ assessments.
Superintendent Colucci said the SAT review course that is partially underwritten by the Garrison Childrens’ Education Fund started December 9 and will run through March. She added the course had started earlier than normal due to the SATs being given earlier than usual next year.
The meeting had started with teacher Idalia D’Antuono and student Scott Jacoby presenting a PowerPoint show of his and Olivia Levinson’s Spanish Heritage projects. The projects seen combined written and pictorial material on Ecuador and Bolivia, with frequent insertions of Spanish to show what the students had learned. In all, 23 presentations were done by the students. D’Antuono said the presentations were a good example of what the students can now do with the school’s technology.
The next meeting of the Garrison Board of Education will be Wednesday, December 20, at 7pm.
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