Since the dawn of time (1969 that is), no other high school in the United States was better than John Dewey High School. Adored and praised, from everywhere, even making it to the White House as a school model for high schools throughout the nation in 2000. Scholars, laureates, people with 10 PhD's, well rounded intellectuals, you name it, throughout the world came to visit John Dewey High School. It even made Stuyvesant High look like a sub par school back then. Everyone bombarded this school, and if you were lucky enough, just lucky enough, to live in Brooklyn (or NYC in general) and get accepted into this institution, it was like getting accepted into an Ivy League school without the tuition, literally. Can you believe it? How on earth was public education this good? If only "they" knew it wouldn't last forever...
Well you're probably thinking, what the heck? This already has no relevancy to the title of my article. Jeez, calm down, I'll get to it. I don't have much time now that I have a pile of Chemistry homework, and an upcoming Trig test to study for.
Okay, so in the early 1970's segregation was already abolished and school districts and communities were changing demographically. Many foreigners sought after the U.S. of A and mainly (hence, mainly) nestled in large urban settings, this included, of course the Big Apple, The City that Never Sleeps, or simply New York City. This brought in many changes and places that were traditionally Jewish and Italian soon later became predominantly African-American and Puerto Rican. Schools were changing, this was known as the "white flight" and this obviously affected schools. It was jaw dropping to see school populations virtually shift in the course of just a couple of years. High schools that used to be predominantly white, were now predominantly black. Many meetings were arranged to balance out this sudden change, but at the same time keep the peace and diversity. However, it was futile and inevitable.
Man, it just kept going in the groovy 80's. It actually became even more concentrated. New York City was hell. It was extremely dangerous, heck, a public school in NYC back then could be considered in our day an uncontrolled juvenile hall. Even worse. Daily shootings, bulletin boards being burned down, extreme vandalism, things-I-don't-want-to-type going on in the bathroom stalls. Ugh. It was unbelievable. Mind you, this mostly happened in bad sections of NYC, and of course, the neighborhood schools reflected the neighborhood. But John Dewey High kept its ground, still boasting its name and laughing at the copy school, Edward R. Murrow High School which opened in 1974 thanks to a posthumous tribute to John Dewey's philosophy and John Dewey High School. That school would literally not have been born if it weren't for John Dewey High School. They even knew it, but never directly acknowledged it. Bleh, whatever.
In the 1990's, it was basically the breaking point. The NYCDOE had enough. They began closing schools, such as the iconic Erasmus Hall High School which was one of the first schools to ever get closed. My god, that school in its final days was like being incarcerated. It was also consecutively voted as one of NYC's most dangerous schools list. But it was such a shame! That school and that beautiful 1700's building and detailed architecture had gone to waste. Why, you ask? Oh... because of the neighborhood. Yep. The students were inexplicably rowdy, violent, they mainly came from troubled homes, fresh out of prison, a total disadvantaged youth. They were uncontrollable. That obviously was the only sane move the NYCDOE ever made. But even so, the following "small" and "better" schools were and are trash. It remained so bad that even the new "small" and "better" schools eventually closed as well! It was ridiculous, completely laughable.
2000's - The Beginning of the Demise of John Dewey High School (thanks to the NYCDOE)
By the year 2000, dozens of high schools throughout New York City had metal detectors installed. Usually in the schools that were voted to be the most dangerous in the city, such as Sheepshead Bay High, the Erasmus Hall Campus, and a plethora in the Bronx. No one ever expected John Dewey High School to have metal detectors. It was literally like saying Columbia University was going to get demolished because it was so hard to get in. It was that vacuous to ever have such a thought in such a sought-after, nearly-prestigious high school like John Dewey. Although, students and staff soon feared that there would be a downfall, it was a gut feeling, intuition basically. And if they only knew at the time that they were right. It was only a matter of time, and soon, time would take its toll. Why, oh why was this going to happen to John Dewey High School?
Sigh for the day in 2002 when Bloomberg officially became the Mayor of New York City. The public at the time, oblivious to the things he would soon do. Crush and destroy every resource. His dictator-like mayoral control helped ruin public education in NYC. Back to Dewey, by 2002, funds were cut. Funny. I smell a rat. Resource centers (R.C.'s which were special only-in-Dewey rooms where students could get free tutoring in every subject with teachers, along with peers and an abundance of books, computers, tables and chairs) were cut, there were only two teachers occasionally, and books were barely in sight. Why is this happening? Shouldn't the highest performing schools get more money? Many students soon had an epiphany. Although they understood that funding was cut, they found it unfair. And it really was unfair.
2004 - The Imfamous Neighbor, Lafayette High School
Oh, Lafayette! Oh, Lafayette! Yet I still weep for you so. You haven't had a good time in decades, and in retrospect, I feel kind of bad that Dewey is always sending their graduates to Ivy League schools, having a 13 acre campus for students to relax, boasting over 25 AP classes, giving students independence and autonomy, being known as one of the top most sought-after schools in the city, and sooo much more... Meanwhile you have none of that. You remain there. Breathless. Out of life. Just an eyesore of a building. Constantly having your name shoved on the pavement, and constantly having new principals every month (a little joke) along with the NYCDOE threatening to close you. Many of your students don't even come from Bensonhurst, and that's what's ruining you. From the bullying of Asian students to the frequent gang activity.
Of course, John Dewey High School didn't dare mess around with Lafayette. It was like Bronx Science and DeWitt Clinton. A very close proximity, but yet, you never hear anything about them ever interacting. That was basically the relationship Dewey shared with Lafayette. It was nonexistent. Dewey knew that it wanted to help a brother out, Lafayette, but Dewey couldn't because they didn't want to jeopardize the reputation of their school. Dewey knew to keep out. It was just one of those situations that was inevitable thanks to the NYCDOE. Bringing in students from afar that ruin the good schools in the good neighborhoods. Poor ol' Lafayette, no one ever gave that school credit. There was just too much corruption. Even the administration was corrupt. Imagine this: Unruly students inline with a corrupt administration that did not give a rats ass about Lafayette's students. How the $&#* does a school improve, in that predicament? It's insurmountable.
2006 - The Official Announced Closure of Lafayette High School
Hey there, 2006. Hey there, Lafayette. Over the course of these two years, your principals were taking trips out-of-state without consent, raking in the big bucks illegally, and doing other unprofessional (maybe even explicit?) things, you left and abandoned Lafayette High School. The poor school is still stuck in its misery, and finally, the NYCDOE will put it out of its misery, incorrectly. Truthfully and unfortunately, no one truly cared for the school. Props to the 0.001% that actually did. As the old adage says: "The bad always overshadows the good." and it was just too true in this scenario. Of course, this closure process would take effect in 2007 and would take about three years or so to complete, the NYCDOE would just be waiting for the freshman to graduate, the last graduating class of Lafayette High School ever.
2007 - John Dewey High School Wins a National Silver Medal
That's right. News Weekly & U.S. Report rewarded John Dewey High School a silver medal. It was such a proud moment when a beautiful red banner was handed down to us that read "John Dewey High School, named one of America's Best High Schools in 2007, Silver Medal Award" wow! Can you believe it?! The staff rejoiced, and the students did as well, because throughout all this nearby madness, John Dewey High School was a diamond in the rough. Sticking it out and winning national awards. Still proudly sending over a dozen seniors to Ivy League schools each year. Not even the copy, Edward R. Murrow High School, topped that award. The NYCDOE remained silent. Once again, they did not acknowledge John Dewey High School or their accomplishments. Dewey still lacking in funding, but yet, still managed to win this award. Unbelievable.
2008 - Lost Incoming Freshman, Influx of Unwanted Students, Overcrowding, Shortage of Funding, Careless Administration and a Gun Scare Lockdown at John Dewey High School (ouch)
Mamma mia! This is just going by too fast. My head is spinning. Can someone please pass me a glass of seltzer water? So lets get to it. 2008 was undoubtedly possibly the worst year in Dewey history. Mind you, all the problems mentioned in the subtitle are only some of the problems that happened in '08. *gulps* Since Lafayette announced their closure, they have officially stopped accepting freshman. So that leaves a question mark, what happens to all the freshman who were accepted into Lafayette, but now come to the realization that it's closed, and they didn't "qualify" for the NYCDOE's new "better" and "smaller" schools? Or what about those other unwanted kids who didn't get accepted into any high school? Hmm... the NYCDOE does something really stupid, and comes up with an extremely idiotic idea: Lets just shove them into Dewey!
Insideschools and the New York Times praised John Dewey High. Insideschools in 2008 called John Dewey High School "highly sought-after and unconventional" but shortly afterwards, a new article published by them titled Overcrowded Times at John Dewey High explained in depth how the NYCDOE was overlooking Dewey and purposefully ignoring their complaints and what Lafayette's closure is doing to Dewey, the NYCDOE's response is ridiculous and nonchalant, the article can be read by clicking here. The New York Times also published an article in 2008 titled Failings of One Brooklyn High School May Threaten a Neighbor’s Success and thoroughly explains more unnecessary budget cuts, and how neighboring Lafayette's closure is damaging Dewey. It also explains how some staff members and students can blatantly see the negative impact that has taken its toll. The article can be read by clicking here.
The lost incoming freshman were academically deficient and most of them had behavior problems. These uncontrolled freshman took advantage of Dewey's autonomy, created discipline problems, and progressively helped the school's numbers plummet. Ranging from graduation rates to the Learning Environment Surveys. The principal Barry Fried, who was frequently criticized, did absolutely nothing. He became ineffective. While it was not completely his fault, since this outrage and misconduct was new at Dewey, the principal just sat back in his chair and never spoke. Many students later complained that they have never even met or seen the principal before. His policies were very liberal, but obviously, Dewey was unfortunately, becoming more conservative. It was slowly shedding the Dewey philosophy.
Can you believe it? Running a school that's under-funded but overcrowded? Since Dewey was such an attractive option and people longed to go there, the school had a huge population of over 3,200 students. The building's capacity is approximately 3,000 students. In addition to those lost incoming freshman pushed into Dewey, came students from other closed neighborhood schools and infiltrated Dewey as well. Mind you, when I say "neighborhood" I don't mean Gravesend, Bensonhurst, Bath Beach or Coney Island, I mean parts of Southern Bronx and Northern Brooklyn. The schools population soared, and the NYCDOE did not rightfully give Dewey its fair share of funding. Every student at Dewey was at least $5,000 below the city average per student spending. It was hectic. But to make matters worse... the breaking point was soon to come in March of 2008.
P.S. In the 2008-2009 school year, it was the first time Dewey ever received a B on their annual school report card letter grade. No more A's from then on. Hmm... I wonder why? Care to explain, NYCDOE?
John Dewey High School: The Gun Scare, Lockdown of 2008
Much like the economic recession of 2008, where the entire country faced difficulties (some even claiming it was worse than the Great Depression) Dewey, as well faced difficulties. It remains so uncanny how these difficulties correspond and happened in the same year.
On March 27, 2008 around noon, a student (sources say "that was not newly admitted from Lafayette" but so what? The student was apparently from the Bronx, and he was given a safety transfer, to John Dewey High School. Obviously, this student was part of the plot to destroy the school and the NYCDOE successfully completed their goal in this conspiracy) was found with a gun in his backpack. Some students say this happened in a Senior Economics class, others say it was just in a regular Global History class, who knows. I didn't attend Dewey when this happened, but a lot of my senior friends told me what they knew, and of course, I was sleuthing all over the Internet for more information. Sources say that the student accidentally dropped his bag, and students heard a sound like glass cracking.
What annoys me the most is that this incident was imminent. There was threatening graffiti on the walls prior to the gun scare, it was insinuating that something was going to happen at the school. It was something along the lines of "GET READY, SOMETHING BAD IS COMING, IN APRIL OR MARCH YOU'LL SEE!!" Basically, people knew. It was like Columbine about to happen at Dewey. *shiver* Yet no one really paid any mind! Why, why, why?! This is why traditionally liberal schools like Edward R. Murrow High School have also restricted student liberty, and John Dewey High School was traditionally liberal. The administration brushed off this threat. Times were changing, and the administration was too naive. This graffiti should have sparked a search or something effective to protect the students. Just a year before this gun scare, in 2007, Virginia Tech senior Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people and injured 23 others, and then killed himself using a gun. Was this not drilled in the administration's head?
A student in the class knew that was the sound of a gun falling, also, when the bag fell, it was unzipped so the gun was sticking out. The student fled almost instantaneously. He left the building approximately only three minutes later. The school fell into a panic. Doors were locked, alarms were ringing, teachers were praying and going into hysteria. File cabinets blocked the doors, and to the dismay of the students, they were locked in for three hours. The SWAT team was called in, helicopters and truck loads of police cars surrounded the school. It was chaotic. Some students were more sensitive than others, some were crying, some were just questioning the school and its future, some were careless and just wanted to leave, but what everyone in the building did share was their uncertainty. The question: Why was this happening to John Dewey High School?
Nonetheless, when this ordeal was over and done with, the cops and SWAT teams found nothing. Can you believe that? It's so peculiar, and to this day it remains a mystery to me. I question what really happened so many times. What if this was just a little scheme by the NYCDOE after all? Obviously, no one can speak out against this corrupt bureaucracy. Students literally burst out of those red doors, running down the campus signifying their freedom. This was a blow for the Dewey's reputation. Many parents from then on were reluctant to send their kids to Dewey. Another great public institution shattered by the claws of many. It was another chapter repeating itself. First Lafayette, then John Dewey. Bloomberg did not give a damn about what he did to Dewey. It wasn't and isn't a specialized high school, so therefore he looked at Dewey and its progress as insignificant.
2009 - The Aftermath
The year 2009 was such a conflicting year for John Dewey High. It soon found itself to be on a list of failing schools, then starting in 2009, metal detectors were added, the campus was closed, and students did not have that autonomy and independence anymore. The Dewey philosophy was washed away. As aforementioned, this made parents uneasy and reluctant to send their kids to Dewey. The high performing students sought other options. Many kids who would have gone to Dewey, instead, opted for Murrow; since the schools were so alike. Basically, the reality was, if you don't go to a specialized public high school in NYC, Bloomberg had and has a strong chance of closing your school. Regardless of your high graduation rates, college readiness, you name it. It will be destroyed one way or the other, eventually.
John Dewey High School remained overcrowded and under-funded. They had enough money for three high tech metal detectors, but they didn't have enough money to keep the music and performing arts program running? Or the automobile program? Or Japanese, German and Haitian Creole languages? Talk about irresponsibly spending money. Barry Fried, the school's principal since 1999, remained silent. A student named Michelle Kaplun explains in a small article published on the web titled John Dewey High School--Dewing Nothing? explains how irresponsible the administration was, focusing on trivial things and not being primarily concerned on the students. The article can be read by clicking here. After this, some teachers at Dewey became uncomfortable to teach there. Everything changed, and it wasn't the Dewey everyone knew.
That incident destroyed the school's reputation. John Dewey High School was no longer that high achieving school that everyone longed to get into. Many people now insulted the school, and it was frowned upon. Since the NYCDOE selects a portion of the kids who get into each school, I am inclined to believe they selected the worst of the worst. Then, before you know it, we were on the PLA list. The Persistently Lowest Achieving schools list. Also, it was Dewey's second consecutive year in receiving a C on the annual report card grade. The NYCDOE states that if a school receives three or more consecutive C's in a row, it is at risk to be closed. Funny how the school was doing so well in 2007 and two years later, the school has an unbelievable downfall. The NYCDOE accomplished their goal.
2010 - Let the Tormenting Begin!
Sorrow, pain, and agony. Let it reign said the NYCDOE in June of 2010. It enraged me so much to see the list. There were 46 schools on the list, John Dewey High School being one of them. In September of 2010, I was a freshman at John Dewey High. This was my first month to ever step foot in Dewey. I remember when I visited the school beforehand to get acquainted with the feel of the school, it amazed me. I just kept reverberating the same words "It feels like college." and it really did. The big spacious 13 acre campus helped add that feeling. I was so short, probably 5'0 (which I consider short) and everyone around me stood tall like skyscrapers over my head. Anyway, back to the point. I was very oblivious as a freshman, heck I didn't even know the NYCDOE planned to close Dewey.
I attended a truly horrible middle school. I didn't know there was such a thing as a specialized high school, or even that an SHSAT exam existed to qualify getting into one of those top schools. My choices were limited: FDR, Telecommunications, and Dewey. I did not even know Murrow existed. I did know Midwood existed because my friend kept bragging about not getting in. I was also unfamiliar with Dewey. At first, I thought it would be a bad school. I remember crystal clear when I told my guidance counselor I was interested in technology and art she recommended Dewey, and she said I should apply for it because it's a very good school and murmured to herself "good choice" and well, that was it. Results came in, and there it was. "CONGRATULATIONS-YOU HAVE BEEN ACCEPTED TO JOHN DEWEY HIGH SCHOOL'S EXPERIMENTAL SCHOOL PROGRAM." shortly after, I received in the mail a postcard from the school.
Now, there was this even going on every Friday called "Fight Back Fridays" where students, alumni, teachers and staff marched in front of the school's campus and protested "FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT! EDUCATION IS OUR RIGHT." and "LETS GO DEWEY! *clap clap* LETS GO DEWEY!" I questioned to myself, why? Why were they doing this? Later I found out in the following month that they planned to close Dewey. I felt disgusted. I loved the school, and I felt that another thing was going wrong in my life. My most precious and coveted opportunity, my education. So I quickly participated in school events to help defend the school. But the NYCDOE was ruthless. Eventually, we escaped the closure process and managed to go under a process called "transformation" in which the NYCDOE paid these corporate rats big bucks to "help" the school and "facilitate a healthy and prosperous environment." BULL SHIT.
As a student, I saw no changes. Everything remained the same. Do you know how much the NYCDOE spent on this "partner" to "help" our school? $500,000. Can you believe it? I was angered that the money that we were given was irresponsibly used once again. And once again, on our annual report card, our letter grade was another C. That's three consecutive C's, making us extremely vulnerable to be closed for sure. The worst was yet to come...
2011 - A Return to Tranquility? Yes? No? Maybe?
Well now that I was a sophomore, and now that Dewey escaped the phase out/closure process that Lafayette went through, we restarted. Fresh and clean with a big corporate rat on our tail. Nothing changed. Our budget was still dry, and many programs were cut. Teachers retired, and one of the best guidance counselors ever, Mr. Rolof left Dewey and went to Murrow. Along with a handful of teachers that retired. Sigh for the day when I found that out. I can't believe Murrow was getting everything, and nothing for Dewey, when we were metaphorically Murrow's father. But oh well, things change over time. I was very optimistic for the school. So I continued my studies normally. Now thinking, well gee, we've escaped! John Dewey High School will not get closed after all! Our protesting worked! Time to show the NYCDOE what were really made of now... but that didn't last long.
Early 2012 - You Thought You Escaped
In early 2012, Bloomberg was glorifying his me time on TV. Then he began to explain his ridiculous, mindless, and unreal plans for helping improve struggling NYC public schools. He claimed that he will close 33 schools, most of them in high crime areas, or having a student population with high percentages of poverty, many of them were predominantly black and Hispanic. To the dismay of everyone, John Dewey High School was on that list. Along with A and B schools such as FDR and William E. Grady (which we all know is NOT an A or B school, the NYCDOE's letter grade system is corrupt like the NYCDOE itself) so the cycle repeats. Another scare of closure. Stop the madness already! We protested and shouted our lungs out, how far was this going to go for? I couldn't take it anymore. Bloomberg makes me sick.
Not once has he donated his billions to public education. And if he says he had in the past, he's a damn straight liar. John Dewey High School was innocently targeted. Why us? Later on in the following months, the school closure list shrunk down to 24, which was still a heck of a lot of schools. The only reason why these nine schools were removed was because they were rated A or B on their annual reports for the last year. Dewey clearly deserved a B, but it was wrongly given its third consecutive C to justify its closure. Talk about corrupt. Bloomberg then reveals his plans about what he's going to: To "turnaround" these 24 schools on the to-be-closed list. Turnaround is just a fancy way of saying "Well see, we're being too harsh by saying we will close your school forever, so lets just say we'll change your school's name, remove more than 50% of the teachers, completely revamp your schools, and divide students into separate floors."
I lost it. I really did. My family did too. This dictatorship-like mayoral control was disgusting, and it was more disgusting that we couldn't do anything about it, but exercise our rights. Schools in the city were performing far worse than us, but no, we get the on the chopping block. Since Dewey's downfall in '08 our graduation rate increased over 15% and our college readiness rates surpassed the citywide average. What was going on?! As I previously mentioned, it did not matter whether your school was doing great or excelled, if it wasn't a specialized high school, you'd be at risk anywhere, anytime, to face closure under the Bloomberg administration. In the following months, we attended every conference to go against this insane closure. Defending, defending, defending. It was all about why we should stay open.
Rooms were filled with Dewey staff and students, libraries were filled, auditoriums were filled, hallways were filled. Dewey. Dewey. Dewey. John Dewey High School. Nothing but. The strong vocal alumni also helped flood the conferences. It was a memorable moment to see that the alumni, graduates from the 70's, 80's and 90's were there to help the school and support it. Amazing... but would it be amazing enough for us to get off of the chopping block? Would "they" let Dewey survive? Would they stop bullying us? The day soon came...
THE FINAL DECISION
Everyone prepared for turnaround, people already knew it was going to happen because Bloomberg and the NYCDOE always had it their way. Many teachers felt it was pointless to keep working at Dewey, so the ones with seniority status planned their retirements, especially after the removal of Barry Fried in March. Barry Fried, a longtime, and frequently criticized principal who didn't do anything, was finally removed. Kathleen Elvin, a longtime experienced principal who came from one of NYC's best small high schools Williamsburg Prep, became the new interim acting principal. Many people thought she was just a pawn for the turnaround plan, who really knew? There was so much uncertainty.
On the night of April 25th, 2012... I prayed. Prayed profoundly. Hope was the only thing I had left. I prayed to the creator above to spare these schools and to end this corruption already. The jobs and quality of education of thousands remained on the line tomorrow night.
It was the morning of April 26th, 2012... I received news that one high school was removed from the list. I prayed it was John Dewey. It wasn't. It was Grover Cleveland High School in Queens, and it was only removed because it had one politically powerful alumni—State Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan. She chairs the education committee. Can you believe it? Disgusting. More corruption piled on corruption. Sick. Sick. Sick. I felt nauseated. I still do when I think of it. I'm glad that a school survived, but I was disappointed because it only survived due to a politically powerful alumni. Totally unfair. I smell bureaucracy.
Later on April 26th, 2012, at the Prospect Heights Campus (formerly Prospect Heights High School, but that school was also closed as well! Imagine that.) was the Panel for Education Policy lined up at the auditorium's stage getting ready to determine the future of each school, and whether each one will be closed or not. The school's fate literally rested on their hands. It all happened that night.
11:58 p.m. And it’s over: All of the turnaround closure votes are done and have passed. Between February and today, the panel has approved 44 school closures to begin or take place this summer — far more than in any previous year. (from GothamSchools.org)
Imagine that. Oh and check this one out:
11:54 p.m. A teacher from John Dewey High School has broken out in tears behind reporters. (from GothamSchools.org)
I shed a tear. That was it, and that was the end of that. Done.
I later went on to visit the school's Facebook page and saw all these comments full of woe. Nothing but sheer depression. All these years of this great public institution shattered, and Dewey would be graduating its final class June. The 2012 graduates would be the final John Dewey High School alumni ever. History has repeated itself, dear ol' Lafayette.
John Dewey High School was gone. Wiped out from the high school directory book, and that was it. The new name was Shorefront High School of Arts & Sciences at John Dewey Campus (a truly ridiculous name that has no relevancy other than that Shorefront High School was originally the proposed name of John Dewey High School before it was named after John Dewey in the late 1960's).
Mid 2012 - Summer School Experience, Goodbye John Dewey High School, Hello Shorefront High School of Arts & Sciences at John Dewey Campus
I was in Summer school during the Summer of 2012 at Dewey, or Shorefront, whatever. I wanted to knock out hard classes and gain more credits for my upcoming Junior year. I noticed there were no longer "bands" which replaced your conventional "periods" so instead of Period 1, Period 2, Period 3, etc. John Dewey High had bands like A band, B band, C band, etc. We also had cycles instead of semesters, instead of your typical first and second semester, our cycles (semesters) were divided into fours for nine weeks each. That was all gone, thanks to the new administration. I only had Summer school for two classes. Soon papers for Summer school did not have "John Dewey High School" as their headers, now it said "Shorefront High School of Arts & Sciences at John Dewey Campus" over and over. The new name was ridiculous.
THE UNITED FEDERATION OF TEACHERS UNION AND JOHN DEWEY HIGH SCHOOL SUE THE NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
See, what I left out purposefully is that beforehand, staff at John Dewey High School signed a paper for those willing to go to court and sue the NYCDOE if our school was going to close. The UFT sided with us and the 23 other schools because over 2,000 teachers would lose their jobs and become substitutes at random schools. Obviously, the union would NEVER let that happen. The whole purpose of them is to protect teachers anyway. They battle it out in court, while I was in Summer school. I didn't have any hope left, I thought the NYCDOE would win as they always would. So I carried on...
Unbelievable victory! Oh my God!
I couldn't stop smiling. Shortly after Summer school finished in late July, every student at John Dewey High School received a letter from the NYCDOE and Mark Sternberg (corrupt puppet in control) telling me that John Dewey High School along with the other schools that were planned to be "turned around" (basically closed) were no longer going to close. They were free. FINALLY. Rejoice! Rejoice! Finally, something went right. Finally, that hideous name Shorefront would no longer exist! Yes! Yes! Yes! My family laughed and couldn't believe it. Even though I knew this was a first time victory for us, it was hard to believe. No one since 2002 and when Bloomberg started closing schools had ever beat him and the NYCDOE. All the time the schools would lose and would close, well we changed that! We won! Never before has that happened.
John Dewey High School: The Aftermath and Present Day
So the new school year began normally on September 6th as John Dewey High School. For once, we were really free. This was now no sugar coated victory with temporary liberty. We had no restraints. But problems emerged... Problems never before seen...
Later on, I learned that approximately 15% of our school staff were "excessed" that meant, 13 teachers were laid off temporarily, and 10 retired. I was saddened to find out that some of the best teachers I ever had in my life, retired. I couldn't blame them, though. The pressure and stress was too much for them.
The Aftermath
It wasn't pleasant to look at my program. I was listed as a sophomore, and most of my classes were incorrect. I had no guidance counselor because some were removed and administration was still trying to figure everything out. Hundreds of students complained that their programs were wrong. Mines was too. I was placed in classes I didn't need, and some weren't even the classes I applied for. It was hectic. My school program was changed so many times I had 6 new and different programs as of October 1st. Some students didn't have their classes changed until mid-semester when grades were due. I couldn't believe it. But for the most part, those program changes have been fixed. Albeit, there's still some things that haven't been adjusted like grade level corrections and guidance counselors.
A change from last year was not only converting from bands to periods, and cycles to semesters, but also that we were now divided into "houses" each one specifying in a particular interest and preference. It may not be the original Dewey way, but it's functional for now. It'll keep students and 8th graders interested. For now, there isn't much to say as we're in October and the school is still recovering from that blow, from that Pyrrhic victory. Metaphorically, we've lost a lot of blood, but in the end, we remain alive. And that's what matters the most. I hope that by September 2013, we're better than ever. I hope that John Dewey High School regains its spectacular reputation soon. I'll do everything in my power as a student to be the change I wish to see.
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I am a student at John Dewey High School. I've experienced what other NYC public high school students haven't. John Dewey High School has shaped me, and made me the person I am today. An open-minded person. Someone who cares. I hope this article can help transcend all the barriers other schools are facing, those who are currently in the claws and victims of the NYCDOE. You're not alone, remember, Dewey used to be one of the best schools in the city until the NYCDOE ruined it. How dare the NYCDOE call it failing when it was their doing. I'm here. A student that knows what really goes on. And I can assure you that many specialized high school students have no clue about this corruption, nor do they even care, even though this article may be futile, I hope someone took the time to read it and show how passionate I am about John Dewey High School. I love my high school so much, because it has done so much for me.
Thank you.
