Bronx H.S. of Science students lament teacher exodus

Students at Bronx High School of Science say many of their mathematics teachers have been leaving the school just months before graduation, and they demand to know the reason behind it. ?The students

News 12 Staff

Jan 13, 2009, 6:42 PM

Updated 5,805 days ago

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Students at Bronx High School of Science say many of their mathematics teachers have been leaving the school just months before graduation, and they demand to know the reason behind it.
?The students don't know anything,? says senior Raffe Uddein. ?If I ask one of my teachers, they won't say anything about it.?
Lynn Winderbaum, a local United Federation of Teachers representative, blames the exodus of teachers on Rosemarie Jahoda, the new assistant principal in the math department. Winderbaum claims several teachers at the school signed a harassment claim against Jahoda.
?Unless they start treating the staff professionally, more teachers will be gone, and they?ll also dissuade the best and the brightest,? Winderbaum says.
However, Principal Valerie Reidy says it is not a teachers? revolt, but simply a matter of timing. She claims six teachers recently left the school because of unrelated circumstances, including retirement and personal reasons. Only one of the six was let go, Reidy says.
Students say regardless of the reasons behind the exits, their graduation day will not be the same.
?It's going be really sad at graduation when our favorite teachers don't come,? Uddein says.