To the editors:
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In just three months of having my foster daughter at this school, I learned of the following: (1) violation of a Federal Desegregation Order, (2) a cover-up of reports of an abusive teacher, and (3) extensive discouragement and “tracking” of underachieving students that goes so far as telling concerned parents–including myself–to go to another school.
The segregation of first-graders by race and background was so obvious in the fall of this year that many parents were up in arms. However, when I and other individual parents went to Mr. Blitstein to express concern, we were told that he would deal with it later and we were told not to make waves.
In another instance, I saw a Mayer teacher spank a student in public on a school field trip. I learned that she regularly screamed at, threatened, and spanked children in her classroom. She even followed a bus load of Saint Vincent children to their after-school program one night, stormed in, and verbally assaulted the children until the director of the center forced her to leave.
I request that my name be withheld out of concern and respect for my foster daughter’s confidentiality. Thank you.
