Who is Paula Lev? Probe on against NY principal who made good on threat to fire WHITE teachers
Washington Heights principal Paula Lev, who was accused by staff members of attempting to racially split the school, carried out her threat to fire white employees and allegedly allowed the institution to descend into "insanity." Insiders claim that Lev, a Dominican, terminated four white staff members at the 450-student school in surplus of what was required and made other contentious modifications, NY Post reported.
According to the complaint, Paula Lev, the principal of High School for Law and Public Service, was the subject of an investigation by the Department of Education last year after reportedly informing an instructor that she was "going to get rid of all these white teachers that aren't doing anything for the kids of our community." The state Division of Human Rights is currently reviewing the initial DOE complaint. The departure occurs after teachers unusually voted against Lev with a no-confidence vote a year ago. At least three additional instructors opted to resign this month, according to an insider, while some of the overworked teachers found other employment so they weren't formally deemed terminated. Other overworked school teachers resigned on their own. “There are many more teachers who have voiced that they plan to leave and they feel demoralized,” the employee stated to NY Post.
READ MORE
Latin School of Chicago: Ex-principal sued by mom of boy,15, driven to suicide by bullies
Students who are upset are also calling for change. The class valedictorian and upcoming senior Angel Dilawar, 17, created a petition on Change.org with the statement, "We have had enough and cannot bear to witness the utter disorganisation and insanity at our school.” "We have some new teachers that are super under-qualified, and staff members that were fully experienced and qualified were excessed,” reads the petition which in just two months has received more than 435 signatures.
In an interview with The Post, Dilawar said that Lev had squandered money on unnecessary extras like $50,000 worth of sweatshirts to match school uniforms that nobody wears and set up hallway TV monitors. Violence, she claimed, had risen in the interim. “Right now students can do anything they want and they’re not going to get in trouble,” Dilawar said.
Dilawar claimed that while working in the college office of the school, she was requested to draft recommendation letters for her coworkers because the assistant who was meant to do the task had poor English language skills. “These students would be shocked to find out that their recommendation letters would be written by a student, a junior,” she said. Dilawar claimed she repeatedly wrote to Schools Chancellor David Banks but never got a response.
