More than a hundred students walked out of Hill Regional Career High School with pleas to save their history and music instructors from planned transfers, while ministers defended the school superintendent’s decisions and called out protesters’ “agendas” and “privilege.”
Those clashing responses to Superintendent Carol Birks’s decision last week to eliminate 53 teaching positions throughout the school system happened within three hours of each other on Wednesday.
Bob Osborne speaks to Career students.
During their last period, Career students stepped out onto the grassy field behind the school. They carried a wide pink banner with the names of four teachers who received notice last week that they would be involuntarily transferred out of the school. Others held up signs that said, “WTF: Where’s the funding?” “HISTORY has its EYES on YOU,” and “We need our AP classes.”
“Save our teachers!” they chanted. “Save our teachers!”
Many of the students said they wanted to stand up for the educators who had always stood up for them — sometimes in situations that were literally “between life and death,” said Nidia Luis-Moreno, a junior. They said that, so far, they had collected close to 1,000 signatures opposing the involuntary transfers.
Administrators from district central office kept watch as they poured out of the building, but none of them interfered
“The district certainly supports student free speech and activism,” said Michael Pinto, the chief operating officer. “We thought all the students handled themselves well today. They were orderly and well-organized. We appreciate their advocacy.”
After they walked onto the field, students confronted Principal Zakia Parrish about why she had decided to remove two social-studies teachers and a music teacher, who had all made close personal connections with students.
Parrish said she couldn’t talk about her reasons.
“We’ve made a decision, based on things that I cannot share with you because it’s Human Resources-related,” she said. “Being able to enter into those discussions with you, I can’t do that legally.”
Gabriela Soriano, one of the three student organizers, added that they’d already lost AP Physics and AP Computer Science at Career this year, and they worry they’ll lose AP World History and AP Psychology next year too.
Parrish reassured the students that other teachers still at Career have the certifications to teach those courses
“We’ll make sure to take care of those classes being offered,” she said. “Those specific types of AP courses aren’t as restrictive as AP Computer Science is.”
Assistant Superintendent Paul Whyte added that other teachers will step up to build those relationships.
“We want every teacher in front of every student to be as caring and as concerned and connected with you,” he said. “Those are things that we always try to work on with all of our schools, with all of our teachers, so that you always have connections, that it’s not just two teachers in this whole school that you connect with.”
Jennifer Sanchez and Esmeralda Gutierrez.
Students protested that it was too late, especially for students entering their senior year.
“You can try to work on building that relationship with other students, but it’s not going to be the same, because Mr. O and Mr. Brennan established a relationship with the students from the very beginning. That’s not something you can replace,” Soriano added. “It starts from the heart. You can’t just suddenly change your character and pretend that you’re going to act caring towards the students. It’s not one day you’re going to slap packets on the students’ desk and the next day you’re going to be their friend. That’s not how it works.”
That led students to break out into another round of chants, drowning out any more answers. “We want our teachers!” the students cried. “We want our teachers! We want our teachers!”
Nidia Luis-Moreno.
As school buses pulled up to take kids home, about two dozen students took their protest to the front of the school on Legion Avenue. Shortly after, they were joined by former alumni from Career and current students from Cooperative Arts & Humanities High School and Metropolitan Business Academy.
Nico Rivera, one of the school board’s two non-voting student representatives, pointed out that Hill Regional Career High School and Metropolitan Business Academy had both lost $250,528 this year because they couldn’t attract enough racial diversity. He said that reducing teachers, especially in the inter-district magnet schools, would only slide the district closer to non-compliance.
Rivera added that, if budget cuts did need to happen, they should start at the very top.
“Our teachers make our schools better,” he said. “Why are we going from low to high? If you’re trying to dig a hole, why would you dig from the bottom, with all the dirt that will keep falling in from the top?”
Jamila Washington, a Co-Op sophomore.
Through a bullhorn, the students led chants and waved their signs for more than an hour. They joked that they’d be hoarse in class tomorrow.
“We are the students!” “The mighty, mighty students!” they sang. “We’re fighting for justice!” “We’re fighting for justice!” “And an education!” “And an education!”
Drivers slowed and honked in support. As one school bus passed, elementary-school students pressed their faces up against the window.
“New Haven, what are you doing? Dr. Birks, what are you doing?” asked Sofia Soriano, another organizer. “Don’t mess with our education. Don’t mess with our rights. Don’t take away our teachers.”
Kimber Gathers Ministers
Earlier in the day, outside the district’s Meadow Street headquarters, Rev. Boise Kimber, other black ministers and school truancy officers held a brief press conference, where they pushed back against a call by organizers from NHPS Advocates during Monday’s rally for Superintendent Birks to be dismissed.
“This is not about people wanting to do exactly what they want to do in this district,” he said. “If you can teach at one school, you ought to be able to teach in another school. Let’s not be bound by where we are.”
Kimber has been an advocate of Carol Birks since she became superintendent and successfully advocated for the school system to hire more minority contractors. Kimber is the pastor of the First Calvary Baptist churches in New Haven and Hartford.
As he went after the protesters for spreading “false untruths,” Kimber himself inaccurately described the effect of the involuntary transfers.
He correctly said that teachers are not losing their jobs, but he incorrectly said that no teaching positions are being eliminated. Next year, no one will replace the 53 teachers who are being moved out of their buildings, according to the plan, leading to savings of approximately $3.7 million.
Kimber also faulted the protesters for their “white privilege,” saying that most of them at the “fake demonstration” came from the suburbs.
The protesters on Monday were largely white, reflecting the racial demographics of the city’s teaching force. The crowd did include many students of color.
“They didn’t look like us, and they did not represent what this district looks like,” Kimber said. “I do want to say there are several people who have their own personal agenda against this superintendent and the mayor of our city. Those individuals are leading this charge against the city and against our children.”
At the end of the press conference, Kimber called for Ed Joyner, one of the school board’s two elected members, to hand in his resignation. He said Joyner hasn’t presented his own budget-cutting ideas (though Joyner did suggest clearing out the Central Office building at Monday’s rally) and has conflicts of interest because his children work in the school system.
“Does he have any more jokes?” Joyner responded when asked about Kimber’s call for him to resign.
“I believe that people who’ve lived in this city long enough know what my agenda is. They know I’ve never violated the law, I’ve never stolen anything from anyone, and I have operated at the highest levels of my profession. My children worked in this school system before I became a board member. The only thing I am interested in is the best leadership for this school district.”
Joyner added that he had no part in organizing the protest that the NHPS Advocates put on.
“It’s a compliment for Rev. Kimber to think that I organized such a large rally,” he said. NHPS organizer “Sarah Miller and her team worked too hard for him to take the credit away from them. I do thank him for thinking so highly of me though.”