After EEOC Finding, Principal Resigns at Arabic-English School

Debbie Almontaser

Just days after the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission decided the Education Department discriminated when it forced the ex-principal of an English-Arabic academy to resign, another school head has stepped down. Meanwhile, the school's founder and former principal Debbie Almontaser spoke with NY1 (video here) telling the station it shook her to the core "that people I worked with and trusted were easily influenced with right wing propaganda, and for them to second guess and have a knee jerk reaction was quite devastating."

DOE spokesman David Cantor was adamant that Holly Anne Reichert's resignation was totally unrelated to the EEOC decision and that her mind was made up before it was even announced. Still, parents at Brooklyn's Khalil Gibran International Academy weren't alerted until Monday, when a letter was sent out citing "personal reasons" for the move. Reichert will be replaced temporarily by Beshir Abdellatif, who'll be the school's first principal of Arabic descent since Almontaser left, reports the Daily News. Almontaser's lawyer called the timing "curious" and posited that it could interpreted "as an attempt to deflect the conclusion of the [EEOC] that the DOE had engaged in discrimination."

In her interview, Almontaser—who was forced from her position in 2007 after making remarks to the Post about the word "intifada"—called the DOE's actions against her a "smear campaign" and said that she feels "vindicated" by the EEOC's announcement. Still, the DOE says the committee's findings "baseless," and promised the former principal wouldn't be reinstated.

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By Sabrina Jaszi in News on March 16, 2010 6:22 PM

Comments [rss]

Petey

Right wing propoganda? Randi Weingarten, the head of the teachers union, agreed that she should have resigned, and she's pretty far from the right.

jt10000

On this issue, she's one of the "media, politicians, and bureaucrats" that I mentioned as buying into the slander.

jpeditor

"it shook her to the core "that people I worked with and trusted were easily influenced with right wing propaganda, "

$10 says she's a Gothamist.

ides_of_march

Why is there a public school based on an ethnicity? I thought segregation was a bad thing and had been outlawed. Anyway, are these students allowed to pray and read the Koran in school? Or is school prayer only verboten to Christians?

rasputinsghost

It's not a Muslim school, moron, non-Muslims speak Arabic

handsomedevil

Sigh. Where to start - it's based on language, not "ethnicity." There are other bilingual programs in the city as well, you know.

And as for prayer, what do you think. I mean seriously.

The best thing we could possibly do is to encourage non-Arabic kids to attend this school and learn the language, so they can grow up and assist in the war on terror in which we are at a huge linguistic and cultural disadvantage.

Or we could just continue to blindly imagine what the Middle East is like and invade random countries, expecting flowers.

jpeditor

"Sigh. Where to start - it's based on language, not "ethnicity.""

Wait, the gothamist manual of style dictates if we criticize islam we are racist!

"There are other bilingual programs in the city as well, you know."

And those are working out so well, aren't they. I mean everyone knows just PRESS ONE FOR ENGLISH.

"And as for prayer, what do you think. I mean seriously."

Seriously, dude, if you try and stop the fislams from praying in school YOU ARE A RACIST / they will cut your head off.

"The best thing we could possibly do is to encourage non-Arabic kids to attend this school and learn the language, so they can grow up and assist in the war on terror"

This school is for ARABS and Bill Ayer's kids. Teach Arabic IN REGULAR SCHOOLS and let the Army recruit, (ooops, Gothamist manual of style violation.

"Or we could just continue to blindly imagine what the Middle East is like and invade random countries, expecting flowers."

There you go again, back on the BushCo / Neocons Suck bandwagon!

Greenpoint60

I know these Jewish Board of Ed people when they speak off the record over dinner. Most are anti Arab and anti German. There are a few Trotskyist-Maoist types that pay lip service to the Palestinian struggle.

jpeditor

"the Palestinian struggle."

OOOHHH!

the STRUGGLE!

Greenpoint60

Imagine a German Academy in Brooklyn in 1943

potsmoker

there probably was a german language academy in brooklyn in the 40's. germans had a rich history in brooklyn and more entrenched cultural openess in the last century.

whole parts of brooklyn, midtown and the upper east side where GERMAN neighborhoods.

there were plenty of american NAZI groups, and plenty of

pledge of allegiance photos to the AMERICAN flag using the famous hitler slaute we all know and loathe.

look it up dummy.

jpeditor

Speaking of nazis (since you opened the door), guess which book has been on Arab best seller lists for years!.

(Note their other hero, Abu Jimmah Carter.

potsmoker

i dont get your point, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mein_Kampf

says the book is sold all over the world.

its more repugnant to me that its banned from sale or trade in some countries...

FYI. i keep a copy proudly on my bookshelf, you can infer whatever you want from that loser.

jimmy carter is a great big ahole who was a bad president, i actually only respect his accomplishments in speaking truthfully about middle east issues.

mullah potsmoker.

jpeditor

"FYI. i keep a copy proudly on my bookshelf, you can infer whatever you want from that loser."

That dope smoking wannabe jihadis read mein kampf.

jt10000

Bigots will be bigots, but it's sad how much the media, politicians, and bureaucrats buy into the slander. This is analogous on a local level to the cowardice and superficiality shown by the mass media and congress to the ACORN "prostitution scandal."

Professor_X

Any superficiality shown by the media about ACORN involves their lack of interest in the massive vote fraud schemes this group ran (runs) for years.

If ACORN was a conservative group they'd have investigative journalists crawling all over them. Instead they are not an interesting target for investigation because they're "one of ours".