To the Townsend Harris Community:
First and foremost I want to commend you for the amazing job you are doing on the issue of the IAP at THHS.
After reading this article I am becoming gravely concerned at the response we are receiving from the leadership at the DOE. This is a situation that has gone from bad to worse to deplorable and intolerable. The courageous students at THHS took a stand for something they believed in and now they are being punished. The DOE, however, is not convinced of the imminent threat Ms. Jahoda poses to the mental and emotional well-being of our children. Her vindictive nature has been documented time and again, but from the article above, it is clear if she continues in her current position her number one priority will be to destroy the future of some of the hardest working and brightest students in NYC. If examples and petitions and 311 calls aren’t enough to convince the DOE leadership, maybe it is time for legal action.
One thing to consider would be filing a complaint with the NYC DOE IG; they will then be forced to investigate her and possibly remove her from her position. You can do so here.
Another thought, and if there are any lawyers among us please advise, is for the parents to sue. Our children’s future is in jeopardy, there is high anxiety and uncertainty among the entire community from students, to parents, to faculty. This affects the performance of our students (not to mention direct sabotage of their grades) and puts them at a huge disadvantage in the highly competitive environment of college admission.
IAP Jahoda has zero support from the community she wants to lead. This disqualifies her from the position. She has no business being a candidate, she has no business still being at THHS, where she is actively working to jeopardize our children’s future. In addition, we know this situation can immediately be remedied as we have a great Assistant Principal interested in the position who has the support of the entire THHS community.
For the DOE leadership to let this situation continue is negligent and abusive and maybe we need to take more definitive action to get this corrected.
Please share your thoughts either here or on the Facebook post for this letter.
Signed,
Shibrah Jamil
Gravely concerned parent
