PS 106 Update: Councilman Donovan Richards Blames Sandy in Attempted Sills Coverup

Reporter to parent: Do you know the principal?
Parent: I've never seen her.
Reporter: You've never seen her? How long has your child been in the school?
Parent: Over a year.
Reporter turns to me and shakes his head with an incredulous look..... Ed Notes/WAVE coverage, Jan. 13, 2014

BloomKlein empowered principals. So, what’s a little forgery? ... Ed Notes/The Wave, Feb. 2008

PS 106: Desolation Row

I just returned from PS 106 where reporters told me City Councilman Donovan Richards was trying to cover principal Marcella Sims' ass by blaming school lack of resources on the Sandy storm. Richards does not seem aware of the many years of complaints about Sills' decade-long transgressions.

I was also interviewed in my house this morning by Telemundo TV -- love to see how I look in Spanish -- keep an eye out and let me know.

Some pics I took this afternoon -- my pal Joel drove me down due to my bad back and we were joined by a former teacher pushed to the edge by Sills --- I kept turning around to see if she stopped smiling.

The press is there

Sandy-damaged trailer - DOE did nothing

Principal Sills' hideaway

Sills' special parking spot

One reporter said they are hanging out until Sills walks out -- but she has her BMW tucked away on the side of the school inside a locked fence. I told him he may have a long wait - maybe she has a tunnel.

I will post more later as info has been coming in showing Supt. Lloyd-Bay is up to her ears in coverup. And a teacher just called saying she actually met with Kathy Cashin about this school when Cashin led Region 5 and in essence hired Sills - though we think Lloyd-Bay was the mover. She said Lloyd-Bey sent over district goons to mess with her. Other teachers may be calling soon too -- I am funneling them to the reporters I meet who I like.

Sue Edleman in the Post did a follow-up today - see below - about the cotillions parents had to shell out for. One reporter told me a parent was getting him pics of Sills in her fancy gown.

I also thought you might find this piece I wrote for The Wave Feb 8, 2008.

Norm in The Wave:

by Norman Scott

There’s a story floating around about a recent visit Randi Weingarten made to PS 106 in Rockaway to address the issue of whether Principal Marcella Sills deserves designation as one of the UFT’s top ten “Principals from Hell.” Weingarten was not happy when she was forced to go upstairs to sign in, Sills’ way of showing her who was the boss. Weingarten said she was going to complain about the way Sills treats teachers (and most other people) to good buddy Kathy Cashin, who appointed Sills. Lot of good that will do since Cashin is currently fairly powerless (we’ll see where she stands when the post BloomKlein smoke clears) while running a Learning Support Network where she has to hustle to get client schools.

At least one teacher at the school claims there are records of observations in her folder signed by her that never took place, and that she never signed.

If you believe the stories going around the school community, there may well be more than one teacher involved.

The Wave worked on that story in June (2007?), at the end of the last school year, but the teacher involved, who acknowledged to a Wave editor that Sills had indeed forged the teacher’s name to bogus evaluations, refused to go public, saying that the school investigator was going to take care of the problem and she did not want any further trouble from bogus ratings.

BloomKlein empowered principals. So, what’s a little forgery?

I had my own run-in with the haughty Sills a few years ago. She sure is a snappy dresser – I guess she doesn’t have to worry about little kids clutching at her with affection. I came to the school to give teachers leaflets from the opposition caucus, ICE, and she denied me access to the mailboxes, one of the few principals in Rockaway to do so. She used the term, “Not in MY school.” I should have asked to see her deed.

Ironically, the literature was critical of Randi Weingarten and the UFT leadership. But no matter how critical of Weingarten I’ve been, when it comes to the Battle of the Queen Bees, I’m rooting for Randi on this one.

And Sue's NY Post article today below the break
http://nypost.com/2014/01/13/worst-principal-forced-poor-kids-to-pay-for-bizarre-bash/

 

Worst principal forced poor kids to pay for bizarre bash

By Susan Edelman and Sean Piccoli

January 13, 2014 | 5:24am

Modal Trigger

IT’S HER PARTY: Fifth-graders at the horribly run PS 106, spotlighted by The Post, shell out for a strange “wedding” bash at swanky venues like Russo's on the Bay on the whim of Principal Marcella Sills (pictured). swanky venues like Russo’s on the Bay Photo: J.C. Rice

Kids at Queens’ notorious “School of No” have been forced to pay for a bizarre fifth-grade party at which their principal makes them dress up as little brides and grooms, The Post has learned — as the DOE announced that it would probe conditions at the school.
PS 106’s fur-clad principal, Marcella Sills — who is known for frequently being absent — has for at least the past three years orchestrated an annual prom at a posh rental hall.
She has required parents to pay more than $110 per child for the shindig.
The girls must wear white wedding-type dresses, and the boys rent tuxedos with tails, sources told The Post.
The kids, many of whom live below the poverty line, must foot the bill for the strange get-ups, which Sills personally picks out at stores such as Men’s Wearhouse and David’s Bridal, parents and ex-teachers said.
Sills, meanwhile, sets herself up as the belle of the ball — donning her own long, white bridal-type gown for the event, which was held last June at Russo’s on the Bay in Howard Beach. Last year’s strapless outfit came with elbow-length white gloves, photos show.
“It’s absurd,” said one former teacher at the crumbling Far Rockaway school.
“This is a school where children are given a free breakfast and free lunch, and you’re asking them to pay money for a lavish, unnecessary event.”
As the school put on a yearly formal ball, kids don’t have basic school necessities. “Some children didn’t have materials because their parents couldn’t afford them,” a former teacher said. “It was a struggle and a fight to get crayons, pencils and a notebook.”
Sills could not be reached for comment.
The school struggles to provide basic classroom supplies and actual instruction, said former teachers and students.
It became known as the “School of No” because it provides no gym, no art classes, no textbooks covering the Common Core standards and no proper nurse’s office.
Sources described PS 106 as dysfunctional, with rat-infested trailers for kindergarten classrooms and movies playing daily for all grades.
Sills often doesn’t show up, and is hours late when she does come in. Last week, she missed every school day but one. Nevertheless, she manages through fear and retaliation, sources said.
She cuts quite a figure, when she does appear. She arrives in a BMW wearing expensive fur coats. She makes a base $128,000 salary. “She’s evil,” former PS 106 teacher Patricia Walsh said. “She finds pleasure in ruining people’s lives.”
“She’s been getting away with it for years,” said Silaka Cox, an NYU freshman who graduated from PS 106 on Sills’ watch.
After reading The Post’s report on the school, schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña on Sunday announced an investigation into what she called “deeply troubling” revelations.
Fariña said she is sending her second-in-command, Deputy Chancellor Dorita Gibson, to the school Monday morning “to review the situation at PS 106 and determine what is going on there.”