Khalil Gibran union rep speaks out about new principal.
Sean Grogan, an educator and current teacher at KGIA, where he is also UFT Chapter Leader, comments, “I, as well as others, came to KGIA because of Debbie Almontaser’s vision and the leadership she brought with her. I was honored to be working with someone so talented and committed to our children, who, as an Arab educator, not only brought with her a great knowledge of Arabic culture and language, but was also a bridge builder who was uniquely qualified to bring our communities together and to lead such a school.” Grogan added that “Debbie Almontaser by far remains the person most qualified to lead the Khalil Gibran International Academy, which has been in great disarray since her forced resignation.”
KGIA parent Saleh Altaheri agreed: “It is Debbie Almontaserher vision and qualifications to be the leader of KGIAthat we most need at this time.”
The DOE has withheld a significant detail from the media and public regarding Holly Reichert, the new principal: Reichert comes to her position from New Visions for Public Schools, one of the key players in forcing Almontaser’s resignation. But all of the DOE’s descriptions of Reichert’s qualifications for this position, as cited in numerous media reports, omit her affiliation with New Visions, on whose Board both the Chancellor and UFT President sit. “This omission is misleading and obscures the fact that the DOE’s search for principal began and ended in its own backyard,” added Carol Horwitz of Communities in Support of KGIA.
Milt Wolff, an American hero.
Commander Milton Wolff went to Spain in 1936 to be a part of the International Brigades at the age of 22. The forces of fascist general Francisco Franco, with the backing of Hitler and Mussolini, were attempting to overthrow the democratically elected Republican government. The government appealed for international help and while most the the Western governments turned their backs, ordinary men and women like Wolff found a way to get to Spain to fight this early battle in what would become World War II.
Wolff became Commander of the Lincoln Brigade, made up of 3,000 US volunteers after the four guys who preceded him in that post were killed. Of the 3,000 American Lincoln Brigade members, only half survived the war.
On Monday, Commander Milton Wolff died at the age of 92.
The NY Times estimates that roughly 40 veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade are still alive.
Several years ago, my father, Robert Klonsky, died at the age of 84. He was also a volunteer member of the Lincoln Brigade. He left his home in Brooklyn and went to fight in Spain when he was 17.
