Residencies, like this one with National Dance Institute in 4th grade, are in full swing!
Dear PS 107 Families,
As many of you may have heard — or noticed — our beloved school safety agent, Sharon Hosannah, has been unexpectedly reassigned to another school. In January 2022, Agent Sharon sustained a shoulder injury while on the job at PS 107. Although she was in pain, she continued working until she learned that she needed surgery. In January 2023, Agent Sharon took a medical leave to have shoulder surgery and recover. We all expected that Agent Sharon would return to PS 107 when her leave ended, in early April.
On what was supposed to be her first day back, Agent Sharon sent me a message that she had been reassigned to MS 136/MS 821 in Sunset Park. I was shocked to learn this and reached out to her direct supervisor at the NYPD (note that School Safety Agents are under the purview of the NYPD, not the Department of Education). I was told that, because there is a shortage of school safety agents, Agent Sharon was moved to a school where there was a vacancy and that there was no way to have her return to PS 107.
I pressed the issue further and the Commanding Officer for School Safety Agents, Tyema Hill, visited PS 107 to meet with me last week. While she understood my concerns, CO Hill reiterated that Agent Sharon could not be moved back to PS 107. She had been moved from the 78th precinct (PS 107’s) to the 72nd precinct (MS 136/MS 821’s), and moving from precinct to precinct was not possible. I was also told that, in the NYPD, agents do not have “rights” to their previous postings when they go on leave. So, once on leave, an agent can be reassigned anywhere in the city upon their return. CO Hill did share that there would be a new graduating class of School Safety Agents on May 1st, which might ease the NYPD’s staffing issues, and it “might” be possible to have Agent Sharon moved back after that.
While our current agent, Agent Mata, is a hardworking agent who has been a solid replacement for Agent Sharon during her leave, we absolutely want Agent Sharon to return to PS 107. Agent Sharon has been in the PS 107 community for 17 years. She knows all of our students and their families. She knows the neighborhood. She knows who should be in the building and who should not. She has wonderful relationships with the entire community. All of these qualities are incredibly important for keeping our school safe, and we believe the NYPD should prioritize this when considering agent placements.
So what can you do to ensure that Agent Sharon is moved back to PS 107 after May 1st? Copy and paste this letter into an email, sign it, and send it to the NYPD, DOE, and City Council staff members listed at the top. If you are so inclined, feel free to add to your email any personal stories you may have related to how Agent Sharon is such an important part of the PS 107 community. The more messages we can send in support of Agent Sharon, the better!
MAY 4TH PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES
You may have noticed on the NYC Public Schools calendar that there is something called “Evening Parent-Teacher Conferences” for elementary schools coming up on Thursday, May 4th. These conferences, which will be held from 4:30 to 7:30 pm, are by invitation only. For these conferences, teachers will be meeting with parents of students about whom they have (or have had) concerns academically and/or social-emotionally. These may be families who received a letter in February indicating their child’s promotion is in doubt or families who have already had additional meetings with teachers this year about their children’s progress. Note that teachers will reach out directly to families with whom they would like to have a conference; please do not reach out to teachers requesting a conference. Thank you for your understanding.
COVID TEST KIT DISTRIBUTION
As noted in last week’s Parent Coordinator updates, the NYC public schools will no longer be distributing Covid test kits monthly. If you are in need of Covid test kits, please reach out to Parent Coordinator Nadia Benlarbi at parentcoordinator@ps107.org. We can send them home with your child or you can pick them up at school.
MIDDLE SCHOOL PLACEMENTS
Finally, middle school placements come out this Tuesday, April 25th, after the school day has ended. Some families will be thrilled with their child’s placement and others will be disappointed. This is always an emotional day for our graduating 5th graders. Families, please remember not to speak highly or poorly of any particular middle school in front of your children. We believe that all middle schools have their pros and cons. Ultimately, it is about the “fit” for your child, which is difficult to assess before a child actually attends the school. If you have serious concerns about your child’s middle school placement, please reach out to School Counselor, Sarah Green at sgreen@ps107.org.
Have a wonderful week!
Warmly,
Ms Joanna