Fariña: There’s “room for improvement” at P.S. 106, but also assets

P.S. 106 in Far Rockaway has problems, but it’s not the hellhole that the New York Post made it out to be, Chancellor Carmen Fariña said on Monday evening.

Fariña’s statement came after a top deputy visited the school this morning on the chancellor’s command to investigate the Post’s report that the school was in disarray. The Post reported over the weekend that the school has no Common Core materials; arts or P.E. classes; library; or reliable leadership.

That portrayal was overblown, Fariña said in a statement late Monday. “Deputy Chancellor [Dorita] Gibson reported that there is significant room for organizational improvement, but that classrooms are orderly, teachers are dedicated, and students are learning,” she said.

She said Department of Education officials would visit the school weekly to monitor its improvement but otherwise did not specify whether her staff had made any specific changes at the school. “We acted swiftly – and we are going to continue to do so,” Fariña said in her statement.

Meanwhile, the Post reported today that Principal Marcella Sills was on time for work today for what people at the school said was the first time in seven years.

Fariña’s complete statement is below:

When I read the reports of the conditions at P.S. 106 in Queens, I immediately deployed Deputy Chancellor Dorita Gibson to get the facts on what is going right and wrong at this school. We acted swiftly – and we are going to continue to do so. Deputy Chancellor Gibson reported that there is significant room for organizational improvement, but that classrooms are orderly, teachers are dedicated, and students are learning. Going forward, I will have field staff at the school weekly to make sure those organizational changes occur. We are going to relentlessly support this school and marshal our resources until we see the results we expect for our students.