Former teachers at I.S 228 speak out

Angry former teachers of I.S. 228, David A. Boody Junior High School, rallied in front of the school building the morning of Monday, June 10, claiming that Principal Dominick D’Angelo is trying to save money by firing qualified teachers and not giving them tenure.

About a dozen teachers said that they have proof that in the past six years, 50 “good and dedicated teachers, including school aids” have been let go for different reasons, including the use of threats, intimidation, false promises and coercion.

“Enough is enough. Our children, parents and teachers deserve better than this. The abuse of our teachers must end,” they contended.

Wanda Gohler claimed that her career was terminated when she was accused of making anti-Semitic remarks in her classroom. Gohler, born a Jew, says that is impossible.

“I was an amazing teacher and he pushed me out of my profession,” she noted, adding that nobody would go “near [her]” now because of her unsatisfactory ratings in her records.

“I was tormented; accused of saying things against Jews, of saying the ‘N’ word in my history class,” Gohler said.

Nick Di Francesco, an earth science teacher, agrees.

“I like teaching kids, but I can’t teach in an atmosphere like this,” he said, noting that he believes the principal is not concerned about education, claiming that his focus is to better his career and become a superintendent.

“It’s a shame; it’s a shame for the kids,” Di Francesco added, describing the school’s atmosphere as negligent and intimidating.

The teachers contended that they were saddened to see that D’Angelo let go some of the most experienced educators while hiring new ones that cost less.

“What nobody knows is that it took 35 years for a teacher to make $100,000” Gohler explained.

“There are a lot of unwritten stories,” said Francesco Alexander Portelos, a former teacher at I.S 49 in Staten Island accused of hacking, as well as other 38 charges currently against him.

“I was praised as a teacher,” the young teacher who studied engineering at Poly Tech said. “It’s the students that lose out.”

When reached for comment, D’Angelo told this paper that there were different reasons for the choices that were made to fire the teachers.

“We never kicked anybody out,” he said. “Some teachers retired and others were e. These are false accusations.”