SLT Meeting Sparks Discussion over Pedrick’s Position

“More than simply helping me out as Student Union President, Ms. Pedrick has been there for every chaotic moment of my life. She saved me from my own self. ” —Ares Aung, SU President

“We support the functions and personnel in college, guidance, and other pupil personnel services under [Pedrick’s] direction. [We] are against rash changes that would result in great reductions in those areas.” —Wai Wah Chin, Senior SLT Parent Representative

Student Union President Ares Aung posted a petition on Facebook on Thursday, October 1, entitled, “What Pedrick Means to Stuy.” The petition stated, “Two anonymous faculty advisors proposed to strip [Pedrick] of her position as a result of her interim status, at the Student Leadership Team meeting on September 30th, 2015.” Principal Jie Zhang, however, has said that while Casey Pedrick may not become the official Assistant Principal of Personnel Services—the position she now occupies is considered “interim,” or temporary — Pedrick is likely to retain her position.

This discussion over Pedrick’s position began when United Federation of Teachers Chapter Leader and math teacher Bernard Feigenbaum proposed to reduce the number of Assistant Principals of Administration from four to three at the School Leadership Team (SLT) meeting in order to hire a new staff member. Math teacher Melissa Protass also described current problems with class sizes that a new teacher could resolve. Principal Jie Zhang responded that the only way to do so would be to eliminate the position of Assistant Principal of Pupil Personnel Services, currently occupied by Pedrick, because it is the only one of the four positions that is not permanently filled.

Zhang clarified that her comments during the SLT meeting did not mean that she agrees with either side. “I simply stated the facts, the conditions that there need to be in order to have fewer Assistant Principals,” Zhang said. Pedrick declined to be interviewed on the topic.

There are four administrative positions because in 2012, due to a request by the Department of Education, Zhang increased the number of Assistant Principals of Administration from three to four by hiring Assistant Principal of Safety and Security Brian Moran. “It was right after the cheating scandal, and I thought that we needed a new position to handle everything. Now that it’s been several years, we don’t need a full-time person to have the position, so I combined [Moran’s] duties with the Assistant Principal of Health and Physical Education.”” Zhang said.

Normally, interim-acting assistant principals hold their unofficial statuses for half a year before being appointed officially or dismissed. However, Pedrick’s case is special, because Pedrick could not be officially appointed to her position until Assistant Principal of Technology Services Randi Damasek’s case was settled. “It has to do with the fact that Damesek was undergoing investigation [regarding the cheating scandal], and her case was not closed. This caused a personnel issue,” Zhang said.

Now that Damasek has returned, Zhang released a posting for the official position of Assistant Principal of Pupil Personnel Services. “Pedrick and other candidates have applied, and in theory, the school can choose to appoint someone else,” Zhang said. “However, the position is not hers [until] she is appointed.”

The majority of the SLT Parent Representatives want Pedrick to retain her position. “We support the functions and personnel in college, guidance, and other pupil personnel services under [Pedrick’s] direction. [We] are against rash changes that would result in great reductions in those areas,” Senior SLT Parent Representative Wai Wah Chin said.

In a separate interview, Aung said that he showed Zhang the petition to make Pedrick an official assistant principal. “Nothing really changed. The Chancellor’s Regulation 30 (C-30) [the process to select a new assistant principal] is still happening, so that’s good,” Aung said.