THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS February 3, 2022 - February 9, 2022 • 25 The pandemic and the babies By ADOFO A. MUHAMMAD Ed.D I have long regarded the New York City Department of Educa- tion as an entity that has mastered the purposefulness of failure. Any measure of success children and schools have enjoyed has been garnered despite the system from which they operate from. Suc- cessful schools function as silos in the midst of the weight of a bloated bureaucracy that professes to have the interest of every child as its No. 1 prior- ity but episodic leadership, promotions of individuals to positions of power who wallowed in mediocrity, coupled with wasteful spending and a top-down leadership paradigm have plagued the system for years. I come from an era where you had to prove your mettle as an educator based on student out- comes. Student outcomes reveal them- selves in a variety of ways—they can be test scores, graduation rates, scholar- ship reports, attendance rates or even a parents’ or scholars’ smile or a visit after a graduate enters college and comes back and thanks you for the sacrifice, time, and structure you provided. When I started in District 13 in March of 1998, the first books I received were from the legendary educational giant, Dr. Lester Young. The books would lay the foundation for my education- al career. The first book was called “The Dreamkeepers: Successful Teachers of African American Children” by Gloria Ladson-Billings which spoke to what is called Critical Race Theory, which, simply put, is the ability for an educa- tor to craft a lesson that incorporates the culture and values of the children that the educator is charged with teaching. On a deeper level, it is the essence of cultural plurality and the intersection- ality between race, class and gender. An educator who has embraced Criti- cal Race Theory understands that there must be an inclusivity where every his- torically undervalued American can see themselves in the curriculum that is being taught. The second book was by Charlotte Danielson, it was titled “Enhancing Pro- fessional Practice.” The framework was based on four basic elements an edu- cator should master: these elements are student services, instruction, pro- fessionalism and perpetually engag- ing in professional development. There are two important citadels of education that I have come to know intimately in central Brooklyn. Benjamin Banneker Academy for Community Development and Bedford Academy. Both schools were created with specific levels of in- tentionality: provide scholars with an alternative to specialized high schools which in recent history have dispro- portionately excluded Black and Brown scholars and to provide a cultural at- mosphere that promotes morals, values and educational excellence. The aforementioned schools have historically fulfilled their missions with graduation rates that fluctuate between 96 and 100% on a yearly basis. However, each school, much like its counterparts system wide, is now facing challeng- es that it has never faced before. What to do with a cadre of scholars who have been remotely educated since March of 2020 and now have been thrust back into school? It’s a daunting task. This truly has been the most challenging year. As the first semester has come to a close, a daunting reality has set in, the pandemic has stunted the academ- ic, social and emotional growth of our scholars. Teachers and administrators spend more time with the children they serve in school then the ones they love at home. Many of us are burned out. Throughout my 23 years in the system, it’s been a glorious struggle. Yet, this school year is like no other. Weekly COVID exposures to both students and staff can cripple a school’s momen- tum. I have seen it firsthand. Some- times it feels like we are rolling the dice in a game we surely will lose. We enter into our buildings with a population of scholars who most likely have been ex- posed to someone who has COVID on a daily basis. Or we ourselves have been unwittingly exposed! Nevertheless, as educational lead- ers, we still face compliance mandates, questions from parents about remote learning options, that we cannot pos- sibly answer. There is pressure to make sure our children are safe and learning even while COVID-19 strains run ram- pant. It all begs the question, should schools stay open? The answer is that they must stay open. I have seen the impact of on-line instruction. It doesn’t work. Although there is always a cluster of scholars who will excel, for special needs, elk scholars and scholars who need live instruction, it was a disaster. There is no substitute for in-person in- struction in an atmosphere that is con- ducive to success. The shakeup at Tweed is a welcomed change. I expect more changes as time goes by. As I believe in Mayor Adams, I believe in Brother Banks. He has been one of us, he understands the plight and knows that the current system is far from sustainable for student success. We need hope. We need inspiration and we need a plan of action. Our most pre- cious resources, our children, must suc- ceed; the alternative is unthinkable. Adofo A. Muhammad Ed.D serves as principal of Brooklyn’s Bedford Acade- my High School. COMMENTARY