A Staten Island girl was tossed from a Catholic elementary school because her mother complained about its safety hazards, the mom says — and she has the letter to prove it.
Anastasia Strelyaeva says her 6-year-old daughter cut her head on the sharp edge of a classroom shelf inside St. John Villa Academy last Wednesday when she was throwing something out in the trash can.
When the mom brought her daughter back to school Friday and complained about the danger, administrators allegedly told her to take her gripes — and her daughter elsewhere.
“Because you have stated several times to both school administration and other parents that St. John Villa Academy Elementary School is not a safe environment for your daughter, Ksenya, it is in the best interest of your child to place her in another elementary school where you feel your daughter will be safer,” reads a Feb. 4 letter signed by the principal, Sister Lucita Bacat. “Accordingly . . . please be advised that Ksenya is to be withdrawn from St. John Villa Academy.”
The mom says her complaints weren’t out of line but that she might have ruffled feathers by demanding to see an incident report for her daughter’s accident — which she said had left a deep gash on her forehead.
“This is my little girl, and I wanted her to be in hands I can trust,” said Strelyaeva.
Sister Anita Gramer, president of the all-girls academy, declined to address the allegation that Ksenya was booted because of her mother’s grumbles, but said, “We maintain a safe learning environment for both the elementary school and the high school of St. John Villa Academy.”