This week’s not-so-surprising news: The Khalil Gibran International Academy, the controversial Brooklyn middle school, is having difficulty providing for its special-education students.
Khalil Gibran’s curriculum is focused on Arab culture and language.
Given the realities of modern America and New York, such an institution was guaranteed woes unless designed and managed perfectly right from the start.
Which it wasn’t, to put it mildly.
Its first principal, Debbie Almontaser, refused to denounce the selling of “Intifida NYC” shirts by a women’s group with which she was loosely associated.
Almontaser dismissed “intifada” as an innocent phrase of empowerment for Arab women – knowing full well that most New Yorkers associate the phrase with Palestinian uprisings that have killed hundreds in recent decades.
Almontaser’s indifference hardly calmed the concerns of early critics, who feared that the school was a disguised “madrassa” for Islamic fundamentalist instruction. She eventually resigned – and then turned around and sued the Department of Education in a still-pending case.
Two weeks ago, Holly Anne Reichert became the school’s third principal in six months.
And now it comes to light that the school has been unable to fulfill its obligation to special-ed students.
Yes, “special education” is a costly and complex enterprise. But the law is the law – and Khalil Gibran has evidently been violating special-ed mandates for at least five months.
Plus, parents complain of a “chaotic” learning environment for all students.
Isn’t enough really enough?
Such a situation is unfair for all concerned – and is a waste of money.
Isn’t it time to shut the door on the Khalil Gibran International Academy – permanently?