Status: Closed — this petition is no longer accepting signatures.
Final supporters
This petition is to encourage the board of trustees at Lighthouse Academies and Bronx Lighthouse Charter School (BLCS) to reconsider rehiring Ms. Winitt back as the K-8 principal for BLCS.
Ms. Winitt was hired in July 2014 as the K-8 principal at BLCS, following an academic school year in which half of the faculty was released and/ or resigned from their positions. During the 2014-15 school year, Ms. Winitt has hired an extraordinary team of administrators and teachers, whose projected scores for the NWEA and New York State assessments in ELA and Math demonstrate significant growth from the previous years. In addition, Ms. Winitt has helped many families by purchasing uniforms, providing winter coats to scholars in need, and assisting families in crisis, such as the family of one of our scholars who experienced great loss after a fire to their brand new home. With the actions above, a family at BLCS was forged.
On Friday, June 26, 2015, the last day of school, the BLCS family was informed that due to confidential data collected Ms. Winitt was being released from her position as principal of BLCS.
Current literature and studies reflect the negative effects of leadership and teacher turnover on student achievement. In the article The Effects of Chronic Teacher Turnover on School Climate and Organization, (http://www.ascd.org/publications/researchbrief/v2n19/toc.aspx) it is highlighted how the lack of consistency can impacted scholars not only emotionally but also academically, thus negatively impacting their overall success. Within the last two years our K-8 scholars have had four principals and each year, the principals have set forth different expectations for success, while, leaving our scholars and families resistant to trusting and establishing relationships with leadership and staff due to beliefs that another turnover will occur.
Turnover of any kind can result in reduced overall school achievement. In another article, Examining Principal Turnover (http://nepc.colorado.edu/blog/examining-principal-turnover) high principal turnover is discussed and points out how principal turnover often leads to greater teacher turnover which has a negative impact on student and school wide achievement. Another result of principal turnover are teachers not investing in any school wide change wholeheartedly because they themselves are suffering and may be simply “waiting out the principal." Therefore, teacher development suffers which will clearly impact the success of our scholars.
Our scholars' and families' stability and trust have once again been disrupted due to confidential data collected which resulted in Principal Winitt's termination. The termination not only impacts the scholars and teachers, but the entire community, as this is another turnover in leadership that may cause revocation or termination of the charter during BLCS’s renewal in June 2016.
To the board of trustees, please truly consider the impact you will have on this community in which you aspire to build.
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Updates
July 2, 2015
I am truly overwhelmed by the momentum building around Ms. Winitt. It is clear that this community cares deeply about her leadership and the stability she brought to our school. Seeing so many people step up like this reminds me that this is entirely your achievement and not mine.
26 Comments
Ms. Winnitt, was a delight to see every morning and afternoon. To our children(BLCS parents) she was a pillar of someone who gave respect and remained professional. She was a constant and to me the best school leader in all of my years of schooling, which includes a bachelors degree, because not only was she personable she remained encouraging. This administration should be thankful to have had her, because of all of the schools she could have been in, she took a chance on us. It's important for us to stand with her now as she did greeting everyone through snow, rain, and screaming first day, second day...or fifteenth day (in some cases) jitters.
I have been at BLCS for the past three years and have experienced a very high turnover of leadership and staff members. It is a very uncomfortable feeling, when uncertainty, keeps lingering.In the best interest of this learning community, inconsistency has emotionally traumatized scholars, teachers and parents. Stacy has proven to be a strong leader, who have implemented many positive changes, that have impacted the learning environment in a positive manner. Letting Stacey go, would only heighten the fear and distrust in the consistency of our community and institution
I hope that Stacy Winitt will be reinstated for the sake of our community. In order for the school to improve we need the same leader. Re-inventing the wheel every year (or twice a year) with a new principal is counterproductive and does not give our scholars the education we promise them. Stacy was steadily improving our culture and achievement and starting from scratch next year will set us back and likely jeopardize our charter.
Ms. Winitt was the best administrator that I had the pleasure of working for. She was organized, relayed clear expectations, provided actionable feedback and recognized the fact that although we were teachers, we are human beings first. I always felt genuine warmth from her whenever I approached her with any issue and I think that she was an extremely valuable asset to Bronx Lighthouse Charter School.
I had the privilege of visiting BLCS as a prospective hire while Ms. Winitt was the principal there. Walking into the building, I had heard from other teachers and organizations that BLCS was not a place I should be interested in working -- high turn over of teachers and admin made it a place that others labelled "toxic." Walking into Ms. Winitt's school, I saw none of these things. I saw happy, productive students, a tight knit staff, and a well run school. I do not know all of the circumstances behind Ms. Winitt's dismissal. But as an outsider to the school, seeing the way Ms. Winitt ran her school, I feel that BLCS is being entirely too hasty in letting a strong educator and advocate for students go.
take her back PLEEEEEEEASE
I’ll give y’all your sign just because you guys want your principal back
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Status: Closed — this petition is no longer accepting signatures.
Final supporters
This petition is to encourage the board of trustees at Lighthouse Academies and Bronx Lighthouse Charter School (BLCS) to reconsider rehiring Ms. Winitt back as the K-8 principal for BLCS.
Ms. Winitt was hired in July 2014 as the K-8 principal at BLCS, following an academic school year in which half of the faculty was released and/ or resigned from their positions. During the 2014-15 school year, Ms. Winitt has hired an extraordinary team of administrators and teachers, whose projected scores for the NWEA and New York State assessments in ELA and Math demonstrate significant growth from the previous years. In addition, Ms. Winitt has helped many families by purchasing uniforms, providing winter coats to scholars in need, and assisting families in crisis, such as the family of one of our scholars who experienced great loss after a fire to their brand new home. With the actions above, a family at BLCS was forged.
On Friday, June 26, 2015, the last day of school, the BLCS family was informed that due to confidential data collected Ms. Winitt was being released from her position as principal of BLCS.
Current literature and studies reflect the negative effects of leadership and teacher turnover on student achievement. In the article The Effects of Chronic Teacher Turnover on School Climate and Organization, (http://www.ascd.org/publications/researchbrief/v2n19/toc.aspx) it is highlighted how the lack of consistency can impacted scholars not only emotionally but also academically, thus negatively impacting their overall success. Within the last two years our K-8 scholars have had four principals and each year, the principals have set forth different expectations for success, while, leaving our scholars and families resistant to trusting and establishing relationships with leadership and staff due to beliefs that another turnover will occur.
Turnover of any kind can result in reduced overall school achievement. In another article, Examining Principal Turnover (http://nepc.colorado.edu/blog/examining-principal-turnover) high principal turnover is discussed and points out how principal turnover often leads to greater teacher turnover which has a negative impact on student and school wide achievement. Another result of principal turnover are teachers not investing in any school wide change wholeheartedly because they themselves are suffering and may be simply “waiting out the principal." Therefore, teacher development suffers which will clearly impact the success of our scholars.
Our scholars' and families' stability and trust have once again been disrupted due to confidential data collected which resulted in Principal Winitt's termination. The termination not only impacts the scholars and teachers, but the entire community, as this is another turnover in leadership that may cause revocation or termination of the charter during BLCS’s renewal in June 2016.
To the board of trustees, please truly consider the impact you will have on this community in which you aspire to build.
Updates
July 2, 2015
I am truly overwhelmed by the momentum building around Ms. Winitt. It is clear that this community cares deeply about her leadership and the stability she brought to our school. Seeing so many people step up like this reminds me that this is entirely your achievement and not mine.
26 Comments
i agree that our students have had too many disruptions in their academic lives and need stability to perform. Giving Ms. Winitt only one year is unfair and will lead to further damage to our community.
Ms. Winnitt, was a delight to see every morning and afternoon. To our children(BLCS parents) she was a pillar of someone who gave respect and remained professional. She was a constant and to me the best school leader in all of my years of schooling, which includes a bachelors degree, because not only was she personable she remained encouraging. This administration should be thankful to have had her, because of all of the schools she could have been in, she took a chance on us. It's important for us to stand with her now as she did greeting everyone through snow, rain, and screaming first day, second day...or fifteenth day (in some cases) jitters.
I have been at BLCS for the past three years and have experienced a very high turnover of leadership and staff members. It is a very uncomfortable feeling, when uncertainty, keeps lingering.In the best interest of this learning community, inconsistency has emotionally traumatized scholars, teachers and parents. Stacy has proven to be a strong leader, who have implemented many positive changes, that have impacted the learning environment in a positive manner. Letting Stacey go, would only heighten the fear and distrust in the consistency of our community and institution
I hope that Stacy Winitt will be reinstated for the sake of our community. In order for the school to improve we need the same leader. Re-inventing the wheel every year (or twice a year) with a new principal is counterproductive and does not give our scholars the education we promise them. Stacy was steadily improving our culture and achievement and starting from scratch next year will set us back and likely jeopardize our charter.
Ms. Winitt was the best administrator that I had the pleasure of working for. She was organized, relayed clear expectations, provided actionable feedback and recognized the fact that although we were teachers, we are human beings first. I always felt genuine warmth from her whenever I approached her with any issue and I think that she was an extremely valuable asset to Bronx Lighthouse Charter School.
I had the privilege of visiting BLCS as a prospective hire while Ms. Winitt was the principal there. Walking into the building, I had heard from other teachers and organizations that BLCS was not a place I should be interested in working -- high turn over of teachers and admin made it a place that others labelled "toxic." Walking into Ms. Winitt's school, I saw none of these things. I saw happy, productive students, a tight knit staff, and a well run school. I do not know all of the circumstances behind Ms. Winitt's dismissal. But as an outsider to the school, seeing the way Ms. Winitt ran her school, I feel that BLCS is being entirely too hasty in letting a strong educator and advocate for students go.
take her back PLEEEEEEEASE
I’ll give y’all your sign just because you guys want your principal back
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i agree that our students have had too many disruptions in their academic lives and need stability to perform. Giving Ms. Winitt only one year is unfair and will lead to further damage to our community.