Submitted by anonymous, Nov 14, 2006 00:36

obviously the parent who made the above comment does not realize that dr. livanis had to postpone the meeting because it would have been impossible to speak in front of an objective, level-headed audience. instead, dr. livanis had the foresight and prudence to realize that our school needs the "cooling-down" period that she asked for because it is clear that parents are not thinking with level heads right now. parents need to realize that the way NEST+m was run in the past, however good the test results it might have produced, was done with questionable, even illegal practices. it is no secret that celenia chevere and her cohorts found ways to duck the system and now that her actions are coming to light, it upsets parents that they no longer have control over the school.

wake up everyone. we are not some private school, but a school of the department of education. i'm not saying we shouldn't have higher academic standards than the rest of the DOE schools, but all i'm saying is that we should realize that as a public school, we are expected to adhere to certain standards that all city schools are expected to follow. one big example is NEST+m's atrocious interview process that was used in the past. according to recent articles in the new york times and daily news, Chevere and co. would base admissions according to how the parents fell "into line with the school's vision" rather than the actual performance of the students. this is elitist and blatantly wrong.

i respect that parents are passionate about their children's education and respect their right to an opinion, but also think that parents should not be so resistant to change and giving new administrators a chance. dr. livanis, contrary to what many may think, wants nothing but the best for NEST+m. her recent e-mail to the school community details a wonderful, exciting vision she has for our school and i for one am glad to have her as our principal.

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