BOERUM HILL -- Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein yesterday announced the appointment of Danielle Salzberg as interim acting principal of Khalil Gibran International Academy in Boerum Hill, the first Arabic-themed school in New York City.
It was only Friday when the school's original principal, Debbie Almontaser, stepped down after being criticized for comments to the New York Post last week that appeared to condone "Intifada NYC" T-shirts.
Since then, groups and individuals opposed to the school, originally intended to foster greater cultural understanding, have called on the Department of Education to shut it down.
Currently a senior program officer in the new school creation unit at New Visions for Public Schools, Salzberg has particular expertise in new school development, according to the DOE. She has served on teams that created new schools at both Baruch High School and Millennium High School, where she was previously an assistant principal. Salzberg has also served as a middle and high school teacher.
Salzberg has been already working this summer to support the Khalil Gibran planning team from her position at New Visions, the intermediary organization that is helping the Department of Education start the school.
The DOE said that the entire Khalil Gibran staff is committed to working with her as they continue to prepare for the start of the 2007-08 school year.
The Arab-American Family Support Center issued a statement yesterday saying that they were delighted with the appointment, calling her uniquely qualified to assume the post. "Ms. Salzberg is a seasoned small school leader and teacher who will ensure that students receive an exemplary public school education consistent with the highest academic standards of the New York City public school system.
"She shares the Arab-American Family Support Center's dedication to creating an academically rigorous public school for New York City public school students interested in international affairs and learning Arabic," the group said.
Opponents Want School Shut Down
Khalil Gibran has faced enormous opposition since the idea first became public.
PipelineNews.org, often quoted on other web sites and blogs, set off an outcry among its readers with an article called "New York Set to Open a Public Jihad School." In it, author Daniel Pipes claims that "promoting Islamist sympathies will predictably make up the school's true curriculum."
The "Stop the Madrassa" group which – according to the New York Sun, includes roughly 70 community members, some parents and at least one city teacher – has repeatedly attempted to link the planned Arabic-themed school to various terrorist organizations.
Stop the Madrassa posted pictures of the "Intifada NYC" T-shirts posted on their web site, which in turn led the New York Post to ask Almontaser her take on them. The shirts are sold by the organization Arab Women Active in Arts and Media (AWAAM) that operates out of the same office where Almontaser works on the board of the Association of Yemeni-Americans.
The term "intifada" is usually associated with the call to violence among some Palestinians against Israelis. Rather than immediately denounce the shirts, Almontaser initially tried to explain that "intifada" literally means "shaking off" and the shirts represented women "shaking off" oppression. She later condemned the T-shirt's apparent connection to Palestinian terrorism, but by then the political firestorm had begun and on Friday she turned in her resignation.
"I became convinced yesterday that this week's headlines were endangering the viability of Khalil Gibran International Academy, even though I apologized," she said in a statement Friday.
Assemblyman Dov Hikind is among those who have called for the DOE to close the school. "What happens when kids think Hamas is a wonderful organization?" he said yesterday, before word of the new appointment came out. "I hope the DOE files away this proposal and forgets about it."
After being told that a new principal had been appointed, Hikind said he was not familiar with Salzberg – but added, "If they're smart, they probably want to appoint someone who will raise no issues to anyone."
School Will Open in September as Planned
Khalil Gibran is slated to open in September at 345 Dean St. in Boerum Hill, sharing space with Brooklyn High School of the Arts and the Math and Science Exploratory School. It will open with a sixth grade and will eventually grow to serve students in grades 6-12.
On Friday, the Post said that only 44 students had enrolled so far, though there are 60 seats. Of these, only six students are Arabic speakers, plus one English-language learner.
The DOE had originally planned to site Khalil Gibran at a Park Slope elementary school, P.S. 282. The move faced vociferous objections from parents who objected to overcrowding and mixing their young children with older students. After reconsidering, the DOE chose its current Boerum Hill location.