Principal Desaparecido
Brooklyn parents voice shock and anger when officials yank a beloved school leader without warning or explanation.
A beloved Brooklyn principal has suddenly vanished, and the families he served want him back.
For four years, Rodney C. Young has led P.S. 250 George H. Lindsay in Williamsburg, a 262-student elementary whose students are 71% Hispanic. He ushered in 3K classes, Saturday and after-school programs, Chinese dual-language in kindergarten to 5th grade, robotics, and a studio set for podcasting and film production. He launched a program for students with autism.
“He is the heartbeat of our school,” said Julie Rodriguez, president of the P.S. 250 Parents Association.
In a letter to Chancellor Kamar Samuels, Rodriguez wrote:
“When Principal Young came to P.S. 250, our school was on the state’s list of struggling schools. He got us off that list, and our scores have kept climbing since. He built a yoga room, a sensory room, and a STEM (science lab). He started football, basketball and soccer for our girls as well as boys.
“He put tutoring and intervention in place for the children who were behind. He knows our kids by name, and for many of them he is the closest thing to a father figure. He even brings his own family dog in as our school’s comfort dog, because most of our families cannot afford a pet.”
Young’s abrupt removal “literally came out of nowhere,” said Stephanie Ortiz, the PA vice president. “Why was he pulled like this?”
It was Brooklyn’s District 14 Superintendent, David Cintron, who abruptly booted Young last week, revealing his decision after the fact.
Cintron won’t explain the reason, calling it a “confidential personnel matter.”
Saying Cintron has “silenced” the school community, P.S. 250 parents launched a petition to reinstate Young, with more than 600 signatures to date. They plan a rally outside his office on Tuesday, Aug. 4, (postponed from Monday due to rain) to demand his return.
When word of Young’s ouster leaked out, Cintron asked to meet alone with PA president Rodriguez. Uncomfortable with that, she requested that he hold a forum open to all parents. He refused, choosing to meet instead on Zoom with a few moms.
They begged Cintron to reconsider.
“We’ll go into a new school year with someone who knows nothing about these children or their parents and how much Mr. Young has helped this community,” Ortiz said.
“Mr. Young was the reason I chose P.S. 250. He is so dedicated to the school and has such a wonderful, supportive way about him,” the mother of a child with autism said on the Zoom call. Parents shared a recording with me.
“I really wish there was a way to take into account the progress he’s made and his strong support in our community because I don’t think those things can be replaced, and they take so much time to build.”
Stone-faced, Cintron would not budge.
“I do want to acknowledge that many of you have strong relationships with the current principal at P.S. 250, and you feel strongly about him continuing,” he said.
“I do acknowledge some areas that have been improved upon in the school, but it’s been very inconsistent over the past four years. We’ve been unable to achieve the fullest student performance and outcomes for our students that we’re seeking to achieve as a district.”
He gave no specifics.
Cintron said he will appoint an interim principal — not yet named — before searching for Young’s replacement.
One parent asked if he plans to recruit someone from the Bronx, where Cintron spent his DOE career, last as a principal, before then-Chancellor David Banks promoted him in June 2022. In 2024, Cintron promoted Banks’ daughter, a teacher, to a district-level job.
Cintron denied having chosen someone already. “We are vetting candidates now. Where the candidates come from don’t matter to me. I’m looking for the best-qualified candidates to put before our teachers and our students,” he said.
The DOE’s office of reassignment, arrests and suspensions has ordered Young to report remotely. He is forbidden to contact any students or visit any DOE building without permission.
Young, who is appealing his removal, declined to comment.
Did Cintron really say: ““We are vetting candidates now. Where the candidates come from don’t matter to me….” Vetting don’t matter? Neither does good grammar.
I’m betting Principal Young did not demonstrate the competencies needed to work as a superintendent or loyal team player in a district office. For example: splitting invoices to avoid review of purchases; hiring relatives and cronies to high-priced positions, engaing in myriad conflicts of interest, going on junkets disguised as educational conferences. You know the litany of scams that go unpunished.
The only principals who get removed are those not in the “club.” That is, those who won’t be corrupted for the sake of their jobs and who actually care for kids and their progress.