High school seniors battle to save their beloved Harlem school

The efforts come after leadership at the selective Columbia Secondary School threatened to dismantle a core engineering curriculum, a seven-year philosophy sequence, and a global history course.

Graduation at Columbia Secondary, Harlem’s top selective sixth through twelfth grade school, is scheduled for Friday, June 20. Its seniors are taking advantage of their last few weeks on campus to beg District’s 5 Superintendent Dr. Sean Davenport to step in and keep the school they love from being systematically dismantled.

“Since the fourth grade, CSS [Columbia Secondary School] was a dream,” Enzo Martinez, a member of the Senior Committee, recalls. “Whenever my family would drive by the school, my dad (the ‘stem-inclined’ parent) would joke that I would end up there. I had fallen in love with the project-based engineering, the possibility to take Columbia University classes, and the notion of combining this with philosophy. CSS felt like home. It wasn’t a selfless feeder machine, nor was it a slacker school. It was a diverse community built over seven years, one that interacts with its past and present, and one that uses every possible resource to achieve a maximum outcome for its students.”

“At the very first CSS open house I went to in fifth grade, the Robotics classroom caught my attention,” Lisa Reinaudi-Monzier, president of the CSS National Honor Society, confirms. “I listened in awe as the seniors of the graduating class told me about how fun and elaborate their engineering classes were. Today, this engineering curriculum is almost entirely gone, along with other crucial parts of our school. This is due to the new administration’s push to fundamentally change CSS in ways that do not represent our school’s core values of diversity and openness of curriculum.”

Principal Vikram Arora was appointed to the position in March 2023, moving from an assistant principal role at Bronx High School of Science. He brought with him Assistant Principal Zach Lynn. Students began to see changes immediately.

“I stayed at CSS for high school because me and my parents were excited that a CSS education would go beyond what is offered at other schools,” Susan Leites, editor of school newspaper CSS Pride, explains. “The engineering capstone and rigorous philosophy curriculum were the primary qualities of CSS that drew me to apply in the first place. Unfortunately, in recent years these programs have been devalued and slowly withered both by neglect and intentional dismantling. The current principal has told students not to take the global history class that challenges them to write a research paper. This is a class which has been foundational to the CSS education and is cited by many alumni as the aspect of their high school education that has most prepared them for college. The reasoning behind this advice, he said, was that students going into science or technology fields would not need to know how to write research papers. This goes against the core values of many CSS science classes, where teachers have emphasized long lab reports with quality writing and research. Students are no longer required to take engineering all seven years, and many philosophy classes are delegated to teachers who end up with so many students they are unable to assign and give feedback to any significant writing assignments.”

Reinaudi-Monzier has witnessed the same. “The lack of staff has been felt across the entirety of the school. The new administration is adding courses that CSS does not have enough staff for. This results in very capable teachers being overworked and not being able to put their passion and dedication into classes like they used to when they had time. Multiple of my classes this year are taught by teachers that just cannot give their students the same attention as before due to being overworked and burnt out.”

“They want to turn our philosophy sequence into a STEM philosophy one, against teacher and student recommendations,” accused 2025 valedictorian Guadalupe Mejia. “There’s no one to teach those classes well and we’ve told them as much. In our conversations with admin, we’ve stressed that to make philosophy education good, the top priority is having teachers that are passionate about philosophy and know about philosophy. Ethics and political philosophy are far more important classes with more direct implications for people’s lives than is number theory. Replacing those classes is a disservice to students’ education. The disregard they have for our teachers has had a marked and negative affect on my education. Some of my best teachers have been lost to their ineptitude and most of my existing favorite teachers are struggling with the obscene burden they’re given.”

The graduating seniors are not alone in their concerns. Counselor Anna Martinez stresses that they are not exaggerating the current climate. “Students do not feel safe advocating for something as simple as course changes, knowing that they will have to endure AP Lynn spewing hateful rhetoric toward their teachers. The changes that AP Lynn has made with his pseudo-principal powers have eroded any trust between teachers and administration, which ultimately, affects the student experience.”

Teachers and staff who have attempted to stand up for their students—and for themselves—were subjected to punitive retribution. A guidance counselor who asked not to be named, reports that AP Lynn’s response to her advocating for student interests was to say, “‘She cannot grieve it, and if she doesn’t like it she can go look elsewhere.’ The ‘reorganization’ [of the counseling department] was retaliatory in nature as I’ve been vocal against his appointment given that his personality and approach is not conducive to the CSS culture. Unfortunately, this only hurts the students and has not, and will not, achieve their goal of pushing me out.”

Roxana Harris, who graduated in 2024 and currently attends Vassar College, stands with this year’s seniors. “Following Principal Arora’s appointment, I witnessed the school become a shadow of its former self. Esteemed teachers departed in droves. Erin Flaherty, a deeply respected educator and administrator, resigned from her position as Assistant Principal in May 2025. Students and staff held her in high regard as a pillar of the CSS community. Her resignation is not an isolated incident. It is part of a broader and troubling pattern. The school has seen a number of beloved faculty and staff leave under similarly disheartening circumstances. These departures, along with abrupt curricular changes, a breakdown in communication, and an increasingly alienating administrative approach, reflect the unsettling trajectory CSS is currently on.”

CSS Class of 2025 is desperate to make their voices heard before it is too late and to save the school they love for future classes.

“This is the theme with the new administration,” sighs Enzo Martinez. “That which made CSS special, enriching, and familiar will be gutted, and replaced with a feel of monotony reminiscent of Arora’s origins at Bronx Science.”

Reinaudi-Monzier speaks for many in her class when she says, “The shift in CSS administration has been chipping away at the sense of community that we have all cherished for so long. I hope that whoever has the power to make changes will act.”

In response to the students’ concerns, every CSS Senior received an email from Superintendent Sean Davenport, which read, in part:

Thank you for your heartfelt messages. It’s clear that you care deeply about your school and the experiences that have shaped your time at CSS. Your voices matter; I want you to know that you’ve been heard.

While the messages came from a small group of students, not the entire senior class, they raised significant concerns and showed a strong desire to be a part of the conversation….

I’ve spoken directly to the principal and in response to what’s been shared, he’ll begin visiting classrooms starting this Friday…. His goal is to engage students in meaningful dialogue, listen firsthand, and work together to move forward in a way that reflects the best of what CSS has to offer…

Thank you for showing up, speaking up, and reminding us what student voice looks like in action.

“That’s not what we asked for,” pointed out Aries Wickham, Director of Theater Tech. “The problems we called out were not something that could be addressed by the principal, seeing as he was the root of the problem. The students have no trust that him coming in and listening to what we have to say will actually lead to anything. Every time we’ve brought our concerns to his attention, he strongly defended what he already believes. That’s not really a conversation.”

If the classroom visits from the principal were supposed to put students’ minds at ease in practice, in actuality, they had the opposite effect. Students reported that Principal Arora managed to both call one teacher by the wrong name three times, and that he interrupted those students who tried to speak up, telling them not to get emotional.

Having failed to be heard by Superintendent Davenport, the CSS community felt they had no choice but to take their concerns to a broader audience by launching a Change.org petition.

When it amassed over 1,000 signatures within a week, the principal sent out an email, which insisted that, despite what they may have heard, CSS would be continuing the research-based global history course, the seven-year philosophy sequence would not be truncated, and that the engineering curriculum was in the process of being “refreshed” to include new courses taught remotely by faculty at Cornell University and the University of Notre Dame.

While this addressed some of the students’ concerns, the question remained: Who would teach these courses, if current staff members were already stretched to the limit?

While the above was taking place, Davenport also met with the Executive Board of the parent-teacher association.

Matters came to a head, however, on Friday, June 13, when the community learned that English teacher John Beletsky was leaving CSS.

In response, students from all grades staged a sit-in, carrying signs which read “Staff require respect. It should be the bare minimum” and “How many teachers must leave for you to care?”

The district sent a representative to listen to the students. That evening, the principal characterized their meeting in an email, which read:

Today was an emotional day for many of our students, as they learned that Mr. Beletsky, one of our most beloved and longest serving teachers, will be transitioning to another school…. A number of students engaged in a nonviolent civil expression of their feelings…. Their myriad voices were respectfully heard.

“That is not what happened,” counters Wickham. “Of course, we were devastated to hear Professor Beletsky was leaving, but our concerns were about a lot more than that. The sit-in was not only about him. As we told the representative from District 5, this is about an administration that is constantly changings things without any communication to the teachers. This is about their blatant disrespect of our teachers, our teachers being overworked, and the administration ignoring our concerns when we try to advocate. It’s obvious that AP Lynn actively doesn’t want to interact with us. He gets so defensive that kids are genuinely scared to approach him. That’s what we were protesting against. The climate that drove Professor Beletsky and AP Flaherty to quit.”

In his most recent communication, Arora wrote that:

As we look ahead to the new school year, we are committed to creating more frequent, substantive, and consequential opportunities for students to be heard and to help shape the academic, athletic, and cultural life of our school.

But these are platitudes the students have heard before. The seniors of CSS are demanding to be told what concrete changes will be put in place to improve the school climate for all subsequent classes.

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Note: The following elements of the newsletter were compiled by Brandon Wright, Advance’s editor.

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QUOTE OF NOTE

“Taken together, [two recent] studies illustrate that though talented students tend to have fared relatively well during the pandemic in some ways, their talents were still set back in the sense that they had not developed to their full potential.”

— Jonathan Wai, Ph.D., “How talented students fared during and after the pandemic,” Psychology Today, June 2, 2025

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RESEARCH REVIEW

“State Definitions, Policies, and Practices of Gifted and Talented Identification: What Difference Does a Decade Make?” by Allison K. Greene, Marie C.E. Dougé, and Kathrin E. Maki, Gifted Child Quarterly, OnlineFirst, June 17, 2025

“Research in the field of gifted and talented has significantly shifted in recent years to focus on broader conceptualizations of the construct, including performing arts, creativity, and leadership. Yet, it is not clear how states conceptualize and identify students as gifted and talented given the last review of state gifted and talented regulations (i.e., laws) was conducted more than a decade ago, and organizational policy documents were limited in scope. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to review state gifted and talented definitions and identification procedures and to compare findings with prior research. Furthermore, we reviewed policies for identifying underrepresented populations in gifted and talented education. Results showed that there is considerable variability in how states define gifted and talented (i.e., categories included in gifted definitions) and how they identify gifted and talented. In this review, states included broader categories in gifted and talented definitions (e.g., creativity, performing arts) and allowed for a wider variety of assessment procedures compared with prior reviews. However, compared to 2012, this study’s findings showed that fewer states included general policies for the identification of traditionally underrepresented students as gifted and talented. Implications for research and practice are discussed.”

“Reaching for the Stars: A 21-Year Longitudinal Examination of the Career Development of Academically Gifted Females,” by Jennifer N. Fiebig, Darnell A. Calderon, and Fiona A.-V. Fiebig, Journal for the Education of the Gifted, OnlineFirst, June 13, 2025

“This longitudinal study assessed the career aspirations and ultimate careers of 28 academically talented American girls across three time periods: Time 1 (7th/8th grade), Time 2 (11th/12th grade), and Time 3 (current study, 21 years post-Time 1). Two decades after the initial study, these participants are all in their 30s, identify as female, and were primarily employed. The women answered a battery of survey questions, and the data were analyzed through both qualitative and quantitative methods. Results clustered around three primary themes: their careers, children, and specific influences on their ultimate academic and career trajectories. Although the participants generally adhered to their early career interests, they elaborated on circumstances contributing to their success, which included parental influences on their early academic aspirations. This study offers educational and career development counseling recommendations while emphasizing the enduring impact of early career guidance and the influential role of key figures in fostering academic and vocational success.”

“Impact of Teachers’ Perceptions on the Identification of Gifted English Language Learners,” by Marissa Wilkerson, Western Kentucky University, Masters Theses & Specialist Projects, Paper 3795, May 2025

“This mixed methods study explored the research question ‘How do teachers' perceptions of giftedness influence their gifted identification practices of ELL students?’ The research included 11 participants—six ESL teachers and five general education teachers—from six schools within the same district. Quantitative data showed that while both ESL and general education teachers expressed confidence in identifying giftedness in ELL students, ESL teachers demonstrated greater awareness and advocacy for nontraditional assessment methods and emphasized the importance of cultural considerations during identification. In contrast, general education teachers were less likely to view cultural differences as a factor. Both groups identified language barriers as a significant obstacle. The interview data uncovered a lack of training in identifying gifted ELL students, reliance on general education teacher recommendations in the identification process, and the shared belief in the value of nontraditional assessment methods. Meta-inferences indicated a disconnect between teachers' confidence and their preparation, as well as differences in perspectives on the role of cultural influences. These findings emphasized the need for integrated training about gifted ELLs and collaborative identification practices that include the insights of ESL teachers and address the unique characteristics of gifted ELL students.”

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WRITING WORTH READING

“State leaders push for over half a billion dollars to fund advanced education courses” —WPTV West Palm Beach (Florida), Joel Lopez, June 12, 2025

“How talented students fared during and after the pandemic” —Psychology Today, Jonathan Wai, Ph.D., June 2, 2025

“How National Math Stars removes barriers for young math talent” —Forbes, Julia Brodsky, June 1, 2025

“Addressing excellence gaps in K–12 education” —National Association for Gifted Children, May 2025

“Out-of-school programs play an outsized role in child development” —The 74, Lauren Camera, May 29, 2025

“NYC high school admissions and the SHSAT: Here’s where the mayoral candidates stand” —Chalkbeat New York, Amy Zimmer, May 28, 2025

“More HISD students are passing AP exams than ever before. What’s changed?” —Houston Chronicle, Anastasia Goodwin and Claire Partain, May 19, 2025

“Forget the average—it’s the top students who drive national innovation progress” —Information Technology & Innovation Foundation, Trelysa Long, May 14, 2025

“Developing resilience in gifted students” —National Association for Gifted Children, Megan Parker Peters Ph.D., May 6, 2025

“Hundreds of STEM grants have been terminated. K–12 math educators will lose out.” —EdSurge, Claire Woodcock, May 5, 2025