Belated Response to the New Rochelle Blog

When Googling my name a friend discovered as the first "hit" a misinformed commentary on my testimony at a federal trial. I thought it wise to publish a response, albeit belated.

Some time in March of 2009, I testified in federal court regarding a defendant I had worked for prior to my arrival on September 8th, 1999 to New Rochelle as Principal of Columbus School. The New Rochelle Blog suggested erroneously that I continued to work for this man after being hired as principal and should therefore be sanctioned. This assertion was neither true nor based on fact.

Below, please find the message I had written to the New Rochelle School Community:

Date: Fri, 13 Mar 2009 10:36:54 -0400
Subject: Fwd: Yesterday's News Article

Please share with anyone in your departments who may have concerns.

You may have seen or heard of an anxiety-provoking article in yesterday’s Journal News that refers to my testimony for the prosecution in a federal trial brought against a businessman and a former Commissioner in Mt. Vernon’s City Hall, who dealt with each other between 1998 and 2005. I did not know what they were accused of until reading that same article, but I had to testify about my working for this man and one of his companies between the summer of 1998 and the summer of 1999. I was not accused of any wrongdoing; my role was in developing several proposals, which were to my knowledge not adopted, for addressing the Y2K problem.

In hindsight, I am extremely blessed to have extricated myself from involvement in this venture by seeking a position in New Rochelle some time around May of 1999; I was subsequently hired as Principal of Columbus School at the end of that summer. Fortunately, I had no dealings thereafter with this businessman, Mt. Vernon or the company and commissioner under indictment.

I would like to thank all of you who worried on my behalf and understand why some of you might have been disconcerted by the article.

Memo On Our School's Success

September 16, 2009

To: Teachers and Staff

From: Dr. Yigal Joseph, Principal

Subject: Our School’s Success
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It was suggested by a Columbus teacher that I share the following exchange between Ms. Estee Lopez, the Director of Bilingual Programs and ELL Instruction, and me in the hopes that we will all able to see how dramatically Columbus has grown over the years. I had earlier shared with you that the district received a grant for a professional film on our Thinking Maps work. As a follow up on behalf of the director and editor, Ms. Lopez wrote the following: “It is always great speaking to you. As we discussed the overall theme is mentioned on the subject of this email. … Share with me your thoughts about:

• The changing demographics (ELLS) and high stakes assessments
• What did the data show?
• What did the Thinking Maps do for you and teachers?
• Define how the cognitive bridge to literacy was manifested through the Thinking Maps and how did this meet or exceed your expectations?"

Below please find my response to their questions.

Columbus school always had a high proportion of ELLs and students receiving free and reduced lunch. But ten year trends are instructive:

In 1999 based on state data, there were 728 students registered in Columbus: 66% Hispanic, 20% Caucasian, and 13% African American. Of the total register, 65% were entitled to free or reduced lunch (a need statistic,) while 44% were designated Limited English Proficient (or ELLs so to speak.)

Ten years later, in the fall of 2008, there were 777 students on register, of which 82% were Hispanic, 7% Caucasian and 9% African American. Of the total register, 79% were entitled to free or reduced lunch, while 37% were designated Limited English Proficient. Of the latter ELL students, 27% scored in the Proficient range on the state NYSESLAT that year.

In the 1999 - 2000 school year, our fourth grade ELA and Math scores at Level 3 and 4 combined (i.e., Proficiency) were 66% and 68%, respectively. In 2008-2009, our fourth grade proficiency scores were: 81% on ELA and 96% on Math. This includes ELL students with only one year of attendance in US schools.

Comparisons can be made in other variables accounted by the state:

• Attendance rate: between 1998 (they year before I took over) and 2008: 85% vs 99%.
• Number of computers between 1999 and 2008: 155 vs. 326.
• Number of library books between 1999 and 2008: 14,500 vs. 16,600.

I would have to discuss with you further the issue regarding "The cognitive bridge to literacy" because that is really not the motivation for the Thinking Maps work we do at Columbus:

My view is that literacy and numeracy are tools for authentic problem-solving, critical thinking and decision making (You can hear that in my interview). At Columbus, we emphasize a higher-order thinking curriculum to attain those ends; literacy and numeracy are vehicles for the implementation and expression of those ends. Thinking Maps serve as the metaphors, the scaffolding and the visual organization of deep cortical thought processes and structures. Our students have developed proficiency in critical thinking, which as it turns out, supports the development of the neuronal pathways that lead to language proficiency and mathematical proficiency.


The staff member who suggested I share this data with you made an excellent point: sometimes we get so caught up in the hard work of teaching and learning that we lose sight of the remarkable distances we have traveled and the mountains of achievement we have climbed.

I am, as always, proud of your dedication, effort and accomplishment.