Brooklyn families are reeling over the sudden removal of a beloved elementary school principal, after she told them she was ousted for “daring to speak out against injustice.”
More than 100 parents in Crown Heights have signed a petition calling for the reinstatement of Principal Valerie Macey at P.S. 705 Brooklyn Arts and Science Elementary School, which made headlines last school year over lessons on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that were seen as being critical of Israel. The school in June also hosted its fourth annual Pride parade.
The reason for her dismissal, however, was not clear. Macey’s public comments were vague, and education officials say they can’t discuss it.
“My time as your principal is coming to an abrupt end. This isn’t a farewell; it’s a battle cry,” Macey, a veteran employee of the Education Department for more than 25 years, wrote in a since-deleted post this month. “I have crossed paths with those who value conformity over courage, and silence over truth. I have been pushed out for daring to speak out against injustice, for calling out oppressive behaviors that have no place in our school.”
Families who signed the petition said they were “shocked to learn of the sudden and unexpected dismissal” of their principal, with little explanation from the school district.
“We’re 100% behind Ms. Macey,” said Chio Valerio-Gonzalez, a parent of two P.S. 705 students, one starting kindergarten; the other third grade. “I don’t understand what could she have possibly done. We were told no criminal activity, no children put in harm, so it’s just hard for me to understand what this reason is that I’m not allowed to know — but should trust — for removing somebody.”
When one of Valerio-Gonzalez’s children was facing a health scare, “trying to navigate this weird thing for a child figuring out what their own mortality means,” Macey started a cheerleading team. She credited the squad with restoring her daughter’s self-esteem.
“I haven’t been able to tell my little girl Ms. Macey isn’t going to be there anymore,” she said. “I think she’s going to be absolutely devastated.”
Macey was hired as principal just months before the pandemic, when she became a national media darling for her communication with families and enthusiasm for the job. During the 2021-22 school year, when students returned to classrooms, most for the first time since lockdown, Macey rolled out a 30-foot red carpet from Amazon — a reopening so extravagant that it was featured in Curbed.
Under her leadership, P.S. 705 moved from a school designated as in need of “comprehensive support and improvement” to good standing, state education records show. She revamped a popular dual-language program with Spanish and launched 3-K in the building.
This academic year, the school was pushed back into the spotlight when a pro-Israel group posted a lesson plan on Palestine by a pair of third-grade teachers. One of the staffers on social media thanked an education company called “Woke Kindergarten” for the resources, which included a remix of the children’s ditty “Wheels on the Bus” to refer to the wheels on an Israeli tank.
No evidence was found if the P.S. 705 teachers taught the tune, but the New York Post picked up the story in January — touching off a tense period for the school as digital billboard trucks targeted the two teachers named in the article.
In June, the school hosted a LGBTQ+ pride parade around the block, according to social media posts, with a fashion show, lip sync contest and a drag performance to follow. Children decorated colorful signs, proclaiming: “love is love,” “I am who I am and that’s who I’ll be,” and “we are all equal.”
Meanwhile, P.S. 705, and the school district in which it’s situated, faces headwinds.
Enrollment in School District 17, a gentrifying area spanning Prospect Heights, East Flatbush and Crown Heights, has decreased by 16% over the last five years, district data show — a sign of more families with children are leaving the increasingly unaffordable neighborhoods.
Of New York City’s 32 geographic school districts, the Central Brooklyn district has the largest number of low-enrolled schools, putting it in a uniquely tenuous position. While small schools can foster a strong sense of community, they may be expensive to operate with redundant overhead costs and have to restrict programming with limited per-pupil funding.
On a list of low-enrolled schools is Brooklyn Arts and Science Elementary School, where the student body has shrunk by 41% over the last five years, according to the district.
Spokespeople for the Education Department would not comment on personnel matters, but added the employee has been treated fairly.
“Any claim to the contrary is unfounded,” press secretary Nathaniel Styer said.
The principal’s union did not return multiple requests for comment. Macey, still an Education Department employee, said she needed to seek legal counsel to speak on the record. She did not return subsequent requests for comment but is listed on her LinkedIn profile as open to work.
