The New York City math teacher who publicly blasted his $57,000-per-year private school for indoctrinating students with 'anti-racism&...
The New York City math teacher who publicly blasted his $57,000-per-year private school for indoctrinating students with 'anti-racism' ideology, has been ordered to stay home next week, just a day after his employer insisted he wouldn't be punished for speaking out.
Grace Church School teacher Paul Rossi on Friday revealed that he will have to teach remotely rather than return to his classroom at the elite prep school in Manhattan's East Village Monday.
Rossi told DailyMail.com he received an email from school Principal George P. Davison this morning saying he should stay home until further notice for 'security concerns.'
'They said they were not punishing me, but this feels like punishment,' the school teacher said. 'I want to go to the school and teach, but they want me to stay home next week.
'They're citing safety concerns at the school in order to prevent me from coming to teach. It's not my concern, it's theirs.'
George P. Davison (right) the head of the Grace Church High School in Manhattan, sent a letter to parents and staff saying he was 'disappointed' math teacher Paul Rossi (left) had publicly blasted the private school in a blog post
Rossi drew media attention earlier this week after publishing a blog post accusing the school of indoctrinating students with 'anti-racism' ideology that 'induces shame' in white students for being 'oppressors'.
He said he decided to come forward because he could no longer stay silent while 'witnessing the harmful impact' that anti-racism instruction has on children.
Principal Davison addressed the scathing post in a letter to parents and staff Tuesday saying he was 'disappointed' the teacher had chosen to air his 'differences' in a public forum.
Topher Nichols, chief communications officer for Grace Church School, however, told DailyMail.com Thursday that Rossi wouldn't be fired or face discipline over his post.
Nichols noted the high school building has been closed this week for 'community week' - when students participate in field trips - but said Rossi was invited and expected to return Monday when it reopens for classes.
'He certainly has not been let go,' Nichols said. 'He's not fired. We respect all of our teachers have a first amendment right.
Rossi on Tuesday came forward with allegations in a blog post that he published on Substack
Grace Church High School is a $57,000-a-year private school whose famous alumni include actor David Duchovny and New York Times columnist David Brooks
'If he chooses to go to the press, we're not going to discipline and fire him over it. We do have an internal grievance procedure which we would have preferred him to use.'
Then came Friday's correspondence.
'I know they told you I'm not fired,' Rossi told DailyMail.com. 'I want to be here Monday.'
'I don't like to teach remotely. I want to go to school and teach in front of students.
'I think it's ridiculous that they can't maintain order and security at their own school. I told them specifically I do not feel unsafe, that I would like to go teach.'
When asked about the development Friday, Nichols told DailyMail.com: 'We have had numerous students and parents express unease and discomfort about being in Mr. Rossi's class.
'And as we would do with any teacher who has students who've expressed this, we are asking him to work remotely, as many of our teachers are doing this year due to Covid.'
Asked when Rossi may be allowed to return, the spokesman said: 'There's no timetable. We've asked him to work remotely until we sort it out.'
Rossi said the only 'security concerns' he's aware of involve a member of the school community who responded to his essay with nasty emails threatening to destroy his career.
The math teacher said he shared the 'menacing emails' with Davison but told him that he felt safe returning to class. The principal, however, did not allow it.
Rossi's lawyer Samantha Harris told DailyMail.com Friday she believes the school is using the threatening emails as a pretext to force him out.
'I believe that the school's professed concern about the menacing emails that Paul received was really just an excuse to get him out of the classroom for criticizing the administration,' said Harris.
'This is very typical that an institution will profess support for free speech and say they're not firing someone, then hollow out their career until there's nothing left.'
In emails seen by DailyMail.com Friday, Davison appears to suggest Rossi's job is in jeopardy.
The principal cited Rossi's failure to sign a contingency of his employment contract requiring him to participate in 'restorative practices' designed to 'heal my relationship with the students of color and other students in my classes.'
'Given that you have declined your contract and the contingencies attached to it, we will be assessing the efficacy of your continued teaching and in person and I hope you remember your own words about your students about student safety,' Davison wrote.
He then refers to the menacing emails and adds, '(that individual) has clearly expressed his opinion and we will be exploring how other students feel.'
Grace Church School, which has two campuses in lower Manhattan that caters for grade and high school students, is where a number of celebrities send their children.
Following Rossi's scathing post, principal George P. Davison sent a letter to parents and staff saying he was 'disappointed' the math teacher had chosen to air his 'differences' in a public forum
The grade school campus, in particular, has a security guard dressed in a business suit patrolling the sidewalk every morning and afternoon as SUV after SUV rolls through to drop off or pick up students. Nannies are also often spotted crowding the sidewalk around pick-up time.
DailyMail.com observed at least three staff members outside the school on Thursday morning greeting grade school students as they arrived.
It is the same elite private school that was slammed last month after it emerged students were being banned from using the words mom and dad and Merry Christmas in a bid to make it a more 'inclusive' place.
In his letter to parents, Davison did not name Rossi, and failed to address any of the claims made in his blog.
He said the school had 'respect for the wide spectrum of political views that our faculty members hold' but it was their expectation that staff would find 'appropriate venues and times to raise concerns'.
'As you may be aware, a member of the faculty wrote and posted an article that is critical of Grace and of our efforts to build a school where everyone feels they belong,' his letter said.
'The process of building a community is often challenging, and I am disappointed that this individual felt it necessary to air his differences in this way.
The grade school campus (pictured above in a file photo) has a security guard dressed in a business suit patrolling the sidewalk every morning and afternoon as SUV after SUV rolls through to drop off or pick up students
'We have always held the goal of fostering an environment that is safe and welcoming for all members of the community across a myriad of differences. This is a work in progress, and while we are not always as successful as we would hope, we know that it requires the constructive engagement of everyone in the community.'
A spokesman for the school said they did not intend to fired or discipline Rossi in any way for going public with his criticisms.
The assurances come amid a wave of cancel culture in recent months.
Rossi had acknowledged in his blog post, which was published on former New York Times opinion writer Bari Weiss's Substack newsletter, that his public criticism of the private Episcopal school could cost him his job.
It is not yet clear if parents at the elite school have complained or demanded any action over Rossi's column.
Rossi, in his blog post, had accused the school of indoctrinating students with 'anti-racism' ideology that 'induces shame' in white students for being 'oppressors'.
He said he decided to come forward because he could no longer stay silent while 'witnessing the harmful impact' that anti-racism instruction has on children.
Rossi wrote: 'As a teacher, my first obligation is to my students. But right now, my school is asking me to embrace 'antiracism' training and pedagogy that I believe is deeply harmful to them and to any person who seeks to nurture the virtues of curiosity, empathy and understanding.'
It is the same elite private school that faced criticism last month after it emerged students were being banned from using the words mom and dad in a bid to make it a more 'inclusive' place
Rossi said that he and other teachers at the school were being required to 'treat students differently on the basis of race.'
Rossi claimed that students at Grace High School 'are pressured to conform their opinions to those broadly associated with their race and gender and to minimize or dismiss individual experiences that don't match those assumptions'.
He said while white students are 'assigned' the 'morally compromised status of 'oppressor',' minority students are being 'cultivated' with the idea that they are 'oppressed' as well as 'resentful, morally superior, and dependent.'
'All of this is done in the name of 'equity,' but it is the opposite of fair,' according to Rossi.
'In reality, all of this reinforces the worst impulses we have as human beings: our tendency toward tribalism and sectarianism that a truly liberal education is meant to transcend.'
Rossi also alleged that the school has held 'whites-only' student and faculty meetings on Zoom and that 'such racially segregated sessions are now commonplace.'
Speaking of the meeting, Rossi said: 'It was a bait-and-switch 'self-care' seminar that labelled 'objectivity,' 'individualism,' 'fear of open conflict,' and even 'a right to comfort' as characteristics of white supremacy.'
Rossi said that during the session, he 'questioned whether one must define oneself in terms of racial identity at all.'
'It seemed like my questions broke the ice,' he wrote. 'Students and even a few teachers offered a broad range of questions and observations.
'Many students said it was a more productive and substantive discussion than they expected.'
Rossi claims that after it was learned that he had challenged the prevailing orthodoxy, he was told by the head of the high school that he had 'caused harm' to students.
According to Rossi: 'I was reprimanded for 'acting like an independent agent of a set of principles or ideas or beliefs'.'
Rossi claims the school's 'director of studies' said that his remarks 'could even constitute harassment'.
He said that days after the Zoom meeting, his boss told all high school advisers to 'read a public reprimand of my conduct out loud to every student in the school.'
According to Rossi, the statement read: 'Events from last week compel us to underscore some aspects of our mission and share some thoughts about our community.
'At independent schools, with their history of predominantly white populations, racism colludes with other forms of bias (sexism, classism, ableism and so much more) to undermine our stated ideals, and we must work hard to undo this history.'
Rossi said that, as a result, he was now required to 'participate in restorative practices designed by the Office of Community Engagement' so as to 'heal my relationship with the students of color and other students in my class.'
Reaction online to Rossi's blog post was largely critical of the school.
It comes just one month after it was revealed the school had issued a 12-page glossary of terms they claim would make for a more inclusive environment.
The guide encouraged them to stop using the terms 'mom' and 'dad', to stop asking classmates where they may have gone on vacation and urges them not to wish anyone a 'Merry Christmas' - or even a 'Happy Holidays'.
The Episcopal school also offers courses and after-school programs for its students that include single-gender groups, a Roots of Empathy program, and a course called 'Allying: Why? Who? and How?' which is offered to seniors.
The curriculum for that particular program, according to the City Journal, includes a photograph of a burning police car in a 'zine called 'Accomplices not Allies'.
The photograph is teamed with a declaration that 'the work of an accomplice in anti-colonial struggle is to attack colonial structures & ideas'.
Grace Church school issued its 'inclusion glossary' for 2021 which it claims will 'remove harmful assumptions from the way we interact with each other'.
'While we recognize hateful language that promotes racism, misogyny, homophobia, and other forms of discrimination are already addressed in our school handbooks, we also recognize that we can do more than ban hateful language; we can use language to create welcoming and inclusive spaces,' it states.
The guide also warns readers to 'be aware that people may not always welcome questions, and they are not obligated to respond'.
Among the topics covered in the guide is the language surrounding gender, families, sexual orientation, race and ethnicity, religion, disability, and socioeconomics.
Under gender, it urges for 'boys and girls', 'guys', 'ladies and gentlemen' to be abandoned in favor of the likes of 'people', 'folks', 'friends', 'readers', or even 'mathematicians'.
It even encourages for those terms to be changed when reading books, using child, person, or character instead of 'the boy/girl on this page'.
And pet names are out of the question, with 'sweetheart' and 'honey' to be replaced only with the child's name or a description of what the child is wearing if that is not known.
'Mom', 'Dad' or 'parents' are also outlawed for 'grown-ups, folks, family or guardian'.
Nanny and babysitter must also be change to caregiver or guardian.
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