I don't know what is more disturbing; the fact that such a memo exists in an apparent attempt to make the school "look safe", or the employees who knew that this was an emergency but were more concerned about their jobs that this student's life or health.
How Queens school failed Mariya Fatima after stroke
By CARRIE MELAGO
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Monday, September 10th 2007, 4:00 AM
Mariya Fatima, 14, suffered stroke at Jamaica High School - and went more than hour before help was called - two weeks after memo prohibiting 911 calls by deans.
The typed words on the school memo are as direct as they are stunning: "No Deans are permitted to call 911 for any reason."
An assistant principal at Jamaica High School wrote the order just two weeks before ninth-grader Mariya Fatima suffered a stroke at the Queens school in April.
Employees waited more than an hour before calling 911, according to court records, costing Mariya crucial minutes of medical treatment, a delay that may have made her paralysis worse.
A month after Mariya collapsed, the same assistant principal sent out another memo, flip-flopping and telling the deans it was okay to call 911, but instructing them to downplay assaults.
The author of the memo and the school's principal have both since left Jamaica High School, but that's little comfort to Mariya's family.
"You take it for granted that your child is going to be safe, but if they don't want to call 911, no matter what the circumstances, your child is not protected," family lawyer Gary Carlton said.
Mariya, who lost use of her right hand and leg, has had to relearn how to speak and walk since the stroke.
She's receiving home instruction, but her reading skills have dropped to a fifth-grade level.
"I want to go back [to school]," she recently told the Daily News. "I feel lonely."
The memos, obtained by The News, shed light on the lengths some educators will go in order to improve crime statistics and avoid harsh penalties.
In February, Jamaica High School was placed on the city's impact list of dangerous schools. Some staffers said they felt penalized for honestly reporting crime. They also said they felt pressured to drive down the stats.
Seemingly to that end, Guy Venezia, the assistant principal for security, sent the one-line memo to the school's deans on April 12, instructing them not to call 911.
"We said, this is going to blow up in your face. You really don't want to do this," said one of the deans, who asked to remain anonymous. "We knew this was a disaster in the making."
Just 15 days later, 14-year-old Mariya began vomiting in class about 7:20 a.m. She was taken to the main office. According to Carlton and a lawsuit filed in Queens Supreme Court, 911 wasn't called until 8:54 a.m.
About a month after Mariya's stroke, Venezia sent out another memo, this one announcing that deans "are sanctioned to make 911 calls." But he also told the deans, "Do not use the word assault to describe a physical altercation."
The apparent effort to drive down the crime stats failed, since the school was put on the state's persistently dangerous list this summer and could face ramifications under the No Child Left Behind Act.
"The impact-school status did lead to some crazy overreactions, and obviously this is one of them," said James Eterno, the teachers union chapter leader at the school.
Education officials said Principal Jay Dickler was voluntarily reassigned as supervisor of a suspension center and Venezia resigned from Jamaica to become a teacher at Hillcrest High School in Queens.
Venezia declined to discuss the case but insisted, "I always place the welfare of the child above all other considerations."
Dickler did not return a call for comment.
The city Education Department doesn't comment on pending litigation, but the chancellor's regulations state that school staffers must call 911 in a medical emergency.
Carlton said Mariya's family, who are visiting relatives overseas, were disgusted to learn of the existence of the memos.
"They were hoping that this was not true, but now it turns out that it was," he said.
cmelago@nydailynews.com
How Queens school failed Mariya Fatima after stroke
By CARRIE MELAGO
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Monday, September 10th 2007, 4:00 AM
Mariya Fatima, 14, suffered stroke at Jamaica High School - and went more than hour before help was called - two weeks after memo prohibiting 911 calls by deans.
The typed words on the school memo are as direct as they are stunning: "No Deans are permitted to call 911 for any reason."
An assistant principal at Jamaica High School wrote the order just two weeks before ninth-grader Mariya Fatima suffered a stroke at the Queens school in April.
Employees waited more than an hour before calling 911, according to court records, costing Mariya crucial minutes of medical treatment, a delay that may have made her paralysis worse.
A month after Mariya collapsed, the same assistant principal sent out another memo, flip-flopping and telling the deans it was okay to call 911, but instructing them to downplay assaults.
The author of the memo and the school's principal have both since left Jamaica High School, but that's little comfort to Mariya's family.
"You take it for granted that your child is going to be safe, but if they don't want to call 911, no matter what the circumstances, your child is not protected," family lawyer Gary Carlton said.
Mariya, who lost use of her right hand and leg, has had to relearn how to speak and walk since the stroke.
She's receiving home instruction, but her reading skills have dropped to a fifth-grade level.
"I want to go back [to school]," she recently told the Daily News. "I feel lonely."
The memos, obtained by The News, shed light on the lengths some educators will go in order to improve crime statistics and avoid harsh penalties.
In February, Jamaica High School was placed on the city's impact list of dangerous schools. Some staffers said they felt penalized for honestly reporting crime. They also said they felt pressured to drive down the stats.
Seemingly to that end, Guy Venezia, the assistant principal for security, sent the one-line memo to the school's deans on April 12, instructing them not to call 911.
"We said, this is going to blow up in your face. You really don't want to do this," said one of the deans, who asked to remain anonymous. "We knew this was a disaster in the making."
Just 15 days later, 14-year-old Mariya began vomiting in class about 7:20 a.m. She was taken to the main office. According to Carlton and a lawsuit filed in Queens Supreme Court, 911 wasn't called until 8:54 a.m.
About a month after Mariya's stroke, Venezia sent out another memo, this one announcing that deans "are sanctioned to make 911 calls." But he also told the deans, "Do not use the word assault to describe a physical altercation."
The apparent effort to drive down the crime stats failed, since the school was put on the state's persistently dangerous list this summer and could face ramifications under the No Child Left Behind Act.
"The impact-school status did lead to some crazy overreactions, and obviously this is one of them," said James Eterno, the teachers union chapter leader at the school.
Education officials said Principal Jay Dickler was voluntarily reassigned as supervisor of a suspension center and Venezia resigned from Jamaica to become a teacher at Hillcrest High School in Queens.
Venezia declined to discuss the case but insisted, "I always place the welfare of the child above all other considerations."
Dickler did not return a call for comment.
The city Education Department doesn't comment on pending litigation, but the chancellor's regulations state that school staffers must call 911 in a medical emergency.
Carlton said Mariya's family, who are visiting relatives overseas, were disgusted to learn of the existence of the memos.
"They were hoping that this was not true, but now it turns out that it was," he said.
cmelago@nydailynews.com
I don't know who complies with arbitrary rules and laws when life and health are in the balance.
