The principal of New York’s oldest school has resigned a week after being accused of dismissing his anti-Semitism task force as a “joke.”
The board of directors of the private Collegiate School launched an investigation after more than 100 Jewish parents said its response to the Oct. 7 Hamas attack failed to “seize the moment.”
But principal David Lourie reportedly described the move as “nothing more than a” power play by Jewish families and New York City rabbis “to remove him as head of the school.”
The head of the task force, Anna Carello, discovered that an English teacher had accused Israel of genocide in front of sixth and seventh graders shortly after the terrorist attacks, while two others had harangued a Holocaust survivor invited to talk at school.
“I feel like Collegiate has become a training ground for Columbia,” a parent at the $63,400-a-year K-12 school told the New York Post.
David Lourie resigned as principal of the Collegiate School two weeks after being accused of undermining an investigation into anti-Semitism at the institution.
Dr. Anna Carello, associate director of the Academic School, claimed that Lourie dismissed his investigation as “nothing more than a “power play by Jewish families and New York City rabbis” to remove him as head of the school. .
The allegations came to light after Carello sued Lourie for gender discrimination last week, alleging that he undermined and marginalized her research as “punishment” for her work with Jewish families.
Its May 17 report found that some staff members blamed “rich and influential” Jewish parents for tensions at the all-boys school, which had “surrounded one of the oldest and most pervasive anti-Semitic tropes.”
He revealed that high school English teacher Dwayne Alexis had been “relieved of his teaching duties after presenting controversial lessons about the Middle East to his seventh-grade civics class and his sixth-grade world history class,” and some parents claimed he had accused Israel of genocide.
He also revealed that two high school teachers had been “reprimanded” after asking “urgent questions” at a school assembly about the Holocaust.
‘There was a Holocaust survivor invited to speak at school and a teacher took it upon herself to press him on a series of questions, one of which was ‘could the swastika be a symbol of peace?’ stated one of the parents.
“People have lost trust, there is no moral clarity, there is widespread anger and it is all driven by an erosion of trust,” added another.
Carello claimed his investigation was hampered by having to teach Alexis’ classes after he was suspended.
And concerned parents were not reassured when their report reached nine pages, compared to 400 pages in the school’s 2020 response to “institutional and other racism that permeates much of our society.”
The investigation was sparked by a letter from more than 100 Jewish parents who claimed that the school’s response to the Oct. 7 Hamas attack failed to “seize the moment.”
Carello’s report found that high school English teacher and track coach Dwayne Alexis had accused Israel of genocide and had shown “videos without context” to his classes of sixth and seventh graders at the school.
The school claims to be the oldest in the country with a founding date of 1628 and its students include JFK’s son and grandson, actor David Duchovny, rapper Lil Mabu and socialites Jack Schlossberg and Cornelius Vanderbilt II.
Four years ago, an internal working group recommended changing its mascot, motto and seal because they could be considered offensive.
And last week, the senior class signed a joint letter to staff and parents demanding that they stop trying to impose “specific political views” on them.
“We would like to emphasize that the best moral leadership for our community is one that does not prescribe what we should believe, but rather how we should relate to others in rational, open-minded, and empathetic discourse,” they wrote.
Lourie, a graduate of Yale and Columbia, said he had decided to make the “difficult decision” after speaking with the board of directors.
“After four years filled with shared successes along with challenges that required difficult and at times divisive decisions, we agreed that a new head of school is in the best interest of the children and the school community as Collegiate begins a new school year in the fall ‘, he wrote in a statement.
“Of course, we live in a time when many decisions are plagued by uncertainty, disagreement and dissension,” he added.
Four years ago, the school abandoned its “offensive” mascot, believed to be a caricature of Peter Stuyvesant, and replaced it with a silhouette.
Famous alumni of the prestigious school include David Duchovny and John F. Kennedy Jr.
The school claims to date back to 1628 and has occupied 17 different sites in the city.
“With every decision then, and with every decision now, that has been my north star: what is best for the children and their learning and well-being.”
Jonathan Youngwood, chairman of the school’s board of governors, said the appointment of an interim headteacher was imminent.
“As we move toward new leadership, I recognize the serious concerns and discussions that have taken place at the school this year,” he wrote.
“Amid this transition, I ask that our community relate to each other with respect and kindness.”