The Department of Education mailed out thousands of inaccurate letters to parents informing them that their children attend schools that are failing. The botched mailing—which was sent to parents of students at 16 schools citywide including Brooklyn's esteemed Edward R. Murrow High School—stated that under federal law, students had the right to transfer to a better school.
"The principals were immediately informed of the errors ... and correction letters were sent out," Department of Education spokesman Danny Kanner told the Post. "We apologize for any confusion this caused." Murrow math teacher and chess coach Eliot Weiss described the situation as a "real screw-up." He noted: "It's very easy for rumors to start and for a school to go downhill, and Murrow is one of the top schools in the city." Murrow parent Linda Langdon said her daughter Olivia "came home in such a funk yesterday," adding: "Kids are talking and texting that the school will be closed—a 10th grader's mind can work very fast."
The letters were mistakenly sent to parents at Murrow, as well as Academy of Collaborative Education, Booker T. Washington/Middle School 54, Computer Applications & Entrepreneurship High School, Kappa II, Middle School for Academic and Social Excellence, Monroe Academy for Business/Law, New Day Academy, Peace and Diversity Academy, PS 332, Richmond Hill High School and Business, School for Community Research and Learning, Sheepshead Bay High School, Tottenville High School, Washington Heights Academy, and William Cullen Bryant High School, according to the Times.
