Anti-Union Kickout?: Charter Teacher Joins Tech

Anti-Union Kickout?

Charter Teacher Joins Tech

By HOWARD MEGDAL

A Teacher at a Brooklyn charter school with exemplary evaluations said she was fired after attempting to organize her colleagues, while the CEO of the school said she was let go for making racist remarks.

FEEL THE HATRED?: Nichole Byrne Lau was fired from her position at the Williamsburg Charter High School after distributing a flyer featuring the United Federation of Teachers pay scale. Ms. Lau, who was accused by the high school's CEO of being a racist and hating children, smiles with two of her students, many of whom wrote letters on her behalf. Nichole Byrne Lau, who taught English to ninth and tenth graders at Williamsburg Charter High School, landed on her feet last week when she was hired to teach English at Brooklyn Technical High School, making her a member of the United Federation of Teachers. UFT leader Randi Weingarten had publicly criticized Williamsburg CEO Eddie Calderon-Melendez for firing Ms. Lau.

"It's appalling that a hard-working Teacher, about whom the Chancellor spoke glowingly, is first fired and now slandered because she dared to raise legitimate questions about wages and hours," Ms. Weingarten said in a June 28 statement.

Saw Pay Disparity

Ms. Lau did not consider the lack of union representation at her school important when she arrived, but by her second year, she began to notice a wide disparity in pay between her colleagues, with many earning far below what Teachers in the UFT took home.

In March, she distributed a flyer with the UFT pay scale printed on it. While she knew that might rankle the school's administration, her firing shocked her.

"I was a little worried, but didn't think it would result in my dismissal," Ms. Lau said in a June 28 interview. "All I was doing was shining a light on the fact that he was underpaying us. It's a wrong he could easily right."

Mr. Melendez did not return a call from this newspaper seeking further comment, but he told the Daily News that Ms. Lau "hates children. She's a racist." He offered no evidence to support his charge.

Ms. Lau speculated that Mr. Melendez was grasping for a better explanation of the dismissal when no work-related reasons were available.

"I think it's a knee-jerk reaction," she said. "If Eddie felt really comfortable letting me go, and anybody was asking, he'd say 'no comment.' The fact that he brought this out says something to me."

Ms. Lau said she couldn't imagine what would lead Mr. Melendez to make such an accusation, and added, "My kids know me well enough to say this is not true."

Glowing Evaluation

The claim that Ms. Lau hates children clashes with an evaluation of her classroom in May by Director of Instruction Alyssa Bennett.

"The students were well-behaved and clearly knew what your expectations are in the class," she wrote. "The fact that the class runs so smoothly clearly shows that you have put in time to teach the class what you expect."

If she hates children, she has managed to hide that fact from her students as well. "She's one of the best teachers you can find," said LaQuan Bell, who had Ms. Lau for freshman English this past year, in a written evaluation. "Why? She's nice, funny, alive and will help you with anything. I know that if I needed help, she will be there."

A Department of Education spokeswoman said DOE plans to investigate the firing.

Charter Staff 'Powerless'

As for her former colleagues at Williamsburg, Ms. Lau is concerned about the effect her firing will have on the staff.

"I'm an extremely motivated Teacher - and then to be let go, it tells them all of that means nothing," she said. "And I feel like I'll be an example to the other Teachers. The Teachers feel powerless. They can be let go for no reason at any time."

Unlike her previous job search, Ms. Lau made union participation a lynchpin of her decision-making. Her new school saw a flurry of UFT protests against former Principal Lee W. McCaskill, who ultimately resigned amid several investigations from the school system's Special Commissioner of Investigation Richard J. Condon.

"I'm definitely going to stay in teaching, going to work at Brooklyn Technical High School," Ms. Lau said. "I know that the UFT is pretty strong there now."