»Brett Schneider, a Bronx principal who promotes ‘love and respect,’ squares up against a student«
What a waste of “principles.”
A woke high school principal who preaches love, respect, and “creative responses” to conflict was captured on film slamming a kid outside his Bronx Collaborative HS – and threatening to fight.
Brett Schneider was seen on film pushing the teen and then lifting his fists in a fighting stance during an Oct. 24 fracas outside the Bedford Park school. A school security guard was nearby, but Schneider took matters into his own hands.
The New York Police Department verified that school safety officers called 911 about a brawl that day, but no arrests were made.
According to students, the incident occurred after a disagreement between a male and a girl a day or two earlier, which culminated in the girl having milk spilled on her. They said that the girl’s relative came to the school to confront the boy and sucker-punched him.
Brett Schneider, principal of Bronx Collaborative High School, was caught on film confronting a kid.
“And then the principal squared up,” one of the juniors explained. “He appeared to be a boxer. ‘Wow, this is fantastic,’ I thought.
Other students reported Schneider appeared to be defending the adult who hit the teen.
“That’s an adult. So, as an adult, why are you assisting another adult in fighting a child?” One senior was taken aback.
Bronx Collaborative High School first opened its doors in 2013.
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Parents were astounded as well.
“You’re talking about the principal, the leader of the school, a grown man who is supposed to be trained in de-escalating situations actually out in the street fighting and making it worse,” said Tom Sheppard, a parent representative on the Department of Education’s Panel for Educational Policy, who tweeted the shocking video.
Schneider’s pugilistic behavior contrasted sharply with his online pronouncements about how to operate his school, which has roughly 550 pupils and is located on the DeWitt Clinton Campus.
Around 550 pupils attend Bronx Collaborative High School.
J.C.Rice
“We’ve created a whole different atmosphere – one of love and respect,” he said on the website of the Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility in Manhattan. Children are less likely to engage in fights. They know that if there is a fight, they will not be stigmatized… Finding new ways to deal with conflict can be life-changing.”
He brags about the effectiveness of restorative methods in reducing fights on the center’s website.
“We observed that we hadn’t had a single physical or verbal quarrel in 12 weeks. It’s because we’ve been working hard to establish trust. “We’ve established a climate of civility and respect,” he writes in an undated post.
“We’ve established a culture of civility and respect,” Schneider previously stated.
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Schneider, 49, was the founding principal of Bronx Collaborative HS in 2013 after working at Manhattan’s Institute for Collaborative Education, a progressive DOE school. According to the school’s website, “we value individuality, diversity, and authenticity — working together to address social justice issues and create positive change in the world.”
“Each week, teachers work with students on social justice issues through community circles and resolve conflicts creatively through restorative circles, conversations, and conferencing,” according to the website.
Schneider isn’t a knockout as a principal, students told The Washington Post.
Schneider is also chastised on the website of UFT Solidarity, the teachers’ union’s progressive caucus, where he is listed as one of “administrators in need of improvement.”
J.C.Rice
“I don’t like him, nobody likes him,” one student remarked, recalling how he recently battled with her music teacher during class about the day’s lesson. “He simply believes he is always correct. He never allows anyone else to speak. He’s got a bad attitude.”
Schneider, according to a colleague, “has been caught yelling aggressively at parents and school safety agents if he doesn’t get his way.”
Schneider is also chastised on the website of UFT Solidarity, the teachers’ union’s progressive caucus, where he is listed as one of “administrators in need of improvement.”
He was labeled as “misogynistic” and “constantly” turning and talking too much. In 2022, Schneider was paid $223,861.
“He says he wants to establish community but only ever executes his ideas. “The joke is that there is nothing collaborative about Bronx Collaborative,” one anonymous former staff member wrote.
Schneider sent questions to the DOE, which did not immediately respond.
»Brett Schneider, a Bronx principal who promotes ‘love and respect,’ squares up against a student«