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Several migrants residing in a tent shelter at Floyd Bennett Field were moved to James Madison High School in New York on Wednesday, January 10, owing to a rain storm. To accommodate the migrants on the school grounds, Jodie Cohen, the principal of the high school decided to have the students attend their classes virtually for a day.
She officially informed the parents about her decision over a Zoom call on Tuesday.
However, the parents criticized her for having the students switch to remote learning. Cohen then reportedly lashed out at the parents during the Zoom meeting and as per the New York Post, she said:
“How dare someone say that I don’t care about kids.”
After the incident, the principal of James Madison High School began receiving criticism online. Once the news was uploaded on X by @nypost, it went viral. Netizens flocked to the comment section of the post to criticize the principal and some believed she should be fired.
Netizens criticize James Madison High School principal for lashing out at parents and providing shelter to migrants on school premises
Two thousand migrants from Floyd Bennett Field were brought to the James Madison High School, where they spent the night in the school's auditorium and gymnasium. Jodie Cohen, the school's principal, formally informed the parents about this decision on Tuesday via a Zoom call. Cohen further told the parents that she had decided to have students attend class virtually on Wednesday.
This was due to the uncertainty regarding when the building would be prepared for classroom usage following the return of the migrants to their shelter. However, her decision received backlash from parents and as per the New York Post, the principal of the school said:
“I don’t understand how people who never come on a Zoom like this could take an opportunity like this evening to throw mud."
She added:
“This [emergency] is for one night, one night!”
The incident led to the principal receiving heaps of backlash online. Netizens took to the comments section of the NY Post's tweet and reacted to the situation as they criticized James Madison High School and Cohen.
By 4:30 am local time on Wednesday, the migrants returned to the Floyd Bennett Field, but the students of the NYC school carried out the remote learning plan at Cohen's request, according to the New York Post.
The high school also shared a post on Facebook, updating parents and students about the situation. They stated that the migrants had returned to their shelter and that classes would resume in-person on Thursday, January 11.
