Twelve students were called down to Principal Stanley Teitel’s office during second and third periods on Friday, November 2 to be interviewed for a video created by and for the Cahn Fellows Program.
The organization, founded by Charles and Jane Cahn in 2002, is a program for elite public school principals based at Teachers College, Columbia University. According to its Web site, it is “committed to recognizing outstanding NYC principals and providing them with opportunities for professional, intellectual, and personal growth.” Less than three percent of those who apply for the program are accepted.
The Stuyvesant students were notified of the interview Wednesday, October 31. Teitel chose the group of students, though he was not present during the interview.
“My secretary and I picked out a few names,” Teitel said. “There were some cheerleaders, people who work in my office, people who work in the Student Union and people I’ve taught.”
Many of the students went in without knowing what the video was about. They were interviewed in Teitel’s office and were asked for their opinions about the job of school principal.
“I thought there would be questions more specific to Mr. Teitel and Stuyvesant, but the focus was on principals in general,” sophomore Hayward Leach said.
“None of the questions were about Teitel,” senior Marta Bralic said. “I think the point was to give the principals a general view of how students looked upon their profession.”
“Each person answered one question,” said junior Valentina Zarya, a former physics student of Teitel. “They asked questions like ‘What do you think makes a good principal?,’ ‘What would you change about the school?,’ ‘What do you like about the school?’”
The organization also interviewed students at the High School for Environmental Studies for a segment on its principal.
“I entered the program in 2004. Many of the principals have about four to five years of experience,” Teitel said of the Cahn Fellows Program. “They have a Cahn Allies program where they pair less experienced principals, the Cahn Allies, with more experienced principals, the Cahn Fellows. I mentored [Mark Pingitore], who is the principal of Tompkins Square Middle School.”
The video was shown at a black-tie banquet for the Cahn Fellows on November 13, 2007.
“I already have my tuxedo ready,” Teitel said during the video’s production.
