Shuang Wen School Violated DOE Regulations, New Report Says
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A special investigator issued a report on Manhattan's Shuang Wen public school Wednesday, revealing that it operated largely outside of Department of Education regulations. NY1’s Lindsey Christ filed the following report.Accusations and counter-accusations between groups of parents have thrown the Shuang Wen School into turmoil and resulted in more than two dozen investigations into the school's management.
A few of those were being handled by the school system's special commissioner of investigations, who issued his report Wednesday.
“The school was allowed to operate unencumbered by the Department of Education for years, and they did whatever they thought worked for them,” said Richard Condon, special schools investigator.
He said what worked for them was not following DOE regulations, with hundreds of thousands of dollars flowing freely between the public school, an independent nonprofit called SWAN, and the Parent Association.
“They were almost the same thing—the school, SWAN and the PA—and it was hard to tell which was which,” said Condon.
SWAN runs the school's Mandarin language after-school program. Practically every student participates.
Last fall, NY1 first reported that some parents were upset that SWAN suddenly required $1,000 tuition for classes the parents said their children had to take. They accused SWAN, the PA and principal Ling Ling Chou of managing the public school like a private institution.
Investigators now confirm the principal was on the SWAN board and a parent was managing the public school’s budget.
“These things are violations,” said Condon. “A parent was in charge of the general school fund.”
A DOE spokesperson said they are deeply troubled by the findings, but those may be just the beginning. The DOE is conducting its own investigations into the tuition issue, as well as allegations that the school let families submit false addresses so their kids could enroll.
In June, the department removed the principal while it investigated. That same month, parents who supported her sued the DOE, saying the investigations amount to harassment and discrimination.
Outside of the main entrance, the wall is covered in clippings, drawings and letters, all in support of Chou.
DOE officials say they hope to complete investigations soon.