The school mascot is the Lion, and on Wednesday many students from Richmond Hill High School – whether on a sports team or not – adopted the animal’s roar as they vocalized their opinions on why the school should remain Richmond Hill High School, and why the staff should not be cut. 

It was an attempt to save the school before the April 26th vote by the Panel for Education Policy on whether to close 26 high schools citywide, and open new, smaller schools in the same buildings with half of the old staff cut and replaced.

The model, known as the “turnaround” method, has many critics chiding the mayor for his past comments on making education a priority.

“School turnaround represents the absolute worst possibility in our education system,” said Assemblyman Mike Miller in a statement. “They unfairly penalize teachers and jeopardize the education of students. Every year, we ask teachers to do more and more with less and less. We are taking away the incentive for young aspiring adults to want to become teachers.”

Many teachers at Richmond Hill said they preferred the “restart” model, which was established at the school in 2011 and created small learning academies and internships for students.

Many of the teachers say that the restart model should have been given a chance to work, and said the turnaround model would destroy the community created through the restart model. 

“Our school does not need to turnaround because we are moving in the right direction,” said Alice MacLarty, an ESL and social studies teacher who graduated from the school in 1972. “There is no data that can demonstrate the deep and positive impact we have on our students and no formula on earth to measure our success. The turnaround is a turn away, a turn away from our teachers.”

Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley said the turnaround model is a strategy that would fail and is not in the best interest of the school.

Brian Sutton, a special education teacher and dean, also blasted the model saying, “breaking up this school is like breaking up a family to me.” 

Many teachers and students touted Richmond Hill’s four-year graduation rate increase from 41 percent to 58.6 percent. And though many claimed the school is not perfect, they prided its efforts.

Dmytro Fedkowskyi, a Queens representative on the Panel for Educational Policy, also attended the meeting. 

“Borough president Marshall supports your school community and opposes the turnaround model, and so do I,” he told attendees. 

He noted that he will introduce a resolution to oppose the city’s proposal at the meeting on April 26, and that he will be voting no, “because it’s a floored policy that lacks long-term vision.” 

One by one, students took to the microphone to tell Education Department and panel representatives why the school should remain as it is.

Many pointed out teachers who taught them how to be better students, enabling them to make better grades and even to become more social.

“Changing the name will not make it a better or different school,” said Kathryn Fauna, the school’s student association president. She asked that the DOE give the school a chance. “If the staff is switched, who will write our recommendation letters when most teachers haven’t been in this school?”

“During the past four years I couldn’t have possibly accomplished all I did without the support of the Richmond Hill High School staff,” she added. “I came to this school as an ESL student and today I am president of the student association.”

Another student, Christina Jagdeo, recalled the lesson plan based on college preparation given to the class by an English teacher.

“Many teachers in this building care about our future,” she said. “Blaming our teachers is not the solution.”

Deyan Naraine, a sophomore, said she has an internship because of Richmond Hill High School, and junior Anthony Anghad praised the school and its teachers for making him feel at home. 

Even alumni attended the meeting to show support, including Veronica Rainone, now at Stonybrook University, and Neelam Prashad, now at the City College of New York. 

Some parents also voiced their concern. 

Anna Christina Duer said she put a lot of faith in the restart program and to see it close so soon is “insulting.”

“This is a disrespectful, disconcerting situation,” she said. “You close the school, you change the name, you remove the staff, you are removing the foundation and the fabric of very fragile student communities and their sense of security.”

If transformation must take place at Richmond Hill High, community activist Vishnu Mahadeo, who has a son enrolled in the school, said he wants to see more diversity in the school’s staff, particularly with more Caribbean and South Asian teachers. 

The Panel for Educational Policy will hold its meeting to vote on the proposal on April 26 at 6 p.m., at Prospect Heights Campus, located at 883 Classon Avenue, Brooklyn.

Other Queens schools slated to close include John Adams High School, August Martin High School, Grover Cleveland High School, Flushing High School, Newtown High School, Long Island City High School, and Bryant High School.