Students, parents, and district rally around Renaissance Principal Maria Francisco

Students and parents spoke out in support of Maria Francisco, the Renaissance at Rand Middle School principal, on Wednesday, pleading for Francisco to continue in her position at the school.

An arbitrator ruled last month that former Renaissance principal Joseph Putrino be reinstated in the role after tenure charges brought against him by the district were ruled unjust. Putrino was placed on administrative leave more than two years ago after he showed a video to staff that some found offensive.

While the arbitration decision cannot be appealed, the district could move to modify or vacate it, Janet Bamford, New Jersey School Boards Association chief public affairs officer, told Montclair Local. 

“Either side can appeal an arbitration decision to the Superior Court Law Division,” Bamford said. “It is difficult to get an arbitration decision overturned.”

According to state statute N.J.S.A. 2A:24-8, the court may vacate the arbitration decision if the award “was procured by corruption, fraud or undue means.” The district would have to take action within 90 days of the arbitration award, according to N.J.S.A. 2A:24-7.

“We're going to do everything legally possible to keep Ms. Francisco as the school principal at the Renaissance School,” Superintendent Jonathan Ponds said.

At the beginning of the Montclair Board of Education meeting on Wednesday, Nov.2, schools Superintendent Jonathan Ponds shared his support for Francisco. 

“Ms. Francisco is an outstanding principal,” Ponds said. “We fully support her tenure at the Renaissance School. She's done incredible work, and we're proud to have her as a principal.”

Ponds could not say more on the matter, he said, citing ongoing litigation and personnel matters.

At the end of the meeting, after more than 20 students and parents spoke in support of Francisco staying at Renaissance and an hour and a half executive board session, Ponds doubled down on his stance.

“We're going to do everything legally possible to keep Ms. Francisco as the school principal at the Renaissance School,” Ponds said.

Francisco has been principal at Renaissance since summer 2021. She took over the role from Major Jennings who was named interim principal when Putrino was placed on leave. Jennings is now principal at Buzz Aldrin Middle School.

Francisco worked in the Paterson schools for 20 years, as a middle school physical education teacher, a climate and culture supervisor and a middle school assistant principal, according to her welcome letter sent to families in August 2021. 

“Ensuring that each child that walks through the Renaissance Middle School doors is healthy, happy and safe is my number one priority,” Francisco said in the letter. “Our school community will be intentional about celebrating our students and we will work diligently to remind them how much they are valued and how important they are to our school community.”

On Friday, Francisco told Montclair Local she was “overwhelmed by the support, praise and encouragement from the amazing Renaissance students and parents” at the Wednesday board meeting. 

“Words do not begin to adequately describe my appreciation," Francisco said. “I plan to continue to do what I do every day, and that is to work alongside our wonderful Renaissance staff and other stakeholders to provide the best for our students and families, as they deserve nothing less.” 

She declined to comment on the arbitration decision.

At the board meeting, students and parents spoke about the culture Francisco has created at Renaissance, the interest she shows in each and every student and the disturbance that would be her removal from the school.

Francisco makes a positive impact on students at Renaissance, seventh grader Micaela DeLuca said at the meeting.

“It would be a huge loss,” DeLuca said. “It would make me feel sad to know that someone who makes me smile every morning when I come into the school building wouldn't be there anymore.”

Replacing Francisco would also be “a huge distraction and disruption to the school year,” DeLuca said. 

“Students would hate to see her go,” DeLuca said. “She is one of the best principals I've ever met.”

Seventh grader Eve Brackenbury also spoke in support of Francisco.

“The principal situation is very complicated,” Brackenbury said. “But I just wanted to say that everybody at Renaissance loves Ms. Francisco. We don't want to see her leave.”

Parent Elise White has three children in the Montclair school district, she said at the meeting. And while all of her children’s principals are wonderful, Francisco shines, she said. 

“She stepped into her role at a moment of incredible difficulty when the school community, the city, the nation was suffering,” White said. “In her tenure at the school, she has created an environment of support, generosity, kindness and trust.” 

White’s son is the kind of kid who gets easily lost in a classroom, she said — he’s not at the top, always raising his hand, and not at the bottom, always getting into trouble. So White didn’t speak to her son’s principal all through elementary school. 

In the year and a half that her son has been at Renaissance, White has received seven phone calls from Francisco, she said. While some of the calls have “not been for good,” White said,  Francisco has always handled the situations fairly, equitably and has made sure all involved  “experienced repair to whatever harm was caused,” White said. When White has had questions, Francisco has helped her to create a plan or solution to the issue “very capably” and “very efficiently.”

But what sets Francisco apart is the other calls White has received, she said. 

“Three of the calls were just times that she called me out of the blue to say that she had observed a class, she had seen my son, she had noticed something specifically about how he engaged and she just wanted to share it,” White said. “That is something that I've literally never had. No one has ever done that.”

It’s important that Ponds and the school board members listen to what the parents and students are sharing, White said. 

“Ms. Francisco sees the students in that school,” White said. “She connects with them in a way that can't be taught. It can't be mandated. It can't be trained. That's something that is her gift.”

Jen Metzger’s daughter really struggled during both remote learning and the return to in-person school, Metzger said at the meeting. But Francisco “turned my daughter's middle school experience around so that she now loves coming to school,” she said.

“You did a wonderful thing when you hired Ms. Francisco, you really did,” Metzger said to the board members and Ponds. “She has brought consistency, harmony, understanding, respect, and excellence to our school and for our children.”

Metzger and her husband spoke weekly with Francisco while her daughter was struggling, and the principal’s office “became a safe haven” for the seventh grader, Metzger said. Metzger’s daughter “begged” her to speak at the meeting on Francisco’s behalf. 

“Please do not fail our children by again disrupting their education, their stability and their relationships,” Metzger said. “Our children should not have to suffer for the consequences of this district's failures.”

Francisco is highly dedicated to students and parents and also “has the emotional intelligence necessary to create a safe, nurturing, stable and inclusive environment for an extremely diverse population of students,” parent Jasmine Hodari said at the meeting.

Hodari and her family moved to Montclair in December 2021 because it was the only community in the tri-state area that had “effectively integrated schools,” she said. Hodari’s children are biracial, she said.  

But Hodari was not blind to the work the district must do to address its equity gap.

“For as much as Montclair is known for its diversity and integration, there is still much work to do,” Hodari said. “Hence, it is critical that we hire and retain educators and administrators that create a stable, inclusive and safe environment in which our kids can learn and thrive. From our experiences so far, I am convinced that Ms. Francisco is doing exactly that.”

Hodari’s children have had six principals in the past seven years, and Francisco has been “the most dedicated, approachable, accessible and understanding school leader” so far.

Hodari’s sixth grade son is “extremely happy and stable at Renaissance,” she said. 

“For the first time ever, he is excited to go to school each day,” Hodari said. “He told me about a week ago after Ms. Fransciso visited one of his classes that, ‘Mom, she's an awesome principal. It feels like she genuinely cares about everyone. I like that she doesn't try to be scary, but she also doesn't put up with funny business either.’”

Latoya Joseph Gittens and her family, like Hodari’s, recently joined the Montclair school district. And her daughter, who also spoke at the meeting in support of Francisco, had a challenging time when she started at Renaissance. On top of middle school being middle school — a difficult time for many students — Gittens’ daughter didn’t know any of her classmates. 

But Francisco “went out of her way to get to know my daughter,” Gittens said. 

“Ms. Francisco spent a lot of time just speaking with her, and she felt that she could just connect with her on a very individual level, which I thought was really remarkable as a principal,” Gittens said. “I was really just impressed with her. She was incredibly down to earth.”

Francisco strikes just the right balance when working with students and parents, “which is very difficult to find in any of our leaders,” Gittens said. 

And the idea of replacing Francisco is “incredibly distracting” and “unsettling,” Gittens said. 

“It makes I think all of us feel just uncomfortable about what the future will look like,” Gittens said. “To do this to our students and to the community and to the families at this point will be devastating.”

"Ms. Francisco does what not all educators are cut out to do — she loves middle schoolers,” parent Maya Polton said.

 The education, well-being and stability of Renaissance students is on the line, Maya Polton, a parent and Montclair High School graduate who married another Mountie, said at the meeting. 

“A disruption as major as the change of principal of the school will have enormous ripple effects across the entire community and impact these kids and staff who have endured enough instability this past few years,” Polton said. 

Francisco has taken the lead after a “rotating door of principals” and “revitalized the Renaissance staff, students and parents," she said.

“Think back to your middle school days,” Polton said. “The challenging academics, the awkward social dynamics, the smells. Ms. Francisco does what not all educators are cut out to do — she loves middle schoolers.”

Yvonne Bouknight, one of four candidates running for three seats on the Montclair Board of Education in the Nov. 8 election, and her family were one of the founding families of Renaissance in 1996, she said at the board meeting. She hadn’t planned to speak at the on Wednesday night, she said, but after hearing the passion from the students and parents, she was encouraged to share.

“When you think about the word Renaissance, you're thinking about revival, renewal,” Bouknight said. “That's what that school was built on.”

She encouraged the parents to continue pushing for what students are saying they want.  

“There are things that you must do according to the law,” Bouknight said to the board members and Ponds. “But I also implore you to really think about what would happen if you don't listen to what was said here tonight.”