This morning I received yet another email from the well-organized supporters of principal James Flanagan, the veteran Catholic school principal who was dismissed by Saint Saviour's pastor, Fr. Murphy.

Outraged
parents and parishioners are now calling for Fr. Murphy’s removal as pastor because, they say, he fired Principal Flanagan so he could "give a friend
the job."

This "friend" of Father Murphy is Maura Lorenzen, the co-director of the Early Childhood Center at Congregation Beth Elohim (ECC).

The parents at Saint Saviour are very angry about losing their longtime principal. And they are enraged about the pastor's autocratic style of leadership and his refusal to take their concerns seriously. It is, after all, a Catholic school, and the pastor does run the show. It must be infuriating to have to succumb to that kind of undemocratic decision-making and feel powerless in the face of it.

That said, the outraged parents obviously don't realize what a gem Ms. Lorenzen is.

My daughter and my niece both attended the ECC and I have an enormous amount of respect for Lorenzen.  Like Flanagan, she is a beloved school administrator and educator, who works well with parents, staff and children.

The idea that she was fired from Congregation Beth Elohim is absolutely preposterous. Lorenzen made the choice to leave the school after a 14-year tenure as co-director. Beth Elohim's Rabbi Andy Bachman wrote into OTBKB to set the record straight:  "I'd like to make very clear, on behalf of everyone at Congregation Beth Elohim (CBE) who deeply admire and respect Maura Lorenzen as an educator and administrator, that Maura was NOT fired from her job at CBE.  Maura is leaving her job to pursue this new opportunity at Saint Saviour and our hearts are heavy saying good-bye!  She has performed her duties for the families in our community for years and years with great integrity and we will greatly miss her," he writes. 

Intelligent, honest, open, and straightforward, Lorenzen has been at the ECC since 1982 and is a highly respected co-leader of an extremely popular Park Slope school.

A graduate of St. Joseph's College with a degree in early childhood education and special education, Lorenzen received her master's degree from The College of Staten Island. Before becoming co-director at the ECC, she taught 2s, 3s,and 4s in the nursery school and co-directed the lower day camp since 1988. In 1995 Maura was appointed
the co-director of the ECC (with Jacqueline Israel) where she is very well liked by both parents and staff. Maura is the mother of
four sons, the oldest a college graduate and the youngest in middle school.

Putting aside the circumstances of James Flanagan's dismissal, the school is lucky to have such a decent, graceful and wise administrator as their new principal. She is obviously entering a difficult and divisive situation and I feel for her. From my experience as an ECC parent, Lorenzen strikes me as the kind of leader who can handle the tension and will not personalize it. She will, I believe, be able to help that community heal after this painful controversy. 

I must say that I object to the fact that the parents, as part of their efforts to fight their principal's dismissal, are trying to discredit Ms. Lorenzen's background. "Fr. Murphy states that Ms. Lorenzen was the director
of a local preschool. That preschool’s site, however, described her
role as co-director. He also ignored the fact that Ms. Lorenzen’s
background is in Early Childhood Education, not Elementary Education.
Eighty percent of the Students at St. Saviour, which goes from Pre-K
through 8th grade, are therefore outside her realm of expertise."

While it may be true that Ms. Lorenzen has been co-director of a nursery through kindergarten program, Saint Saviour parents should not underestimate Lorenzen's wealth of experience and wisdom.

They are also, understandably, questioning Fr. Murphy's hiring process.

"Compounding
the appearance of a backroom deal is the fact that Fr. Murphy failed to
interview qualified veteran teachers at the school and has failed to
answer questions sent to him by the president of the Parent School
Board about the hiring and selection," wrote one parent in an email.

Backroom deal or good choice? It seems that it is actually a little of both. Certainly Lorezen is a skilled leader and someone who is eminently qualified and prepared to run a school of any kind.

I hope the circumstances of Lorenzen's hiring as principal won't taint her ability to bring her experience and expertise to a school that is in need of good leadership after this painful controversy.

And the protests continue. Tonight parents, alumni, and parishioners of St. Saviour
Elementary School will line up again to picket their pastor’s
controversial decision.

My heart goes out to most of the players at Saint Saviour. Clearly Fr. Murphy needs to meet with the parents in person and explain his decision and how it was made. Refusing to meet with them is not the answer. While he may not change his mind, he needs to share his reasons for dismissing Jame Flanagan in an open and honest way. Perhaps mediation will be required to help this school community get past this. It is worth noting that principal Flanagan is close to retirement age and was actually planning to retire next year I was told. That said, this all could have been handled in a much more decent way. Perhaps Flanagan can stay on in a transitional capacity as Lorenzen gets her bearings at the school.

Maura Lorenzen begins her tenure at Saint Saviour's under incredibly difficult circumstances. Knowing her as I do, I suspect she will be able to set a positive tone and create an environment that is as open and welcoming of parents and staff and their needs as the one she created at the ECC.

She is a special person. And this school needs someone special to replace the special principal that they lost.