“We don’t want a bunch of Juans, Josés and Marias coming here,” the Flushing High School principal’s coach and mentor, Edward Tom, was heard saying during a District 3 education council meeting with student leaders on Jan. 29.
Students were supposed to be discussing ways to improve the school and made suggestions that the school implement metal detectors to ensure the safety of the building.
However, Tom — Flushing HS Principal Jassica Lee’s coach and mentor — said the metal detectors would harm the school’s image before making the appalling comments that sent shockwaves throughout the school.
Not only did staff hear accounts that Lee did not immediately admonish Tom’s offensive and racist comments, but they’d also heard accounts that Lee nodded in agreement.
A spokesperson for NYC Public Schools acknowledged the incident and confirmed that Tom’s contract was immediately terminated, and that he has not returned to the school since the Jan. 29 meeting.
Students at the school — nearly 70% of whom are Hispanic — said they felt unwelcome after the incident with Tom and Lee, who are both of Asian background.
Meanwhile, staff members said they have been left to pick up the pieces following an insufficient response from Lee.
QNS spoke with three staff members on the condition of anonymity about the incident and the events that have unfolded since.
Shocked students and staff
“Everyone was unhappy when they heard about this,” one Flushing High School staff member told QNS. “Reactions varied. Some were surprised, others were offended. Everybody is still angry, and everyone feels terrible for the kids… It’s a dark cloud that’s hanging over the building, and it’s not going away.”
Another staff member said they were “shocked” when they heard the comment was made in front of students who were simply advocating for improved school safety.
“There was definitely anger there,” the staff member said. “It’s been sitting with me for a while.”
One staff member said they were surprised that someone in Tom’s position, knowing he was speaking to a room of students who are predominantly Hispanic, was surprising.
“The students were obviously shocked and offended,” they said. “I thought it was very unprofessional and inappropriate. They felt as if they were saying Hispanic students in the school were not wanted and should be somewhere else.”
Another staff member said Lee has yet to openly discuss the matter with staff, despite everyone in the school hearing about the issue.
“We’re all aware in some way, shape or form that it hasn’t been addressed at all,” they said. “I definitely feel as if she’s just trying to sweep it under the rug.”
“The principal didn’t even talk to them afterwards until she was basically forced to,” another staff member added, recalling the meeting with Lee being held nearly a week after the incident. “She said she took ownership, but she did not apologize for it. The students were even more upset after that. She just let everybody sit with it. They don’t deserve that.”
While the school has claimed there has been a comprehensive response to the incident, students and staff continue to wear pins that read “Juans, Josés and Marias are welcome here,” and “Leadership is an action, not a position.”
One staff member said staff members also wear black on Mondays to show solidarity with the students.
Edward Tom’s role
According to one of the staff members, Tom was hired to be a coach for the principal and assistant principals.
Tom was reportedly supposed to help the administration develop their leadership skills and better serve students, the staff member continued.
Notes from meetings at the school, obtained by QNS, point out that Tom had a history of inappropriate conduct.
According to previous reporting by the Bronx Times, Tom resigned from his position as superintendent at Icahn Charter Schools in August 2023 following the controversial mass firings.
Notes from the meetings asked why the school hadn’t properly vetted vendors or immediately flagged Tom for his problematic past.
The school’s response
New York City Public Schools confirmed Tom’s contract has been terminated and claimed the school has taken a comprehensive approach to handling the aftermath of the racist comments. Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
After Tom’s contract was terminated, the NYC Public Schools spokesperson claimed the school system is continuing to work with Flushing High School to address the aftermath of the shocking comment.
“New York City Public Schools is unwavering in its commitment to maintaining a safe, inclusive environment for every student and has zero tolerance for racism or discrimination of any kind,” the NYC Public Schools spokesperson wrote in an email to QNS on March 30.
The spokesperson said the school took deliberate steps to support those affected and created an open, student-centered dialogue and conducted direct outreach to impacted families to ensure transparency and meaningful engagement.
“These steps provide space for voices to be heard, concerns to be addressed, and trust to be rebuilt,” the spokesperson continued. “This was a comprehensive response and we will continue to support the community and strengthen a culture of respect, accountability, and inclusion.”
The spokesperson also claimed Flushing HS had collaborated with the affected students and the guidance department for three grade-level assemblies sharing a Respect for All presentation.
Although one staff member pointed out that Respect for All Week happens every year and had nothing to do with Tom’s Jan. 29 comments, nor did any of the presentations specifically mention them.
School pride plummets
School staff said Lee’s response has been underwhelming and not nearly enough to revive the sharp drop in morale after the comments were made.
“I’ve noticed a definite decrease in student pride at the school,” one staff member said. “There’s been increased awareness among staff, myself included, in collaborating with students to do more activities, like Spirit Week, to help them feel better and celebrate their culture or heritage.”
Since the Jan. 29 incident, staff said students have confided in teachers to share their feelings.
One staff member said the principal has been walking the hallways more often, although she sometimes uses a firm voice to simply move students along.
“They don’t feel like anything has been done about it,” another staff member said. “They probably feel a bit ostracized — like they’re not welcome at the school based on their background.”
Not only did Lee not directly address the comments or acknowledge them to the entire school, staff claimed, but they said the principal has contributed to students’ low self-esteem since she first stepped into the role in 2023.
One staff member said during a town hall meeting with the entire school staff in 2024, Lee said she wanted to “change the student population” and that she “wanted better students at the school.”
“It infuriated a lot of us,” the staff member said. “And this was her first few months as principal.”
Another staff member added that schools should be teaching the students it has, not the students it “wants.”
They explained that even if a teacher “wants” students who love the subject they teach, they have to understand that it’s not every kid in the class — that’s why they must modify their approach so students can engage with the work and learn a new skill.
“We have a principal in charge of students of different races, cultures, languages and religions,” the staff member said. “I think that diversity needs to be amplified, honored and showcased in many different ways.”
According to another staff member, Lee had also made a comment that the school administration “cannot let the inmates run the asylum.”
“What are you saying about our students?” the staff member asked in reference to Lee. “What do you really feel about the school population? Are you here to help or here to judge?”
The students matter
As students and staff continue to express their shock, anger and pain resulting from Tom’s racist comments, staff said it’s important that students feel seen, heard and welcome at Flushing HS. Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
Staff said what was so infuriating about the Jan. 29 comment was that Lee should be focusing on serving the students who attend the school and making their experience more enriching.
“A lot of us feel she’s very condescending to them,” the staff member said. “It’s something we’re forced to work around every day.”
They said Lee hasn’t spent much time interacting with students in the hallways and getting to know them, and students barely knew who she was for the first two years.
One staff member said Lee does not provide a welcoming environment to students.
“They just don’t feel like she really cares about their well-being,” they said. “A majority of those students that express this are Hispanic. They feel she’s not really present.”
After a Flushing High School student died in Columbia, one staff member said Lee did not acknowledge the tragedy until a week later only when the superintendent visited.
“She knows how angry they are,” a staff member said. “She knows how upset they are and how hurt they are. I’m not sure she cares, except for herself.”
One staff member said students express their concerns that Lee is “letting all the good teachers go,” pointing to the high rate of turnover of staff at the school.
“The student leaders are very astute,” the staff member said. “It sounds like they’re feeling that she is kind of letting the school go.”
A reflection of today’s racism
The staff member said it’s bad enough when students face racism in their everyday lives, perpetrated by strangers on the street.
But when it comes from a trusted adult in an environment that’s supposed to support them, racism takes on a whole new meaning.
“A lot of our students already struggle with a myriad of issues, whether it’s academic or language barriers or society or ICE,” one staff member said. “When they come into this building, it’s supposed to be a safe space. It’s supposed to be a space where they feel welcome. When the principal’s coach says something like this, and the principal agrees with it, it completely kills their self-confidence in every way. It’s such a brazen way to be exposed to racism.”
Another staff member said conversations they’ve had with students reveal fear in the current sociopolitical environment.
“I’ve had students reference what they see on the outside, especially when it comes from the stereotypical ideology of immigration,” the staff member said. “They see school as a safe haven. But when leadership is not emphasizing that they’re here for them to help and protect them, it’s contradictory.”
The staff member said students and staff are doing everything they can to express to the school administration how they’re feeling.
Part of that expression, they said, is the pins staff and students are wearing in support of a welcoming school environment.
“The students aren’t being heard, but they’re kind of like — maybe they’ll hear us now,” the staff member said. “I think that’s what the movement is — to be heard and see if there’s momentum for change to support our students. This way, we can make sure they feel valued and seen in a place where they should be.”
The students are smart, the staff member stressed, and they have great ideas for improving safety in the school that are being dismissed.
“If they can’t have these important conversations outside in the real world, where else are they supposed to do it?” the staff member said. “Giving them the floor to be the young adults that they are — and letting them know that they and their feelings are important — matters.”