NEW ROCHELLE, NY — New Rochelle High School Latin Teacher Dr. Naomi Finkelstein was “reassigned” by Superintendent Dr. Laura Feijóo after Finkelstein allegedly told a black student he looked like a “terrorist” because he had his hoodie pulled over his head, according to sources familiar with the matter.
One source initially said she had been “let go” but this appears to have been incorrect as she is reportedly still on the District payroll.
The incident occurred at Albert Leonard Middle School. The student report the incident to Principal John Barnes.
On January 6, 2020, Dr. Feijóo sent a letter to home for Finkelstein’s students stating “Dr. Finkelstein…will be reassigned from the classroom for the foreseeable future.”
Finkelstein is assigned to New Rochelle High School but also teachers at Isaac E. Young Middle School and Albert Leonard Middle School.
Finkelstein is the fourth District employee reassigned by Feijóo since she started on November 1, 2019.
Finkelstein was suspended earlier this year for unspecified reasons, according to the same sources.
Finkelstein came under fire in 2018 for remarks on her personal Facebook page where she referred to her job as “Latin babysitter at New Rochelle High School” and likened her job to “herding cows”. She was subsequently appointed to the New Rochelle Board of Education’s Task Force on Reducing Violence in the Lives of Children and Youth.
According to See Through New York, Finkelstein has worked for the District since December 1999. Her 2019 salary was $140,410.
She deserves to be fired a long time ago. Terrible person and teacher. Only bad experience in nrhs.