For the fresh school year, Dr. Jean V. Mirvil, the new Principal of P.S. 73, has a blueprint for education fraught with keen strategies, dedication, and hard work. With twenty-three years worth of experience in the field of education, Dr. Mirvil—the former principal of C.E.S. 110— has worn, and will continue to wear, many hats. His resume in the New York City school system includes numerous positions, from staff developer, to assistant principal, to assistant superintendent; Dr. Mirvil says his journey as an educator has been a rewarding and positive one, and that he he has no intentions of ending it anytime soon.
Earlier this month, the Horizon had the opportunity of speaking to him at his new office at P.S. 73, on topics ranging from the prospect of a middle school in Highbridge to the importance of children learning multiple languages.

The Horizon: Where are you originally from?

Dr. Jean V. Mirvil: I have a Haitian background; I completed my high school in America, but my early grades took place in Haiti.

The Horizon: What inspired you to go into the field of education?
Dr. Jean V. Mirvil: Well, I guess having mentioned Haiti, I’ve always wanted to help others that did not have the opportunity to accomplish what I was offered by my parents, so I made it my business to help others and I thought education was a good way to do so. I had a goal very early in life, and prior to coming here I didn’t know that I would be an educator to foreign students, but I guess life has a way of taking its own direction by reaching out to more people than I expected.

The Horizon: What schools did you attend?

Dr. Jean Mirvil: I had some great time at Queens College and Bankstreet College. I’ve also completed leadership programs in different locations. The one I really enjoyed was the last one I attended at Harvard University. I spent interesting weeks there learning new ways of doing things. Education is still an interesting field to be in.

The Horizon: Where have you taught? Universities?

Dr. Jean Mirvil: I’ve taught at middle schools, elementary schools, one of them that I remember very well is I.S. 192 in Queens. I’ve spent some time at P.S. 136 in Queens as well. Most of my exposure to various levels of high school, elementary and middle came from my work as a staff developer where I was in the classroom helping new teachers to implement certain areas of math or reading, whatever was needed when I was assigned to these schools. I know many schools, but I really spent many years at two schools specifically where I taught. Recently I spent some wonderful time at P.S. 110, it was a great staff and it was a good team of people to work with. I’ve also taught at Queens College, teaching the new teachers. Because of the demand of the present job, I had to give that up, but it is something that I really want to do in the future. I look forward to continue sharing what I’ve learned.

The Horizon: You were the Principal at C.E.S. 110 for five years. Why did you leave?

Dr Jean V. Mirvil: It was as per the superintendent request for me to come to 73.  
The Horizon: I understand that you are on the board of directors for the Haitian American Leadership Council.

Dr. Jean V. Mirvil: Yes indeed, I am involved in a number of organizations, one of them is the Haitian American Leadership Council. I am presently the interim secretary for this national organization.

The Horizon:  What are your sentiments toward the current state of the public school system, especially here in the Bronx?

Dr. Jean V. Mirvil: Well, I would say that it is a healthy one, healthy in a sense that it is necessary that we look at our schools and make them more meaningful for those who are most in need of them; for the youngsters and the parents who cannot afford private institutions. The work is not easy; it has to be done on a regular basis and it takes a lot of energy. It would be easier if the people that we are transferring information to would come better prepared, but that is not the reality. We just have to face it as it comes and give it our best shot.

The Horizon: Last year, according to statistics from the Board of Education, students in Highbridge scored very low on tests in reading and math. What or whom do you think is responsible for this?

Dr. Jean V. Mirvil: I would say for the past few years, a lot has been done to respond to this sign of weakness in the education field. Blaming is not the answer. We need to decode what the problems may be and continue to break them down and see how we can move forward. I know that from within the department, there is a great deal of monitoring going on to address that issue. I know that there are many parents groups out there who are seeking ways to do their best, to help their youngsters.

 I know educators are being more in touch with practices that have proven to be beneficial to the learning process. If we continue to keep this pressure on, and not sit back and blame others for the work that they have not done, and we continue to move in unity to realize that it is not only one person responsible, we are all responsible. Even the people in the community have their part in this equation. With a very positive approach to educating our kids, we can only be successful.

The Horizon: The parents here in Highbridge are fighting for a middle school to be built, with hopes that it would alleviate overcrowding in the schools. Do you feel that this would be the case?
Dr. Jean V. Mirvil: This situation is new to me; however, I can see the benefit of having a good middle school to meet the needs of our youngsters. Just having been assigned to 73, I would love to make sure that youngsters that are going to graduate from my leadership here are going to schools that will welcome them, that will take them from where they are to give them a better and brighter future. And the best way to know that is to have a level of familiarity with those schools where they are going. So if we then allow a certain exchange from the elementary school to our middle school it would be better for our parents to make a better choice. Right now, if they are so far away from this area, who has the time to do this kind of research? We are just taking a chance, but if the chance could come to our neighborhood it would certainly be more beneficial for the parents and the youngsters.

The Horizon: Could you give just a brief overview of plans for P.S. 73 for the upcoming year?

Dr. Jean V. Mirvil: P.S. 73 is already on the go, on the move! If you look at the last test scores, I see very interesting gains from our youngsters in the third grade and the fifth grade as well. We just need to make sure that we do not regress— that we move forward. I am looking at the instructional structure that we have here. I am also looking at what could have been the reason why the youngsters in the fourth grade did not do as well. I am bringing some of my magic tricks that I’ve applied in the past to the structure that is already in existence, and get the teachers to understand the steps that must be taken to get to where we want to be. I am very much into seeing progress and I am very competitive in a nice way. I want to see results, and I’m being paid to do a job and I take that seriously. I want to make sure that the staff of the school from the cafeteria staff to the health staff understand which direction we are going. We cannot sit back; we have to move forward.

The Horizon: Since you come from Haiti, I’m not sure if you yourself encountered language barriers? If so, I’m sure that you can relate to a student just learning English.

Dr. Jean V. Mirvil: I certainly can relate to the youngsters that are coming to us with a different language, because I’ve had the same situation. At the very beginning, I knew some English but not as fluent as I should have been. When I was in my social studies class in high school, where the native speakers were able to elaborate on topics that we were discussing,  I would not say a word, but when it came to taking a test I would have the highest score because I was listening actively and applied that when I went home. So I would come back with my homework nicely done and study for my test.

Very often we think that just because the youngsters don’t speak the language that they cannot deliver and I am so pleased to say that this is a misunderstanding in terms of what it is to know a second language or to not know a second language well. Because there are many ways to show what you’ve learned. But knowing more than one language is certainly a plus. Many parents may have objected to using that second language in the learning process, which is unfortunate because what happens is that there is a difference between social language and content language. We need our youngsters to be as knowledgeable in science and math…they don’t get that when they don’t speak the second language well, but if they are able to get it in the language they understand once they are ready to transfer from their native language to the English language, they can then come to the English with the content….

I do talk about that a lot to encourage the youth of different languages, because it is a tool that can help them…. I did not have classes like today, back in my early grades— exposure to two languages— but foreign language has been very helpful to me because I have been able to learn Spanish. This has helped me communicate with my parents, so I can really understand their frustration at times. No, it’s not easy when you don’t have the English language at the very beginning, but that does not mean that we should not continue to push for understanding of the English language, so that we can be part of the mainstream.

The Horizon: Do you think that the officials or the powers- that- be really have our childrens’ best interests at heart? Or do you think they see education as simply a business?

Dr. Jean V. Mirvil: Yes, education is a business and it has been the focus of this administration, and it has certainly raised the standards in schools and no one can deny that. And my job is to ensure that this information is carried to parents and to make this field the best that it could be in terms of how I approach the challenges.
There is always a misunderstanding in terms of how the challenges should be delivered. But I’m here to work and to make it as good as it can be for those who deserve it. I have children of my own, and I’ve done a great job with them and I feel that I can pass on this interest of educating youngsters. It’s a big job, I will repeat that. But it can be done, we have to continue at it.