“Dear Steve,
It is time for all of us who love you to express our appreciation for a job well done! We were most fortunate to steal you from your Bronx District as we opened Manhattan Center for Science and Math. While we did not realize it at the time, your arrival had a profound positive effect on all of us. Thank you for caring and sharing with all of us and the children who have been under your care.
From the first day of your arrival, we saw your talents as a teacher. The children immediately were drawn to you. The teachers were more discerning and were not convinced until the second day. Everyone was comfortable in your presence and you shared your wisdom and strength with all.
Your tenure as a principal was a wonderful final stage in your career. As principal, you affected the entire educational community but most of all you kept a dream alive in East Harlem. Manhattan Center is fortunate to have known you.”
Colman Genn
Founding Principal, MCSM
Center for Educational Innovation
April 8, 2003
“Dear Mr. Askinazi:
Thank you so much for the opportunity to visit your school last week. It was wonderful to meet with Mrs. Wright (NBC), and I know that as a ‘Principal For a Day’ she will continue to stay involved with the important work that goes on in your school.
Your efforts are important to us and we are thankful for the leadership you have provided to the New York City public schools.”
Best regards,
Caroline Kennedy, Chief Executive
Office of Strategic Partnerships
June 4, 2004
“Dear Mr. Askinazi:
Please accept my congratulations on your pending retirement. I commend you for your 30 years of productive service at Manhattan Center for Science and Math High School.
I know that you will be surely missed. Rare is the academic that can put so much into both his staff and his love of teaching. I understand the energy that you have put into your students was boundless and quite an inspiration. Your contributions to education were truly outstanding and certainly well recognized. I appreciate your tireless efforts on behalf of the field in terms of scholarship, instruction and leadership. Needless to say, your work has left a profound and lasting impact and we are all the beneficiaries of your excellent work.
Best wishes for the future. Your professionalism has been a wonderful model for others and although you are retiring from public life, you will never be forgotten. The special gifts you have given your students will be treasured forever.
Thank you for all of your support and guidance that you gave to our young people.”
Sincerely,
Charles B. Rangel
Member of Congress
2004
“Dear Steve,
We send our sincere congratulations and thanks. You have been an inspiration to so many children throughout the years, including hundreds of GE Scholars. You’ll be missed.”
All our best,
Suzanne and Bob Wright
President of NBC
2004
“Steve’s leadership in working with all of the staff at The Children’s Aid Society including Karen and Kim especially, helped produce a model high school that is the envy of the city and beyond. Many things that others said could not be done have been done – and they could not have been done without his leadership.
Looking back on this experience, Steve described it ‘like no other opportunity in his professional life – an opportunity of a lifetime.’ It doesn’t surprise us that these are the exact words used by Chancellor Joseph Fernandez when he approved the partnership with The Children’s Aid Society and secured a unanimous resolution from The New York City Board of Education to initiate it.
Steve, we wish you the very best and we want you to know that we will always consider you to be a member of The Children’s Aid Society family.”
C. Warren “Pete” Moses
Executive Director
The Children’s Aid Society
Phil Coltoff
Chief Executive Officer
The Children’s Aid Society
“Hi, Mr. Askinazi!
This is Allen Jones, Class of 2000. You were such a great leader. I thank you for the example you set and for setting me up with an internship at Barnes&Noble.com. It was such a formative experience, and I still carry some of what I learned there into my professional career. I’m currently working on my School Building & District Leadership certifications, and I hope to be half as good a leader as you.”
January, 2021
From Marquis A. Harrison
“I’m actually in the middle of working with some consultants to establish a fundraising account to make my start and I’m thinking of running for state senate in Harlem! I’m currently watching the seat as the Vice chairperson of a community board in Central Harlem…soon to be chair!
My time is coming and it’s all because of the great leadership and teachers at MCSM!”
January 2021
From LaToya Martin
Assistant Principal
As a teacher “you taught me to lead with compassion and to keep children first at a time when that message was being lost. Thank you for the great example.”
January 2021
From Javier Rabelo
“I had the opportunity to create another ‘MCSM.’ I am the Director of STEM at Passaic County Technical and Vocational Schools. I came onboard 4 years ago and helped create a $30M STEM Academy. Most of our students are students of color. I wanted to create a culture where the students were known by name and not just bodies in motion. This was an important aspect of MCSM that has resonated with me all these years. Our teachers are committed to our vision. It has been a tremendously rewarding experience.
Those were formative years as a teacher. There were no excuses with regards to hiding behind lacking resources. It was about being resourceful, honing your skills, and making the class relevant. The kids had a true thirst for learning.”
“Steve, you have so skillfully with the Wisdom that has been placed deep within you to build the house of Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics, which has been an important extension of knowledge for our children. The foundation is so sound that your students, parents, and staff have been enriched with the knowledge, strength, and power to succeed abundantly beyond what we could ever imagine. You have done well planting the seeds that have been watered over the years and we all are wiser counselors in every area that encompasses our lives. We will miss you, we will love you, and believe without a doubt that we will flourish and soar like the eagles that you have so graciously taught us to be.”
PTA President
MCSM