New York Post:
While Chancellor Richard Carranza plans to cut hundreds of millions from NYC classrooms, his little-known yoga czar — the school system’s first “Director of Mindfulness” — makes nearly $200,000 a year while organizing retreats for educrats in the Berkshires.
Barnaby Spring, the Department of Education’s chief yogi, is trying to expand yoga and meditation for students, staffers and execs, deeming the contemplative practices and body-bending postures like the Downward-Facing Dog as important as academics.
“This is specifically to begin to put the social-emotional needs of children in a place where it’s just as important if not more important than academic learning,” Spring told Mindful.org in October.
A former teacher and principal, Spring, 59, was hand-picked by First Deputy Chancellor Cheryl Watson-Harris for the role, with the Carranza’s support.
