CUNY program director posts photo taken in classroom — without pants

The director of a CUNY program that exposes city kids to college coursework apparently made a different kind of exposure — in a pantless photo posted to social media.

J. Michael Steele, 52, who works with the City University of New York’s Early College Initiative, tweeted a photo Thursday of a man — who appears to be him — standing in a classroom wearing a striped polo shirt, black sneakers, a face mask and nothing else.

“When it’s hot outside and inside. It’s Pom Pom shorts time. No kids were present for this blackmail photo,” he tweeted.

When reached by The Post on Saturday, Steele denied the photo was of him. He would not say who it was and hung up.

Steele has since made his Twitter account private, but a screenshot of the post was tweeted by the LibsofTikTok account.

“NYC … where you don’t have to wear pants to school as long as you’re wearing the damn mask,” one person commented.

Someone else tweeted “There’s such a thing called professionalism. Don’t people know the appropriate behavior for work environments? Especially ones around kids?”

Steele, a former teacher and principal in Detroit and Massachusetts, works in a CUNY program that supports 20 New York City public middle and high schools offering a mix of college-prep curriculum and the chance for students to get college credit. The program serves students in grades 6 through 12.

“As an educator, I’ve learned that kids just want to be supported, appreciated, respected, heard, understood, and loved. They want to know we’re human and not spokes on a wheel that leads them nowhere. That’s all. That’s it. It’s about them, not me,” Steele wrote on his Linkedin profile.

He does not work directly with students.

“CUNY is committed to providing an appropriate learning environment for all its students. This post was brought to our attention, subsequently removed and appropriate action is now being taken. As a matter of policy, we do not comment on personnel matters,” said Joseph Tirella, a university spokesman.

https://nypost.com/2022/08/06/cuny-program-head-tweets-photo-in-classroom-without-pants/