Schools

DOE Responds to NYC School Safety Coalition Comments following Bronx School Slashing

By SÍLE MOLONEY
  The NYC Department of Education (DOE) has responded to remarks made by a representative of the NYC Schools Safety Coalition, Mona Davids, in the wake of a face slashing which took place at Bronx Collaborative High School on Wednesday. Sept. 15, after a dispute broke out between two students.   As reported, an unidentified, 15-year-old student was slashed in the face with an unknown object on the school premises at DeWitt school campus, located in Jerome Park, while another student fled to parts unknown. EMS transported the victim to Montefiore Hospital in stable condition. Police confirmed on Tuesday, Sept.


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UPDATE: Slashing at Bronx Collaborative High School Leaves One Student Hospitalized

By SÍLE MOLONEY & DAVID GREENE
  A student from Bronx Collaborative High School was hospitalized following a slashing incident which took place at the school on Wednesday. Sept. 15, after a dispute broke out between two students. Police later confirmed on Tuesday, Sept. 21, that a 15-year-old male was arrested on Sept. 20 in relation to the incident and has been charged with assault.   In response to an inquiry sent to the NYPD on Sunday, Sept. 19, police confirmed that at approximately 1 p.m. on Sept. 15, police responded to a 911 call regarding an assault inside 100 West Mosholu Parkway South in Jerome


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NY Lottery TAKE 5 Top-Prize Winner Sold in The Bronx

By SÍLE MOLONEY
The New York Lottery announced on Friday, Sept. 17, that one top-prize winning ticket was sold in the Sept. 16 TAKE 5 EVENING drawing. The ticket, worth $44,137.50, was purchased at Happy Face Convenience Corp., located at 921 E. 180th Street in the West Farms section of the Bronx.   Take 5 players with midday and evening draws on the same ticket must check their numbers at nylottery.ny.gov to determine if they have the winning numbers for the corresponding midday or evening drawing.   TAKE 5 numbers are drawn from a field of one through 39. The drawing is televised twice daily at


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Kids Return to In-Person Learning at Public Schools 18 Months after NYS “PAUSE” Order

By DAVID GREENE
Many of New York City’s 1.1 million school children who were sent home in March 2020 when then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced a statewide “PAUSE” order, amid the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, returned to their classrooms on Monday, Sept. 13, as the City reopened public schools for in-person learning once again.   After joining NYC Schools Chancellor, Meisha Porter, at P.S. 25 Bilingual School on East 149th Street in the Woodstock section of the South Bronx on Monday morning, Mayor Bill de Blasio later held a press briefing at City Hall. “This is the day New York City’s comeback is


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CUNY Professors, Students Continue Protests against Budget Cuts ahead of Return to In-Person Learning

By DAVID GREENE
Before the return to in-person learning this fall, a group made up of staff and students at some Bronx-based City University of New York (CUNY) colleges, vowed to continue their “caravan” protest tactic of driving lines of vehicles past the homes of two CUNY college presidents, to continue to demonstrate their opposition to lay-offs of almost 2,000 adjunct professors that took place at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, as reported.   The protestors say CUNY is sitting on $4.8 million in CARES Act funding and funding from the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSAA) which could be


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UPDATE Neighborhood Notes on 9/11 Commemoration, Back-to-School Events, Help with Flooding & More

  9/11 Memorial Events Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. and the Supreme Court of Bronx County is hosting a 9/11 memorial service on Monday, 13th Sept. at noon, at Lou Gehrig Plaza. See attached flyer for more information.   Partnerships for Parks announced that on Saturday, October 16th, nearly 1,000 volunteers will gather in parks across the city for Fall IMP-act Day, the group’s annual citywide park beautification day.   For the 20th anniversary of 9/11, volunteers will begin planting 70,000 daffodil bulbs which will bloom in the spring of 2022, honoring the lives lost to the terrorist attacks through the Daffodil


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UPDATE: DOT Calls for Expansion of Speed Cameras in School Zones following Bronx Fatal Crash

By SÍLE MOLONEY
NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) Commissioner Hank Gutman is calling for the expanded use of cameras in school zones, following two fatal crashes which occurred over the weekend, one on East Fordham Road in the Bronx and one in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn.    Under prevailing State legislation, cameras in school zones can only legally operate between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., Monday to Friday.   “This weekend saw two high-speed, fatal crashes on our streets, both of which occurred within school zones, near speed cameras we aren’t legally allowed to operate,” said Gutman. “Once again, we urge the


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UPDATE: 85 Bronx Students Complete Digital Skills Program in Efforts to Narrow the “Digital Divide”

By SHANIA DEGROOT & SÍLE MOLONEY
The “digital divide” is defined as the gulf between those who have ready access to computers and the internet, and those who do not. A 2019 report by New York City Comptroller, Scott Stringer, found that roughly a third of New York City residents did not have reliable access to the internet. Not only was this a cause for concern when it came to the completion of the first online census in 2020, but the subsequent, necessary transition to widespread remote learning, amid the pandemic, brought the problem into even sharper focus.   In June of this year, as reported,


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Archdiocese of New York Shares Catholic Schools Reopening Plan

By SÍLE MOLONEY
Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of New York are preparing for schools to be fully open for in-person learning in the fall with no remote or hybrid learning. On Thursday, Aug. 12, the superintendent of schools for the Archdiocese of New York released “Catholic Schools Are Open: We Continue to Soar!”, a guide which lays out the Archdiocese’s plan which representatives say aims to ensure the maximum health, safety, and care for children and staff in September.   According to the archdiocese, the updated manual, distributed on Thursday to parents, principals, school staff and faculty, is based on an international


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