Latest Edition of the Norwood News is Out!

By DAVID CRUZ

Dear Fellow Readers, After taking a tiny break to rejuvenate ourselves, the Norwood News is back with its latest edition. Check out 24 pages of community news happening in and around your Bronx neighborhood. We begin with page one! This story previews the impending traffic headaches set to fall on Norwood. It’s thanks to two road projects that will take out lanes and test your patience. Jonathan Custodio spoke with residents on their thoughts on the dual projects. Read the city’s response to the first project. Inside the cover you’ll find my first-person account of serving jury duty with Mayor Bill

SEE PHOTOS: Prepping for Back to School in the Bronx

The Norwood News was there to capture some of the goings-on at several back-to-school events with giveaways for the parents. Check out these photos by Jose A. Giralt.

Restaffing at DeWitt Clinton HS Sees 74 Teachers Gone

For some teachers at DeWitt Clinton High School, the last day of school means cleaning out desks until the fall semester. For other staffers, they had to clean their desks out permanently. The Department of Education confirmed to the Norwood News that out of 116 staffers, 74 were let go, including 18 teachers. The DOE classified them as excessed, a term describing a staffer that “no longer has a position at the school.” June 26 was the last day of school, with teachers seen hauling boxes full of paperwork, stationery, and plants. At the end of the previous academic year,

25K Crops Expected to Grow at DeWitt Clinton HS School Farm

By CHRISTY RAE AMMONS

DeWitt Clinton High School is now home to the largest student-operated hydroponic system in New York and is expected to produce 25,000 lbs. of vegetables and herbs annually. That is enough to feed all 2,200 students lunch daily, with over 300 lbs. a week left over for the community. Officials unveiled the futuristic farm on June 2. Whatever produce isn’t used for school lunches will be donated to food pantries and emergency food assistance, like Good Shepherd Services at the school or City Harvest. The students will also set up a small farm market at the school, selling produce and

By PS/MS 95

When contemporary teachers decide to collaborate, they have a daunting task: to create and utilize curricula to make sure that each child has access to, that is an “entry point” or “stepping stone” into the learning, so that each child can be successful. Under the leadership of school principal Serge Marshall Davis, PS/MS 95, teachers at the Sheila Mencher School have taken up the challenge of collaboration with a mission: to provide enhanced opportunities for student learning. The challenge is motivated from the heart: the teachers’ sincere desire to improve the students’ deeper learning and by the mind: the intellectual

By MARTIKA ORNELLA

More kids are expected to start 3-K this fall as the city’s universal education program expands to cover more ground. After a morning spent playing with three-year olds at the Learning Through Play Pre-K Center in Longwood on May 23, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced further commitment to growing the 3-K for All program. “We believe in a city that is fair for everyone. The goal of this administration is to make this the fairest big city in America,” de Blasio said. Flanked by Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza and Assemblyman Michael Blake, de Blasio touted the 3-K program he

Dear Fellow Readers, The latest edition of the Norwood News, covering Bronx communities, is out this week! Check out these stories put together by our dedicated interns and freelancers aiming to get the conversation going across the Bronx. Our page one story focuses on the perennial issue in the Bronx–barbecuing at areas that bar the practice. Community Board 7 is once again getting ahead of the issue and is pressuring the Parks Department to have those “No Barbecue” signs where they’re supposed to be. Read mixed feelings behind this issue. Behind the cover story is another parks-related story, this time focusing

By MARIYA MOSELEY

Amidst the fraught race relations between communities of color and law enforcement, one organization is working to improve that bond and the lives of teenagers of color. The United Chaplains State of New York Athletic League (UCSNY) is a community group geared towards empowering youth. The organization is not only comprised of chaplains, but also members from the NYPD, FDNY and EMT. Within UCSNY, more than 200 students from around the city take part in a comprehensive sports program, mentorship and interactive workshops. Lesly Roscha, 16, a student coming from Staten Island, said her two-hour commute to the UCSNY’s gym

Neighborhood Notes: Free Immigration Service

By MARTIKA ORNELLA

Low-income students with dreams of attending one of New York City’s specialized high schools will finally have an equal shot at admittance if new legislation is passed. State senators Jamaal T. Bailey, representing Norwood, and his colleague Toby Ann Stavisky introduced a legislative package geared at widening diversity in specialized high schools by making the admission process more equitable. Black and Latino students accounted for only 11 percent of those admitted to specialized high schools in 2016, despite making up 68 percent of the city’s entire student body. According to Department of Education (DOE) admissions data, black and Latino students