For Some Students, Negative Statistics Are Motivation

On television, on the radio and in the news, young people often hear that Hispanic and African-American teens don’t do as well in school, or in life. But for many Bronx youth, this data only motivates them.

Bronx New School Parents Unite for Strategy Session

Parents of past and present students of PS 51, the Bronx New School, which was housed in a highly toxic Bedford Park building for two decades before moving this past summer, are coming together tonight to discuss a strategy going forward as they look to keep pressure the Department of Education.

Packed Classrooms Cramp Learning, Students Say

Editor’s Note: The following story was originally published in Bronx Youth Heard, a publication of the Bronx Youth Journalism Initiative, a free journalism program for Bronx high school students run by the Norwood News. We are currently accepting applications for our spring semester. To find out more about the program and how to apply, click here. The Bronx Youth Journalism Initiative is supported by the North Star Fund, the Johnson Family Foundation Fund, and City Councilman Fernando Cabrera, and is run in collaboration with CUNY’s College Now program at Hostos Community College. By Leila Nombre At Jonathan Levin School for

Bronx Breakdown: Star Bronx Teacher Banished to Basement & More (Updated)

This week on the Bronx Breakdown we break news about Discovery High School teacher Steve Ritz whose successful program somehow landed him in the basement and unable to continue the work he started. Plus, speaking about the unspeakable violence over jackets, the Bronx’s famous new resident and what you should do this weekend.

Aspiring Young Actors, Dancers and Musicians Wanted for Mind-Building

Madaha Kinsey-Lamb, a former public school teacher, started Mind-Builders in 1978. The nonprofit program that uses professional, working performing artists to share their expertise and instruct the next generation has grown into a thriving organization with a $600,000-a-year budget. Mind-Builders is scheduled to move into a newly-renovated building on the corner of White Plains Road and East Gun Hill Road this fall. But for now is using an annex building at St. Brendan’s School in Norwood as a temporary home. On Tuesday night, Kinsey-Lamb, still the program’s executive director three decades after its founding, was doing the dirty work of

Traditional schoolyard bullying has moved from campus grounds to the computers, and cell phones, of many teenagers. After a rash of bullying-related deaths last year, the public’s awareness of cyber-bullying has grown, and local schools and government officials are taking more serious actions to prevent it.

Calling All Future Bronx Journalists!

The Bronx Youth Journalism Initiative, a free high school journalism after-school program run by the Norwood News, is now accepting applications for the Spring 2012 semester. Founded in 2008, the Bronx Youth Journalism Initiative is open to any high school student who lives or goes to school in the Bronx. Spring classes will start at the end of February and are held every Wednesday afternoon from 4 to 6 p.m. at Hostos Community College, on the Grand Concourse. The application deadline is February 15. The course runs for 12 weeks, and teaches the ins and outs of reporting, writing, and

While students are forbidden from having cell phones in school, some say their teachers use them in class. They find the double-standard distracting and unfair.

A Trip Through Metal Detector Means Late for Class

At 9:05 a.m. on a recent cloudy and windy Monday morning, a large crowd of students are eager to get inside of Morris High School Campus in the Bronx. They are already five minutes late for their first period and the process of going through the school’s metal detectors will make them even later.