PS 51 Parents Call Out DOE, Chancellor

The parents of current and former students at PS 51, the Bronx New School, say they are not satisfied with the Department of Education’s response after discovering high levels of toxins at school’s former building in Bedford Park. Next week, in response to the DOE’s lack of response, they will take their list of complaints to the Panel for Education Policy meeting at the Bronx High School of Business next Wednesday evening.

On State Test Scores, Northwest Bronx Schools Lag Behind

Elementary and middle school students in the Bronx’s District 10, which contains all of the schools in the Norwood News coverage area, scored worse than students across both the city and state on last year’s standardized math and English exams, according to data released last month.

PS 51’s Move to Crotona Not Seamless

For the parents of kids at PS 51, the move from a contaminated building in Bedford Park to the St. Martin of Tours building in Crotona has been mostly smooth, with some minor hiccups.

DOE Announces 9/11 Curriculum

With the start of a new school year arriving just days before the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, the Department of Education unveiled a new classroom curriculum last week to help students understand the history and emotional weight of the event.

Toxins Send PS 51 to Crotona

At a tense public hearing in late August, the Department of Education announced it will be moving Bedford Park elementary school PS 51, known as the Bronx New School, to a new building two miles south—the result of a discovery earlier this summer that its current site contains hazardous levels of a chemical toxin linked to cancer.

Schools Must Teach Sex Ed, City Says

New York City high school and middle school students will be required to take sex education classes starting this fall, the schools chancellor announced last week, the first time the city has broached such a mandate in over two decades.

City Plans Overhauls for MS 80 and MS 391

As part of an ongoing effort to turn around poor performing schools, the Department of Education is making changes this fall at 33 middle and high schools across the city, including two nearby: MS 80 on Mosholu Parkway, and MS 391, or the Angelo Patri School, further south on Webster Avenue.

From the DR to Walton, Softball Star Tears It Up

Claritza Caceres, 17, is a junior at the International School for Liberal Arts at the Walton campus. Quiet and modest, with a petite frame, her appearance hardly lets on that she is what many would consider a softball prodigy. This past season, Claritza muscled a .696 batting average with 45 runs batted in and 29 stolen bases. A pitcher, she had an earned run average of 3.68.

All Must Join in Bullying Battle, Say Experts at Monte

In the past year, the disastrous effects of bullying have become more visible with high profile youth suicides. More adults are recognizing that bullying victims can suffer from depression, low self-esteem, health problems, poor grades, and have suicidal thoughts. That’s why Montefiore Medical Center’s community forum two weeks ago focused on the issue.