Inquiring Photographer: Rating DeWitt Clinton High School

With school now open, this week we asked past and present students and teachers their thoughts on the troubling performance numbers for DeWitt Clinton High School.* I am surprised. I know in my day they had a really great Macy’s program, which was an elite program. At one point it was a really good school. I don’t know what happened over the years, but I’m sorry to hear that. My son won’t be going to Clinton because by the time he’s of high school age we won’t even be in New York. It’s a shame. Michelle Matias, former student Van


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Lead Testing at Schools Law Takes Effect

It is now law that schools test drinking water for lead contamination. Governor Andrew Cuomo signed legislation to identify traces of lead, a toxin that can cause brain damage if overly exposed. The state Department of Health issued emergency rules mandating school districts test their water for lead contamination by Oct. 31 and report results to parents, the state Department of Health and local government officials. Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, representing the northeast Bronx, said the new law gives “parents, students and faculty the peace of mind they deserve. If lead levels are detected above 15 parts per billion at any


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Latest Edition of the Norwood News is Out!

Greetings Loyal Readers! The latest edition of the Norwood News is out with plenty of community news you can use. We begin, of course, in the beginning with page one: coverage of the September Primary in the Bronx. It was a pretty predictable ending for the candidates, with no upsets. Typical for incumbents and party-backed candidates in the Bronx. Read up on the five races that could impact residents of the northwest Bronx. Inside the cover you’ll read on the opening of a dormant pizza stand in Norwood, and a stalwart saloon in Norwood that could be serving its last


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Latest Edition of the Norwood News is Out!

Greeting Readers! After a brief hiatus (depending on how you ask) the Norwood News is back with its regularly scheduled edition of the neighborhood paper covering plenty of Bronx news you can use. We begin with a story we’ve been following for some time, the saga involving a two-story home on Bedford Park. We bring you up to speed of the aftermath of a fire that impacted the tenants who were in the middle of fighting their landlord in court. Find out how the city is helping to restore the building. In other news: with the September Primary right around


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Norwood News Presents: This is Your Neighborhood

Dear Fellow Readers: How much does your neighborhood mean to you? For some, it’s a place to reside. For others, it’s a place to build a family. Whether transient or a mainstay, we are all products of a neighborhood, charged up by its tempo and space. In the Bronx, a kaleidoscope of communities east and west, north and south, give the borough a uniqueness unlike most of the city. If you look to the west, a bustling Fordham shopping district sees some 80,000 people overrun the ever-growing strip while City Island, resting at the eastern tip of the Bronx, offers


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Latest Edition of the Norwood News Is Out!

Hello Faithful Readers, The month-long edition of the Norwood News is out with plenty of Bronx community news you can use. With our July-August edition, are some interesting stories intended to pique your interest. We first begin in Bedford Park with a tenants meeting involving Ved Parkash, dubbed the city’s worst landlord. Hear what tenants living in his buildings had to say about conditions, which have drawn the ire of city officials. Also, hear what Mr. Parkash had to say of his buildings. Moving into the pages of the edition you’ll read up on Mosholu Montefiore Community Center‘s respected executive director,


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(Op-Ed) Answers for the Student Homelessness Crisis

Of the 58,000 people sleeping in shelters on any given night, nearly three-quarters are parents and their children, who are unable to afford an apartment in our increasingly unaffordable city. For the six-year-old living in a shelter or doubled up in the home of a family friend, the daunting prospects of learning to read and social dynamics of making new friends are fraught with the instability of homelessness. Children who are homeless are more likely to be suspended and to have behavioral issues in school. Due to the often longer commutes, they may struggle to complete their homework and study


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Editorial: Choosing the Right School Can Change the Trajectory of a Child’s Life

Admission into a New York City high school fares way more difficult than neighboring Westchester County, where municipalities typically have one public high school. In some extreme cases, the process to enter a New York City high school can begin at the end of sixth grade. It is a cumbersome process that, given its length, could turn parents off. But the investment and time one puts into it can change the direction of their young child’s life. The New York City Department of Education (DOE) released an updated high school directory, a profile listing of every high school in each


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