Proposal for Closure of MS 80 Officially on Table

Amid plummeting test scores and reports of gang problems, the Department of Education is proposing to close MS 80 Mosholu Parkway in Norwood. If approved, the school will undergo a dramatic re-organization including losing at least 50 percent of its current staff and changing its name.

On Leap Day, Celebrating “LEAP Day” in the Bronx

For 34 years, the nonprofit group Learning through an Expanded Arts Program (LeAp) has provided music, dance, theater and visual arts programs at New York City public schools, including many in the Bronx. Last Wednesday, on leap day (Feb. 29), Mayor Michael Bloomberg proclaimed it to be “LEAP DAY” in honor of the group’s contributions

Bronx Notes: Family Resource Day at Library Center, Saturday

The Bronx Library Center, at 310 East Kingsbridge Road, will hold a free family resource day on Saturday, March 3, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Pre-Function Lobby. Representatives will be there to talk about educational and child care resources as well as summer programs and to give out information to families.

Court Denies City’s Plea to Reject Injunction, Churches Will Be Allowed to Worship in Schools Until June

The Second Circuit court has denied the Department of Education’s application to have a preliminary injunction lifted on its policy banning worship in school buildings during off-hours. The denial will allow churches and other religious groups to continue worshiping inside city public schools until at least mid-June.

Churches Can Keep Meeting in Schools, Judge Says

In the latest development in the citywide debate over worship services being held in public schools, a judge ruled late last week that New York City churches and religious groups are allowed to continue meeting in school space, at least until a lawsuit considering the matter gets resolved. Bronx Household of Faith, the University Heights parish, has been waging a lawsuit against the Department of Education for 17 years for the right to keep holding services at PS/MS 15 on Andrews Avenue. The city has long wanted to end the practice, arguing that it could give the impression that the

Locked Out of Schools, Bronx Religious Groups Seek Alternatives

An ongoing tug of war over a city policy banning worship in public school buildings during non-school hours caused confusion this past weekend, sending many churches that rent space from local schools scrambling to find sites to hold their Sunday services.

Local Initiative Puts Focus on Teens’ Reproductive Health

Editor’s Note: Every Wednesday, Breaking Bronx features a health-related story, event or tidbit as part of an online expansion of our Be Healthy! column. As federal lawmakers in Congress continue to debate over whether health insurers should be required to cover the costs of birth control, a recent city initiative is looking to curb teen pregnancy rates in the Bronx, where it is higher than in any other borough. The program, called Bronx Teens Connection, will offer affordable reproductive health services to the borough’s teenagers, as many here lack health insurance coverage and live below the poverty line. In New

Churches Can Stay in Schools for 10 More Days, Judge Says

A city policy banning worship in public school buildings during non-school hours was put on hold today, after a federal judge issued a temporary injunction this morning that will allow churches and other religious groups to continue holding services in schools, at least for the next 10 days. The ban was supposed to go into effect Sunday, Feb. 12, following a federal court’s decision last spring that the Department of Education could legally evict the religious groups on the grounds of separation of church and state. Bronx Household of Faith, a small University Heights-based church that has held services in

Bronx Nabe Note: CSI for Teens at BCC

Bronx Community College‘s Science and Technology Entry Program (STEP), offers aspiring middle and high school students classes in the fundamentals of crime scene investigating.