FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Contact: Julia Allen, New Settlement Parent Action Committee, (646) 641-5859 or (718) 716-8000 x.140 

Dinu Ahmed, New Settlement Parent Action Committee, (347) 458-8390 or (718) 716-8000 x. 146

 

Parents, Students, Electeds, and Allies to Challenge Staggering Stats on School-Based Arrests in the Bronx and Call for Positive Discipline

Bronx, NY – On March 8th at 4 pm, on the steps of the Bronx Borough President’s Office, the New Settlement Parent Action Committee (PAC) will stand with Bronx students, teachers, lawyers, advocates, and elected officials to ask why students in the Bronx are being sent to the precinct instead of the principal’s office, and to urge the NY Department of Education to implement positive school discipline policies as an alternative to suspensions, expulsions and arrests.

Recent data released under the Student Safety Act – new legislation that disaggregates statistics on arrests and summonses by race, age, and gender – shows the disproportionate impact that harsh punitive measures in New York City schools have had on Bronx youth of color. 

The New Settlement Parent Action Committee is a multicultural group of concerned parents, guardians, and community members dedicated to improving the quality of education for all children in New York City, with an emphasis on District 9 in the Bronx. 

 

What:

Press conference to draw attention to overuse of arrests and summons as a form of discipline in Bronx schools, and to demand better school safety policies

Where:

851 Grand Concourse; Bronx, NY

When:

Thursday, March 8th, 4 p.m.

Who:

Assembly woman Vanessa Gibson, The New Settlement Parent Action Committee (PAC) in partnership with  the Bronx Borough President’s Office, Dignity in Schools Campaign –NY, Sistas and Brothas United (SBU),  Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice (YMPJ), Youth on the Move (YOM), Legal Services NYC- Bronx, Pumphouse Projects, Bronx Defenders, and Mass Transit Street Theater. 

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