CORINNE LESTCH Thursday, March 08, 2012

Parents, students, teachers and a host of activist groups are holding a rally Thursday to protest hundreds of arrests made in New York City public schools.

The arrest data, released by the NYPD following a city law enacted last year, shows that cops arrested an average of five kids each day in city schools from Oct. 1, to Dec. 30, 2011.

Nearly 94% of the students arrested were black or Hispanic, and 75% were male. In all, police arrested 279 students and issued 532 summonses to students for offenses like assault and loitering.

Of the five boroughs, the Bronx has the highest rate — 45% of students were arrested and issued a summons to appear in court.

“We’re fighting for real discipline that’s humane instead of pushing youth into the criminal justice system,” said Dinu Ahmed, organizer of the School Safety Committee.

The rally will be held at Bronx Borough Hall, 851 Grand Concourse at 4 p.m.

For more information, call (718) 716-8000 ext. 146 or email .

EAGLE SOARS TO NEW JERSEY

The Eagle Academy for Young Men, which opened its $50 million new school in Tremont in 2010, is expanding into the Garden State in September.

The all-boys high school — which has branches in Queens and Brooklyn — focuses largely on getting minority males into college.

In October the academy held a ceremony in which 75 seniors received blazers and reaffirmed their commitment to education.

The new school will open in Newark, officials announced last week. “We are confident that the Eagle model will be a perfect fit in serving (Newark’s) educational needs,” said David Banks, president of The Eagle Academy Foundation.

SAFE PLAYGROUNDS

A new study on Asphalt Green’s Recess Enhancement Program, a structured play program implemented in seven Bronx schools, found that verbal aggressive behavior occurred four times less frequently than at schools without the program.

Asphalt Green is expanding the program to 50 city elementary schools in September. Schools wishing to participate in the program should contact David Ludwig at (646) 981-2243.