17 New York Schools Labeled ‘Persistently Dangerous’

ALBANY, N.Y.  – For the second year in a row, the New York State Department of Education has significantly expanded the number of schools it says are persistently dangerous. On Aug. 21, it added 17 schools to the list, and an additional 10 were placed on a “Watch List.”

Of the 27 that are on the list, only two are not located in New York City.

Schools are designated “persistently dangerous” if they have two successive years of serious incidents that meet or exceed criteria established by the department. Serious incidents include homicide, forcible and other sexual offenses, robbery, assault resulting in serious physical injury or in physical injury, arson, kidnapping, reckless endangerment, and possession, use or threatened use of a weapon.

Department officials believe the number of schools with this designation has increased because the state has greatly improved how it reports crime. In 2006, the number of violent crimes reported in New York’s schools rose dramatically compared to 2005. The number of sex offenses increased from 543 in the 2004-2005 school year to 948 during the 2005-2006 school year. The number of assaults rose from 4,000 to 5,084. In that same time period, the number of reported robberies jumped more that 500 percent.

According to State Education Commissioner Richard P. Mills, in all of the other 49 states, only 30 schools were listed as “persistently dangerous.” He told the New York Times, however, that he suspects the number of schools in other states getting this designation will grow.

The schools on the “Persistently Dangerous” list, along with their preliminary number of serious incidents in 2005-2006, include:

  • Berkshire Junior-Senior High School, 31
  • Charlotte High School, 68
  • Thomas Jefferson High School, 58
  • P.S. 94*, 15
  • P.S. 811*, 29
  • P.S. 12 LEWIS & CLARK SCHOOL*, 38
  • P.S. 17*, 29
  • P.S. 721 STEVEN MCSWEENEY SCHOOL*, 34
  • P.S. 754 SCHOOL FOR CAREER DVLPMNT., 34
  • P.S. 140*, 34
  • P.S. 370 JIM THORPE SCHOOL*, 21
  • P.S. 9 WALTER REED SCHOOL*, 28
  • P.S. 23*, 21
  • P.S. 752 SCHOOL FOR CAREER DVLPMNT.*, 37
  • SAMUEL J. TILDEN HIGH SCHOOL, 73
  • ROY H. MANN SCHOOL, 63
  • P.S. 109, 44

The schools on the “Watch List,” along with their preliminary number of serious incidents in 2005-2006, include:

  • Charter School For Applied Technologies, 52
  • P.S. 35*, 13
  • P.S. 169 ROBERT F. KENNEDY SCHOOL*, 11
  • P.S. 36*, 20
  • P.S. 368*, 17
  • P.S. 75 ROBERT E. PEARY SCHOOL*, 18
  • P.S. 256 ST MARY’S CHLDREN & FAMILY SVC*, 22
  • Rome Free Academy, 53
  • Milton L. Olive Middle School, 22
  • Martin Luther King,Jr High School, 11

Mills also announced that the State Education Department is taking the following actions to ensure accuracy in reporting of violent and disruptive incidents:

  • Monitoring and auditing of schools is ongoing. Data from 25 schools have been reviewed thus far. Those schools must have a chance to respond to the audits. When the process is complete, the final results will be announced publicly.
  • Priority for monitoring will be given to those schools that reported a large reduction in incidents between 2004-2005 and 2005-2006, schools that reported zero incidents, and schools where staff or community members have alleged that improprieties exist.
  • The purpose of the monitoring and site visits will be to:
    • Review violent and disruptive incident data reported by selected school districts,
    • Provide technical assistance that will improve data reports for the fall,
    • Identify what additional professional development is needed, and
    • Identify further actions that can improve our reporting system.
  • If as a result of the monitoring, any schools have underreported and should be on the list of “persistently dangerous” schools or the “watch list,” they will be added.

  • Data for all schools for 2005-2006 will be collected by the late fall and their status determined.

  • Training sessions for school administrators are ongoing. So far this summer, staff from almost 600 districts have been trained.

  • The Regents and State Education Department will ask for 70 additional auditors and similar staff to improve school accountability, especially in the review of violent and disruptive incidents reported.

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