I don't write a lot about the neighborhood, but...
I was meeting with Mr. Richter during first period yesterday, when we heard two sharp reports. I've heard gunshots before, and I was pretty sure that's what they were. I said, "That didn't sound good," but then we went on with our meeting, since our meeting times are very limited, and well, what else were we supposed to do? Run to the window?
Later, as I was walking down the hall, I ran into our parent coordinator. Turns out she had been standing by the laminator, waiting for something to laminate, and kind of absent-mindedly staring out the window, when she saw the exchange of gunfire. It was in a park about half a block from our school. I don't think anyone was hurt as lots of police cars showed up but no ambulances. Fortunately for our ability to conduct classes that day, most of the teachers and students had not really heard or registered what they were hearing.
If it was gang-related, which it probably was (who else shoots someone at 9 am in a park?), there is some danger that there will be more violence over the next few weeks in the same area. It's not bad enough that neighborhood thugs regularly jump our kids on their way home from school, now we can add shoot-outs to the list of things to worry about, even in broad daylight.
We are having a gang-awareness meeting after school next week. I have managed to avoid knowing much of the details about the local gangs up until now, but I would like to know more and it seems more and more relevant. We are concerned that a few of our students - and DEFINITELY some of their siblings and parents - may be involved. And of course, the problems with kids getting jumped spiked around the same time we heard that it was "gang initiation week," so there's probably some relationship between the gangs and that problem, too.... *sigh*
Later, as I was walking down the hall, I ran into our parent coordinator. Turns out she had been standing by the laminator, waiting for something to laminate, and kind of absent-mindedly staring out the window, when she saw the exchange of gunfire. It was in a park about half a block from our school. I don't think anyone was hurt as lots of police cars showed up but no ambulances. Fortunately for our ability to conduct classes that day, most of the teachers and students had not really heard or registered what they were hearing.
If it was gang-related, which it probably was (who else shoots someone at 9 am in a park?), there is some danger that there will be more violence over the next few weeks in the same area. It's not bad enough that neighborhood thugs regularly jump our kids on their way home from school, now we can add shoot-outs to the list of things to worry about, even in broad daylight.
We are having a gang-awareness meeting after school next week. I have managed to avoid knowing much of the details about the local gangs up until now, but I would like to know more and it seems more and more relevant. We are concerned that a few of our students - and DEFINITELY some of their siblings and parents - may be involved. And of course, the problems with kids getting jumped spiked around the same time we heard that it was "gang initiation week," so there's probably some relationship between the gangs and that problem, too.... *sigh*
posted by ms. v. at 4:49 PM
2 Comments:
I worry about losing my cherry parking spot and convenient mailbox, and you deal with gunshots and the promise of escalating gang violence.
Bless you Ms Frizzle.
In my school one of the most important PD was gang identification. Once teachers in my school learned to recognize gang talk, walk, clothes, and hand signs, our school became much safer. We could tell the Ap of safety who informed the NYPD gang intervention unit and the gang members were sent to a more appropriate learning environment.
The result a safe school with improved academic grades.
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