By Alex Davidson
But the District 27 school, along with the other five high schools in the district listed in the city statistics, ranked behind Franklin K. Lane High School in Woodhaven, Far Rockaway High School in Far Rockaway and Beach Channel High School in Rockaway Park in the number of non-criminal incidents, the statistics show.
“I think if a student is going to apply themselves, they are going to do well,” said Donna Caltabiano, a member of Community School Board 27, who said neighborhood high schools are still good educational institutions. “The children that are there (in school) to learn are going to learn. You're going to have bad apples every place.”
The Department of Education Web site presented data on all the city's elementary, middle and high schools, using the categories major crime incidents, other crime incidents and non-criminal incidents.
The incidents were classified in the following categories: for “major crime incidents” the city used the number of felony assaults, burglaries, grand larcenies, homicides, rapes and robberies; for “other crime incidents” the city used the number of bomb threats, kidnappings, riots, sales of marijuana and sex offenses, among others; and for “non-criminal incidents,” the city used the number of harassment claims, attempted suicides, trespassing violations and alleged incidents of marijuana possession, among others.
Per 1,000 students, August Martin, located at 156-10 Baisley Blvd., had a total of 5.7 major crime incidents, 8.6 other crime incidents and 19.4 non-criminal incidents, according to the statistics.
By comparison with the rest of the borough, rates of major incidents ranged from less than 1 at Townsend Harris High School in Flushing to nearly six major crime incidents at August Martin and Jamaica High School.
Franklin K. Lane, at 999 Jamaica Ave., had 2.9 major crime incidents, 7.9 other crime incidents and 26.6 non-criminal incidents, the city figures showed.
Far Rockaway High School, at 821 Bay 25th St., registered no major crime incidents, 8.4 other crime incidents but 33.7 non-criminal incidents per 1,000 students, according to the city numbers, while Beach Channel High School at 100-00 Beach Channel Dr. had 0.9 major crime incidents, 13.7 other crime incidents and 25.6 non-criminal incidents.
District 27 is part of the larger Region 5 and includes the communities of Jamaica, Ozone Park, Richmond Hill, South Ozone Park, the Rockaway peninsula and Woodhaven. There are total of ten high schools in region 5, which also includes Districts 19 and 23 in Brooklyn.
Reach reporter Alex Davidson by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by calling 718-229-0300, Ext. 156.
