‘Dangerous’ schools list growing

The State Education Department recently added Jamaica High School, along with nine others statewide, to its list of “persistently dangerous” facilities.
To land on the list, schools had to record serious incidents - homicide, sexual offenses, robbery, assaults with physical injury, arson, kidnapping, reckless endangerment, and possession, use, or the threatened use of a weapon - at a rate of six or more per 100 kids. However, the statistics are self-reported by schools to the state officials, and do not necessary correspond to crime statistics kept by the New York Police Department (NYPD).
State Education Commissioner Richard Mills said that the number of “dangerous” schools rose because of more rigorous reporting and not more violence in schools. Initially, more than 50 sites were picked out based on their 2005 to 2006 stats or from a large drop in their incident numbers, and officials looked at the records for 2006 to 2007 to see if violent or disruptive incidents in each continued.
In addition, Mills said that the number of state-designated dangerous schools will likely rise again next year, as schools refine their recording methods. Additionally, the state plans to issue a “watch list” in the fall, announcing schools nearing the statistical threshold of “persistently dangerous.”
“We are determined to help schools become safe. This problem involves parents, the community, and the school. We must all take action to eliminate the serious problems that exist in some schools,” Mills said.
Four borough schools of 27 statewide are now on the state’s list. In Queens, P.S. 811, P.S. 9, and P.S. 752 stayed on the ledger. However, each of the borough’s elementary schools included are part of District 75, which is designated for special education students.
In response to the new list, city Department of Education (DOE) officials issued a statement clarifying several aspects of the list creation process.
“Of the 16 schools added to the state’s persistently dangerous list, several are District 75 special education schools for children with severe emotional and behavioral challenges who may therefore be more disruptive. Others have either made significant progress or have such small registers that a handful of incidents skews their safety rating,” wrote DOE spokesperson Dina Paul Parks in a statement.
Several city schools also made their way off the state list this year. According to state officials, violent and disruptive incidents at P.S. 23 in Jamaica Estates - and seven other statewide - have gone down.