Comptroller: NYC Schools More Violent Than They Say

Well, this is disturbing: The City Comptroller's office audited ten high schools in the city and found that they did not report 41% of the violent/disruptive incidents that occurred. Schools are supposed to file information about incidents, which range from vandalism to assaults, through a computer system so the state has the information, part of the No Child Left Behind law. The state then uses that information to determine which schools are dangerous, persistently dangerous, etc.

However, the audit showed that many schools failed to report things like rape (at the Boys and Girls High School in Brooklyn) and a stabbing (Clinton High School in the Bronx). Schools were keeping track of incidents like students "about to be jumped" by gang members in their files, but didn't enter them into the computer.

Comptroller Bill Thompson said that some principals were driven to undercount incidents in order to lower crime statistics. He said reporting instructions are vague and wants the Department of Education to have more oversight and train teachers better. The teachers union head Randi Weingarten told the NY Times, "Making schools seem safer than they really are does a disservice to parents, students and educators because those schools don’t get the attention and resources they need to be made safer, putting everyone inside at risk."

The DOE says that the comptroller's audit, using information from the 2004-2005 school year, doesn't apply to the reporting system now, because it's been revamped and that the ten schools in the audit are not representative of the school system as a whole.

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By Jen Chung in News on September 20, 2007 4:23 PM

Comments [rss]

guest

Black Schools? That sounds racist. Them chillun be the results of slavery and stuff like that. Albeit slavery was abolished over one hundred and forty years ago or approximately eleven of their generations ago they seem to still hold to there problems. Blame it on whitey and the jews.

guest

those look like Black schools.

guest

I teach elementary school, so no rapes so far, but otherwise I completely guarantee that this is true. At least at a basic level - fist fights in classrooms and in the hall, slamming people into desks and walls, pencil-stabbings, etc. We would be seriously more looked at if our administration really reported. And this is 4th grade. I am not at all surprised about the reports about older kids.

guest

Maybe they should move the Board of Ed offices into City Hall since Bloomberg made such a great decision to park them next door at the newly renovated Tweed Courthouse so he could keep an eye on them. They should have their offices on Rykers Island. That way they would see the results that they so gallantly work to provide.

guest

i blame nyc parents and principals.

zodak

what's that you say? students committing crimes? principals hiding it?? i'm shocked. SHOCKED!

(i'm sure some ignorant clown will figure out a way to blame teachers for the shortcomings of nyc parents & principals)

guest

hey jen -

when are you going to drop the commenting bomb like so many other ists have?

guest

ALL NYC schools are like this. Reporting violent/aggressive/defiant behavior goes against the school's report card, which will, in the end effect the budget. Last year, an 8th grader at my school walked into a seventh grade teacher's classroom- while the teacher had a class- knocked all the books off his book shelf and said: "You ain't my teacher no more! You my BITCH! I oughta snuff you!" The child got in-school suspension (re: sat in the office) for one day. This isn't news.