Last year, only 40 percent of the students at Paul Robeson graduated in four years, and the Department of Education says that’s the primary reason the school should be closed. In 2007-08, the graduation rate was 56.7%. In 2008-09, the graduation rate fell precipitously to 40.1%. Credit accumulation rates are also low:In 2008-09, only 58.4% of first-year students accumulated 10 or more credits. Low expectations, low attendance rates, and low graduation rates are all reasons the Department of Education cites for why it wants to close the high school. Twenty-one schools have been told that the Department of Education will begin their phase out in September 2010. Fifteen of those schools — a completely disproportionate number — were high schools. They will phase out in 2013.
Paul Robeson’s Peace Lab filmed at the high school in December. This is an excerpt of our documentary about the phasing out of Robeson.
The Project Peace Video Club is one of the most popular programs on the Bushwick campus, and also one of its most personal. Through their online blog, students make their voices heard on the issues that affect them the most: When fellow student Jasmine Colon lost a friend to gang violence, she told them her story in an emotional interview.
It’s important for students to respond and deal with problems that matter to them, but it’s also important to learn from the stories of others. They took on one of the nation’s biggest problems last month, when they filmed a PSA about violence in juvenile detention facilities – a sad truth for young men and women behind bars. Minors in juvenile hall are in danger of abused and beaten…sometimes to death.
Many may feel it’s a lost cause, but it’s one that must be addressed. “We decided to come together as a group and make a PSA” says Clarisa James, who collaborates with students on various projects. “There was a sense of accomplishment – they used their skills towards something positive.”
But for all their skills and accomplishments, they knew they would need some help. They found it at Each One Teach One, a program to train youth to be come advocates for youth in juvenile detention centers.“Through their program, youths learn about the injustices in juvenile detention centers,” says Clarisa. “They became advocates for teenagers that can’t speak for themselves.”
They staged a mock press conference about a fictional attack in a correctional facility – a 14-year-old was killed when he got into a fight with another teenager. With better security, it might’ve been avoided.
They also simulated a protest rally in response to the teenager’s death. “It was very important for them,” says Clarisa, “because they were not aware of the bureaucracy in juvenile detention centers.”
Afterwards, some students got to say a few words about what they learned that day. Juasheena Gilot said that she was emotionally moved by everything she had seen: “Each One Teach One has taught me that I have a voice to speak up for those who can’t.” She was clearly proud of what they had accomplished.
To learn more about the Project Peace Video Club, visit bccp.wordpress.com
On Saturday and Sunday, December 15th and 16th, Jomal Dillon, Lotiecha Beckles, Lakiesha Fable, Joseph Myers and Christopher Cooper, Paulette Marks and Jessica Rose came to St. John’s Bread and Life and worked with hundreds of volunteers that packed goods and toys for thousands of families. Joseph and Chris were two of the last remaining volunteers to help load truck after truck of food and gifts to be delivered to families throughout New York City for the holiday season.
If Brooklyn high school students could speak to Manhattanites who have never ventured into their neighborhoods, what would they say? On May 31st, Brooklyn Speaks, a performance by a group of Brooklyn high school students will try to answer that question. The students will be performing autobiographical monologues at The Tank @ Collective Unconscious, a downtown art collective, at 7:00 PM. The work presented is based on writing produced in a five week intensive workshop hosted by the Brooklyn College Community Partnership (BCCP) and led by writer and artist Tara Clancy.
Clancy was born and raised in Queens, NY. She has performed in spaces throughout New York City, and her show Channel Rat was performed at the 2005 New York International Fringe Festival. In addition to her work with BCCP, she leads writing workshops at the Harvey Milk High School. Clancy’s own move to Manhattan, after living most of her life in Queens, gave her the desire to work with young people so that they might tell others about life in the “outer” boroughs. She notes that it’s important for young people to see that they are relevant and important to this city.
“Their work is equal parts poetry, performance, and theater. Some of it’s funny and some of it’s serious—but it’s all about their lives. That’s the key ingredient because my hope is that that these stories can help dispel stereotypes. I want the audience to begin to know what it’s like for people who live in the boroughs.”
On a warm spring day several weeks ago a group of students from Prospect Heights High School Campus could be seen ambling through the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Led by poet and Brooklyn College adjunct professor Matthew Burgess, the students were not playing hooky, they were getting inspired! Twice a week Burgess leads a writing workshop with Prospect Heights students as part of the BCCP’s after-school program. All semester long students have been honing their writing skills and workshoping poems. Writing great poems requires practice, but some days, as these poets learned, it’s nice to be outside, explore nature, and create.
The arts enrich all of the BCCP’s programs. There are artists working at each site in fields as diverse as digital video, fashion, culinary arts, radio, web, and game design. Brooklyn College Art Lab (BCAL) is located at Brooklyn College and is the hub of the arts network with three full-time artists and workshops Monday through Thursdays and Saturdays. The goal is to provide students with new vehicles for self-expression; connections to students from different high schools via the arts; and artists who serve as models for future careers in arts and technology.
