Stories tagged: violence
District's South Philly High story unravels
Submitted by Helen Gym on Fri, 03/19/2010 - 15:04 | Permalink
It’s hard to imagine that a story that first comes to public light exposing a day-long series of attacks against dozens of Asian immigrant kids can get any worse with time. But indeed, somehow the story about anti-Asian violence at South Philadelphia High School keeps getting more and more outrageous as a relentless pattern of school and District misrepresentation becomes more apparent.
In riveting testimony earlier this week at the School Reform Commission, the grandmother of one of the Asian student victims wept as she described the calculated efforts of school personnel who had scapegoated and unjustly forced out her grandson following a brutal assault upon him Dec. 2.
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Unfinished business at S. Philly High
Submitted by Paul Socolar on Wed, 03/17/2010 - 22:28 Posted in Breaking news | Permalink
Through more than two hours of emotional statements by Asian students from South Philadelphia High School and their allies, the School Reform Commission heard again and again Wednesday that Asian students who were victims of large-scale attacks at the school in December are still not happy with the District's response.
Video by Gustavo Martinez of Tram Nguyen of Victims/Witnesses Services of South Philadelphia.
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An ounce of prevention
Submitted by Michelle Welk on Wed, 03/17/2010 - 12:51 | Permalink
Maybe the first hearing held by the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations (PCHR) focusing on school violence was cathartic because it presented an opportunity for victims and those who care about them to open up about their experiences and allow others to see what they’ve gone through.
And that’s a good thing.
Healing is a hard process if you never acknowledge the pain. Finding solutions can be difficult, too, if you aren’t sure what the problem is.
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S. Philly High violence: Time to clear the record about Dec. 2
Submitted by Helen Gym on Thu, 03/04/2010 - 14:11 | Permalink
I am deeply troubled by one particular finding in Judge Giles report released last week about the violence last December 3 at South Philadelphia High School. The report indicates that it could not substantiate a highly publicized allegation that Asian students had attacked a disabled African American student the day before.
It should be noted that this explosive allegation was first uttered by Superintendent Arlene Ackerman in her very first remarks on the violence at South Philadelphia High School, almost a week after the incident:
"What began as an unwarranted off-campus attack on a disabled African American student, quickly escalated into a retaliatory multi-racial attack on primarily Chinese students at the school the following day.” (School Reform Commission hearing, Dec. 9, 2009)
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At the SRC
Posted in March 2010 | Permalink
At its February meetings, the School Reform Commission:
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A graphic account of South Philly violence
Submitted by Paul Socolar on Wed, 02/24/2010 - 10:41 Posted in Breaking news | Permalink
A retired federal judge's report, released on Tuesday, provides a lurid and troubling, almost blow-by-blow account of the violent attacks on Asian students at South Philadelphia High school on December 3.
The outside investigation by James T. Giles, now of the law firm Pepper Hamilton, was commissioned by the District. His report focuses on a series of violent incidents in and outside the school last December 2 and December 3, but did not attempt to examine the troubled history of Asian and immigrant students at the school prior to these incidents. Nor does it draw a conclusion about which of several versions of the events of December 2 is accurate.
The 37-page report (Click here to download the report in smaller sections.), which concludes with 15 recommendations for the school, was formally presented on Tuesday by Giles, joined by Superintendent Arlene Ackerman, who called on all parties to "move forward."
Some highlights from the report:
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Martin Luther King Day March
Posted in February 2010 | Permalink
On Martin Luther King Day, Philadelphia Student Union led a march down Broad Street from School District headquarters, with a crowd of several hundred calling for an end to school violence. At a rally at Arch Street Methodist Church, youth and adult leaders offered ideas for achieving a more peaceful and just school system. Students announced a citywide antiviolence campaign, including a student pledge of nonviolence.
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Tepid response to attacks against Asians is nothing new
by Gustavo Martínez Contreras Posted in February 2010 | Permalink
In 1981, two stabbings and a series of brawls between African American and Asian students disrupted school life at University City High School.
Two years later, a Vietnamese student named Do Manh spent a month in traction after a pair of attacks at University City left him with a broken neck and a Laotian girl needing stitches in her lip.
Then, as now, in the aftermath of attacks on Asian students at South Philadelphia High, District officials were slow to recognize the problem as ethnic violence and take action. Only after community outcry did they move to respond.
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Frustration with District failures marks public hearing on school violence
Submitted by Helen Gym on Fri, 01/29/2010 - 00:55 | Permalink
A series of speakers at a packed public hearing on school violence – some in tears – shared their experiences last night in what can only be described as a damning indictment of the District. Speaker after speaker – parents, teachers, and a number of students – spoke about their frustration, desperation, and anger in the face of repeated failures by the District to address safety and climate in city schools.
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South Philly grad's immigrant experience
Submitted by Gustavo Martínez on Wed, 12/16/2009 - 12:16 Posted in High schools | Permalink
We'll pick up the conversation from last week. As an update, we can tell you that school authorities announced measures in an attempt to make South Philly High safer. This includes cameras, more police, and an education program so kids learn how to deal with other cultures.
School District CEO Arlene Ackerman said she wanted the Asian students to come back to school on Monday, and that she would be there to welcome them back and have personal conversations with each one of the affected students. The students returned today.
I spoke with a South Philly High graduate, who is a recent immigrant, about his experience acclimating to the new environment.
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Renaissance School provider applicants await the first cut
by Dale Mezzacappa
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