Westbury Middle School is the latest Long Island school to join the Council for Unity, a group aimed at helping at-risk teens make better choices.The school was officially inducted with a ceremonial passing of the sword to “knight” the newest members into an organization of thousands who pledge to “slay their dragons.”….
A duo from St. Louis is making waves in Hollywood. Justin DiCenzo and King Morelli joined forces in 2015 and created a song used in the season 1 finale of empire called “David & Goliath”…
One group is actually using former gang members to convince kids to steer clear of gangs. Education reporter Art McFarland has details. “I will work to improve my school,” students said, reciting a pledge. The pledge is for a meeting of the Council For Unity at Bronx Health Sciences High School. The council is active in dozens of schools, there and elsewhere. It uses former gang members to help keep gang activities out of schools….
Every spring, we see a rise in school-safety incidents – but this year seems different. In the past month, there have been at least 15 reported incidents of violence or threats of violence in city public schools – and at all levels (elementary, intermediate and high school). And these are just the reported incidents. No one knows how many go unreported, as schools try to avoid getting a bad reputation….
DaJuan Hawkins spent four months in jail for assault and thought he was a “nothing” destined for a life of street crime. Today, the 17-year-old high school senior is heading for college and….
With diversity often comes division. Riverhead High School has worked hard this year to erase lines of demarcation and division among its student body and to strive for unity. A new organization called the Council for Unity is one outgrowth of this effort to achieve student unity….
Recent statistics released by the Justice Department reveal that gang members in America has grown to over 1 million. That figure is twice what it was 15 years ago. It is clear we are facing a serious problem, compounded by the fact that many communities and schools throughout the country are in denial that this threat even exists…
They’ve spent their lives bustin’ guns, robbing banks, and beating their enemies bloody. They have been charged with an array of horrific crimes ranging from murder to career drug dealing. By their own accounts, they have grown up on poverty stricken streets, been schooled in shattering lives, inflicting beatings and bringing despair upon the families of those they’ve brutally killed….
Gang-prevention group wants the city to put politics aside and bring the community together to stop the cycle of violence in schools Sean “Dino” Johnson, an ex-felon and onetime resident of Sing Sing Prison, rapped his knuckles three times against a wooden podium in the auditorium of Albany’s Harriet Gibbons High School last Thursday night…
Selects 173 Noteworthy Government Programs and Practices Cambridge, Mass., – September 29, 2010. Today the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, announced 173 government programs selected for its newly-created Bright Ideas program.
As police swept Albany of 30 alleged gangstas last Friday, a tour of a different sort was also under way. Former gangstas — Latin Kings, Crips and Bloods from New York City — were taking a drive through Arbor Hill, West Hill and the South End. They were here to promote the Council for Unity, a national anti-gang program with more than 60 chapters…
For youngsters, expressing one’s self through poetry is not limited to those attending upscale suburban or private schools. A local anti-violence and anti-gang program, the Council for Unity has published “THIS IS ME” a 58 page anthology showcasing the work of 62 youngsters ages 8 to 18….
At 14, Lefrak City native Sean (Dino) Johnson was running drugs across the country for a street gang. He spent the next 12 years in and out of jail. With each release – and each return to his neighborhood – Johnson ascended the all-important street-credibility ladder…
Three and a half years ago, Riverhead High School, with a population of about 1500 students and a diverse student body, was becoming even more diverse and at times more divided. An “incident” between two neighborhood groups and a growing concern about gangs moving east on Long Island, led the principal and the school violence prevention director, Theresa Drozd, to look for a program that could help kids get along and prevent them from turning to a gang culture…
Three and a half years ago, Riverhead High School, with a population of about 1500 students and a diverse student body, was becoming even more diverse and at times more divided. An “incident” between two neighborhood groups and a growing concern about gangs moving east on Long Island, led the principal and the school violence prevention director, Theresa Drozd, to look for a program that could help kids get along and prevent them from turning to a gang culture…
To chase street gangs out of suburbia, adults will have to make a dramatic change: They’ll have to start paying attention to the culture their children live in…
In a continuing effort to apprise society of gang violence and aggression amongst youth, the East End Gang Awareness Committee is holding its annual gang awareness seminar…Robert J. DeSena, is presenting a workshop entitled “Girl Gangs: Through the Eyes of Former Female Gang Members”…
RIVERHEAD–Kyle Harmon said he joined the street gang the Crips after watching his best friend get gunned down in a drive-by shooting on a Bronx street in 1999…