Working Toward a Common Goal: Safety, Discipline and Teaching Teens in NYC Schools

Working Toward a Common Goal Students with too few credits, who have discipline problems or who lose interest in school often drop out or are placed in alternative programs. Not surprisingly, young people of color are most likely to leave school without a degree and end up in poverty – and sometimes in prison. How can the city’s schools better engage disconnected students? Do discipline practices contribute to high drop-out rates? What will it take for New York to help all students reach their potential – and break free of the national trend of urban underachievement?

Speakers: Ana Bermudez, Co-Director, Community Prep High School Na-Sia Chinn, Junior, Lafayette High School, and Intern, Each One, Teach One Youth Leadership Training Program Bobby Ferazi, Director, Youth Link Program, Police Athletic League Daniel Losen, Senior Education Law and Policy Associate, Civil Rights Project, Harvard University Shane Mulhern, Executive Director, Office of Youth Development and School-Community Services, NYC Department of Education

Moderator: Andrew White, Director, Center for New York City Affairs