Talk Bronx New York

Progress reports for the city’s roughly 500 high schools are slated to be released this month, but grades for two Bronx schools will not be among them.

One is Herbert H. Lehman High School, where executive principal Janet Saraceno is under investigation for grade tampering [1], as I reported last month. The Department of Education also may not release the progress report for John F. Kennedy High School because of missing information and inconsistencies in the data it sent to the department, said DOE spokesman David Cantor.

If the problems with Kennedy’s data are resolved by the time the department releases the reports, the school’s report card will be made public on schedule, Cantor said.

Several other high schools are being examined by the Office of Special Investigations for tampering with students’ Regents scores or inappropriately changing students’ grades after they passed the exam, but their report cards are on track to be released. Read more..

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Left without busing, sixth-grader Leigha Archibald must rely on her mom, Karrie, to drive her to Middle School 180 in the Bronx.

City education officials have denied busing to sixth-graders at two Bronx schools, forcing parents to miss work and spend extra money to escort kids to school safely.

“Yesterday, we’re on the way to pick [my daughter] up, and there’s a crackhead …lying on the sidewalk with a stem, smoking crack,” said Marcus Ortiz, whose 11-year-old daughter Taisha Lomba is in the sixth grade at the Urban Assembly School for Wildlife Conservation.

When Taisha applied to the school it was in her district - making her eligible for busing. But Urban Assembly moved over the summer, leaving many families in the lurch.

At Middle School 180, Karrie Archibald, mother of 10-year-old Leigha, was assured sixth-graders accepted into a performing arts program at the Kingsbridge school would be bused. Not so.

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City Council Majority Leader Joel Rivera fives some spectators as he runs the 2007 ING New York City Marathon.

Bronx residents - get ready to be in the zone.

New “cheer zones” along this Sunday’s route of the ING New York City Marathon will let spectators represent their boroughs as they cheer runners from around the world.

Bronx politicians and community leaders will join local residents in the borough’s zone at Graham Triangle, between 138th and 137th Sts. and Third and Lincoln Aves.

The route will bring runners into the Bronx across the Willis Ave. Bridge and back into Manhattan on the Third Ave. Bridge.

State Sen. Jose Serrano and City Council Majority Leader Joel Rivera, both former marathon participants, will be there. Read more..

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Bronx Science’s Gregory Barber is undoubtedly the best PSAL bowler in the borough. The sophomore has averaged a respectable 183.71 pins per game while leading the Wolverines to a 7-1 record and first place in Bronx II.

Barber began bowling in a league in Queens at age 5; he has his own ball and a private coach, and he entered the week ranked 39th among boys in the PSAL.

But in the Bronx, Gregory Barber is an anomaly.

The borough’s teams have failed to reach the third round of the PSAL playoffs for the past five seasons. The second highest–ranked bowler in the Bronx is Wolverines co-captain Matt Dunay, who averages 171.60 pins per game, good for 83rd in the city. Bronx Science ranks 26th overall in the PSAL. The next-best Bronx squad is Taft, ranked No. 41 before games this week.

Such numbers raise an obvious question: Why is the Bronx stuck in a perpetual traffic jam on the lanes, so many miles behind Staten Island powers Tottenville, McKee/SI Tech and Susan Wagner?

Why are they lagging so far behind Queens contenders Bayside (second) and Thomas Edison (fourth), and Brooklyn’s Goldstein (fourth), Fort Hamilton (seventh) and New Utrecht (eighth).

Barber pauses for a minute, when asked about the paucity of quality Bronx programs.

“I just think they have more money over there,” Barber said.

It’s a provocative thesis, and one of many possible explanations for Bronx bowling’s spot in the PSAL slow lane.

Queried during their matches at Ball Park Lanes on Tuesday, coaches and players alike mentioned economic factors, early exposure to the sport and ready access to the lanes as necessary ingredients for success. Read more..

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At Intermediate School 162 in Mott Haven, they’re going “pink.”

Students and faculty joined forces last week to raise awareness and money to fight breast cancer.

“A lot of girls have breast cancer, so we need to find a way to cure it,” said sixth-grader Jenabu Simaha. “Because we are fund-raising for it, maybe students think about it more.”

Simaha joined several of her classmates Friday in selling pink water bottles, bandannas, charm bracelets and more to support the American Cancer Society’s Eastern Division.

IS 162 was one of 14 Bronx schools that decorated its campus with pink balloons and streamers and raised funds to support the cause.

Principal Maryann Manzolillo, who donned a pink wig and outfit for the occasion, said she jumped at the chance to have her students participate.

“It’s important for the children to get this information, to know that it affects everybody,” she said.

Officials from the American Cancer Society also made video presentations to students in the school auditorium and conducted an informal forum for students to ask questions.

“Hopefully, they’ll take it home with them and encourage their mothers and grandmothers and aunts to go get mammograms,” said society spokeswoman Kafayat Aromashodu.

The student fund-raisers are part of the Teen Action after-school program, which regularly takes part in community service projects.

The funds raised will be donated to the society’s “Making Strides Against Breast Cancer” walks on Oct. 19. There will be 28 walks in New York and New Jersey, including one at Orchard Beach.

The IS 162 students are expected to participate in the 5-mile Bronx walk. Read more..

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