Urban Assembly Parents: Don’t Let School Return to the Way it Was
by David Greene
Parents at the Urban Assembly School in West Farms are slowly getting back to normalcy– after two teens were stabbed in what officials described as the first killing in a classroom in more that twenty-years.
One mom shows reporters a photo of her daughter who was beaten up at the school last year.–Photo by David Greene
Formerly known as The Mohegan School at 2024 Mohegan Avenue, today houses P.S. 67 as well as the Urban Assembly School for Wildlife Conservation, a high school serving grades 6 – 12.
A Facebook photo of Matthew McCree, 15, who was fatally stabbed to death in a high school classroom in the West Farms section.
On Wednesday, October 27, police were called to the school after two teens were stabbed inside a fifth-floor classroom. Fifteen year-old Matthew McCree was stabbed twice in the chest and died at St. Barnabas Hospital.
The second unidentified 15 yer-old male was stabbed in the torso and sliced in the forearm, but was expected to recover.
Police quickly took Abel Cedeno, 18, into custody. Cedeno was charged with murder, attempted murder and manslaughter and is currently being held without bail.
Describing the bullying, one parent showed a handful of journalists a cellphone photo of her daughter after a bullying incident last year. Speaking through a translator, the stressed-out mom explained, “We had a meeting with the other girl, her parent and the principal and nothing happened.”
The mom said of Principal Jeffery Santiago, “He doesn’t do anything, he doesn’t listen to the parents and he needs to go to a different school.”
The mother then claimed that five teachers have left in the two-years Santiago has been assigned to the school, the mom added, “There use to be a lot of good teachers here, but he got rid of many of them.”
Those parents who’s children are experiencing bullying in a New York City Public School are urged to call the United Federation of Teachers Tip Line at (718) 709-3222.
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