NYC public schools face first day back under new cellphone ban

Preston High School opens its doors following fight to keep school open

Mother turns grief into action nearly a year after 18-year-old son fatally shot

Your 2025 New York City Back to School Photos

New teacher orientation held at PS 340 in Kingsbridge

Fordham University rolls out food-delivery robots 

bronx

News 12 Staff

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Welcome back. Our country has seen an uptick in food insecurity and that is according to a recent report from the USDA Economic Research Service, the newest data revealed one in five Children are living in a food insecure household in Brooklyn. Nonprofits like Mazia say, they're feeling this impact locally as more and more people are needing hot meals and groceries. According to the mayor's Office of Food Policy, 1.2 million New Yorkers were food insecure. The Bronx has the highest rate at 19.7%. Brooklyn follows at 15.5 an increase that many say can impact anyone. The emergency lies with us at the food pantry, at the soup kitchen. So the food pantries and the soup kitchens are the backbone of every scenario towards the end of the week that the cupboards are getting there. It may mean that a, a family member, a caregiver is skipping meals so that they're able to give more food to their child. According to the USDA S research, nearly 13% of us households were food insecure last year and that's a 10% increase from the year before and efforts like this right here. Aim to combat those numbers. Students at Mott Hall, Bronx High School celebrating the opening of their in school food pantry. And it's thanks to a $12,500 gift card donation from stop and shop. The Mott Hall market will help meet the needs of 400 students by giving them the opportunity to pick up personal care and food to help them and their families. It's important because I know a lot of students struggle with having food. I know students who either can't go, don't want to get the lunch because they don't want to seem like they need the lunch and things like that. And it's important too because you need, you need food to be focused in class. You need to have like a full stomach if you really want to do well in class, especially doing tests and assessments. Coca Cola also donated smart water to the Grassroots Grocery Monthly produce distribution that's held at that high school Grassroots Grocery. It's a nonprofit in the Bronx that works to make healthy food more accessible by bringing pantries to the people when parents are displaying a minimum, minimum degree of care. Yes, they may need a helping hand but they don't need a call to the hotline alleging child abuse and neglect. New training is coming for mandated reporters at our city's public schools that as both local and state officials say that they're looking to reduce implicit bias when it comes are reporting suspected child abuse. The goal of that training is to stop child services from getting involved for cases that aren't actually abuse. The A CS says teachers, child care workers, doctors and police officers are all considered mandated reporters and the city adds that they need to do that training by April 1st of 2025. Snack time inside of a kinder garden classroom could have turned deadly for a child who was choking. Had it not been for the quick thinking of a teacher that teacher Iman Abdallah remembers that day last month. She's a kindergarten teacher at PS 247 in Bensonhurst who tells us that the child was eating an apple during snack time. Abdallah says that the child turned red and started coughing. So she started patting his back and giving chest compressions to get the apple out. And in her five years of teaching, she says she never thought she'd encounter a moment like that. These are like my own child. I feel like, you know, we have to be there no matter what, what whatever they need. I'm surprised that I was that calm. Um I thought like I would always think like I wouldn't be calm in a situation like this, but it just, I had to do what I had to do. Instincts kicked in and thank goodness for her. Her heroism actually received recognition from the city council and the city's Department of Education as well. Senior students at the Academy of Mount Saint Ursula skated through a rite of passage at the high school. It's a coming of age tradition that's been celebrated since 1960 where senior girls lace up their roller skates at Pope Park, roll down the grand concourse and into the next chapter of their lives. It's a cherished experience that many students told news. 12, they've waited four years to celebrate to commemorate the milestone and all of their hard work. Over the past four years, each of the students received a class ring as well. And three students over at Hostos Community College are breaking barriers and receiving the chance of a lifetime for their future careers for Estella Renata and Stephanie representation matters. Now, they are the only three in all of New York, out of 30 students nationwide to have been named Hispanic serving Institution Scholarss by the American Heart Association. They say the good news also comes with a sense of responsibility and Estella tells us it's a very personal win for her and she hopes to inspire her daughter. My daughter will see me one day and she'll be able to say that that was my mom. She changed my life and I always like wanna give her the best. You know, the program is designed to support Hispanic and Latino students in their pursuit of research. And all three of these students have also been granted $7000 to fund their research initiatives last week. PS 25 the bilingual school launched a new green classroom where they say the joy of learning meets the science of sustainability. The brand new hydroponic classroom is filled with fresh and nutritious fruits and veggies like tomatoes, watermelon, green peppers and lots of other healthy food options. As part of the school's plan to create a healthy future, not just for the students and staff but for the broader South Bronx community. The bilingual school is one of four being sponsored by the New York Power Authority Environmental Justice Program, which is partnering with New York. Sun works. It's fun because like, it's like part of nature. So like you're learning about plants that like you never knew, it makes me feel happy as well. And um like, you know, sometimes when people go to fields and they see like watermelons and fruits and tomatoes and farms, um you know, like if I go to one, I'll be like, oh, I know how this one is grown and I know how that one is grown. This event is stage two of an ambitious plan for the school. Next, their goal is to build a community kitchen and food pantry, they say would be accessible for the entire community. And students from 10 high schools across Brooklyn have an opportunity to learn about health medicine while bolstering their stem ambitions. And it's all a part of a partnership between Suny Downstate Health University and the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health, the Health Science Academy made up of 100 and 10 students meets from to week. And according to the Association of American Medical Colleges, only 5.7% of us doctors are black and to address the chronic shortage of underrepresentation in the health care workforce. This program aims to bridge the gap and it's been doing that since 1994. Coming up this month on Noel's Book Nook, we're learning about new library programs from for some of our young readers. Stay with us. State of our schools, we'll be right back.

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Welcome back. Public libraries are not only a place to check out a book, you can also get free internet, take a language class, even learn how to file your taxes. But with budget cuts coming libraries are working even harder to meet the needs of every New Yorker. And in Noel's book, Nook, we're learning about new programs for our younger readers. When I was a kid, my mom used to drop me off at the public library every week in our hometown. She knew it was a place where I could both have fun and be safe. I got a chance to meet a young woman who has a similar story. She works at the Park Chester Public Library and tells me that a book she recommends are the who was series like this one who was Celia Cruz Leah may only be a junior in high school, but she's already started her first job, possibilities, skills, entrepreneurship and how to be an individual as a teen ambassador at the public library. She says she's learning a lot 180 miles closer. Oh, and working at the Park Chasel location feels like home growing up my uncle would take me here and we'd read books and we'd play on the uh computers downstairs and play games. From a child visitor to a teen tutor. Leah is part of expanded after school programs at the public library. These drop in programs give our younger New Yorkers a place to social w get homework, help access the internet. And more most importantly, it's a place just for them. The teens and the youth of this community are helping us design this space. All respect to my adults, you're cramping their style, they want the space and the autonomy to be themselves. Some locations in the Bronx, as well as in the Brooklyn public library system are getting new and improved teen centers like the one unveiled at the Mott Haven library in September. Thanks to a $15 million investment from the mayor. If you were to walk on the street and speak to the average uh uh young person and say library, they would think that, you know, there's nothing cool, there's nothing hip, there's nothing positive, there's nothing going on and we have to find creative ways of building that bridge. Teen centers come equipped with much more than just books and resources for college. There's new tech like 3d printers and our recording studio. We are fully equipped to support a teen who is looking into a music career. We're not here to judge you. Um We're here to support you however we can and show you different career pathways and with a packed house at Leah's job in Park Chester, the investment seems to be working. The library is for all ages K through forever. And to learn more about these programs, visit our website news 12 dot com and Leah's recommendation again, the who was series features lots of other historical figures for kids to learn about from Jackie Robinson to Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a great resource. Thank you for breaking it down for us. Noel A Bronx middle school tackling mental and emotional health with the help of a Buddha booth. The principal at MS 129 Academy for independent learning and leadership says academics are not possible without being emotionally and mentally fit first. In order to practice that ideal, he tells us the school invested in two Buddha booths as a way for students to decompress meditate and to quiet their minds from the business of everyday life. And Longwood Preparatory Academy also practicing mindfulness with this new wellness room for students. Thanks to a partnership with a bullying prevention program. It's designed to give students a space to decompress in healthy ways. A school counselor is stationed in the room to help students with any emotions that they might be feeling. But other outlets include coloring books, squish balls, slinky, and comfortable furniture, meeting the needs of our students in every which way. Thanks so much for being with us here tonight on state of our schools. I'm Amanda Bossert. Until next time, be safe and be, well.

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News 12 sits down with Laurie Austin, director of admissions at Lehman College, to bring you step-by-step guidance on the college admissions process. 

State of Our Schools: Laurie Austin, Director of Admissions, Lehman College

News 12 sits down with Laurie Austin, director of admissions at Lehman College, to bring you step-by-step guidance on the college admissions process.

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