Controversial Teacher Ratings Released

We are in the age of Big Data, according to a report by the consulting firm McKinsey & Company. The growing troves of data in public and private hands will, according to McKinsey, create greater transparency, drive innovation, and reshape markets and government services. Recent Big Data debates around Google's privacy policies and the Facebook IPO will become more pronounced in the future as the capacity of private firms and governments to collect and analyze large data sets grows.


Today the performance evaluation information on scores of teachers in New York City was released after much debate in the media and court challenges. This is part of a larger conversation about how to improve the performance of the city's public schools. Some have questioned the methodology used to derive the scores for each teacher and the efficacy of releasing individual teacher data as a way to motivate change. On the other side, the Department of Education and others views this as a way to promote transparency and accountability.


You can read more about the teacher ratings on the NY Times School Book site.

School Arrest Data Shows Black Male Students More Likely to be Arrested

The NY Post reports on a recently released report by the ACLU about NYC public school arrest data from the fall of 2011. The release of this data is required under a City Council law passed last year. According to the ACLU analysis of the data, African-American students account for 31% percent of student population, but 60% of arrested students. When Hispanic students are factored in, students of color account for 94% of all arrests. Students ages 11 to 14 were 19% of those arrested. Each day 5 students are arrested and 9 issues summones.

This raises an important question for justice agencies and communities: How do we keep students safe in school while not further promoting the costly and ineffective school to prison pipeline?

Related:
2009-10 National School Survey on Crime and Safety

NYS Juvenile Justice Advisory Group (JJAG) Report to the Governor (2010).

NYS JJAG: Disproportionate Minority Contact

Young Adults Face Tough Times in the Job Market

I want to point your attention to an article in today's NY Times and a report released today by the Pew Center. Both look at the plight of young adults in today's job market. An issue that should be of concern for policymakers and communities.

The Times article examines the problem of high rates of joblessness among young adults in Britain and Europe. According to the Times, Spain and Greece have rates of unemployment for young adults, approaching 50%; Britain has the highest rate of unemployment of young adults it has seen since the government began keep this date in 1991- 23.3%. Clearly, the economic problems in the UK and Europe are creating some very troubling trends that may not bode well for these societies in the future.

The U.S is in the same boat. The PEW Research Center released a report that looks at the plight of young adults in the U.S. Despite the tendency for young adults here to remain positive about their future prospects, the report indicates that the percentage of young adults ages 18-24 with a job had fallen to just over 53%, the lowest since 1946 when the government began tracking this data. The unemployment rate for this cohort was just over 16% in 2011-- it is much higher in communities like Harlem.

Why should we all care?

For starters, there is some evidence that young adults who are disconnected from the labor market for long periods of time are much less likely to recover their earnings potential compared to someone in the 40s who lost a job. If you are the parent of a twenty-something you are much more likely today to have your adult child living with you because they can't make enough to live on their own (some parents might actually enjoy this). Fewer young adults able to strike out on their own and start independent households and families translate into lower economic activity.

The research is also clear that 18-24 year olds who are disconnected from the work force, have low educational attainment levels, and live in communities that are disorganized and have a high degree of social strain are also much more likely to enter the criminal justice system.

Dealing with this issue will require public and private partnerships that promote employment of disconnected youth, especially in hard hit neighborhoods.

Preventing and Mitigating the Effects of Childhood Trauma

Children who experience childhood trauma are more likely to suffer a host of legal, health, and social problems as they grow up, according to a recent interview with Dr. Carl C. Bell a psychiatrist and leading expert on the effects of childhood trauma. According to Dr. Bell, their is a clear link between trauma and health and mental health problems. He also indicates that communities can play an important role in preventing and mitigating the effects of trauma: "researchers found that 60 percent of the children with conduct disorder who live in disorganized communities with little or no social fabric end up being career criminals, compared with just 15 percent of those who grow up in communities where neighbors know and speak to one another and enforce limits on each other’s children".

The interview is posted on the U.S Department of Health and Human Services Innovations Exchange site

What's Drugs Got to Do With It? Not Much When it Comes to Gang Homicides

The U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a first of a kind report examining gang homicides. The report found that, contrary to popular belief, gang involved-homicides largely do not involve the drug trade or drug use.

Read the press release here.

Harlem Youth Court Accepting Applications!

Harlem Youth court members undergo an intensive training and are required to pass a bar exam in order to join the Harlem Youth Court. They learn to be civically engaged through their participation in trainings, which include lessons on group decision-making, the judicial process and public speaking. Youth court members also learn to appreciate the values of restorative justice and how their roles in the court serve to further this alternative approach for addressing problematic behavior, which considers an offense to be a violation of people and relationships rather than a violation of law. Following this model, the Harlem Youth Court focuses on repairing the harm done to the community and empowering the youthful offender by assigning a sanction designed to prevent future offenses.

Applicants must be 14-18 years old by June 30, 2012. Those under 18 years old will need a parent or guardian’s permission to join. Applicants must be able to attend hearings every Monday and Wednesday from 4:30 -7pm during the school year and must be able to attend training from July 10 - August 28 (Tuesday - Friday 1pm - 4pm).

You can fill out the online application and submit it online by clicking here. If you have any questions or concerns, call (212)-360-4983 or email harlemyouthcourt@gmail.com

The applications deadline is: DEADLINE: MARCH 15, 2012.

Visit the Harlem Youth Court website to learn more about the program: http://sites.google.com/site/harlemyouthcourt/