Earlier this week, a special needs Bronx teenager was left in critical condition after he was attacked outside his school and stabbed in the neck with scissors. Yesterday, two other teens, Allassane Keita, 15, and Tyrone Graves, 16, were arrested for the stabbing of 16-year-old Negro Rivera. "They should spend the rest of their lives in jail. They tried to kill my child," said Rivera's mother, Cassandra, who had turned her son over to foster care the day before the incident. A former teacher at P12/Lewis and Clark School in East Tremont, where the stabbing took place, told us more about the problems with the school, which is designated for students with "Emotional Disturbances":
I should clarify that while there are School Psychologists and Guidance counselors at the school, they are often not able to meet with students as they are constantly inundated with paper work and thus the students don't receive their mandated counseling or other services. I would not at all fault this to the counselors, who always have worked very hard, but to the fact that the school is understaffed to deal with the intense issues that come with the Emotionally Disturbed population. Additionally, it is poignant to point out that the school has been on the persistently dangerous list for years, but in light of that, it hasn't resulted in better resources. Many of the staff have feared something like this could happen and are deeply saddened by the events.
