City officials are taking a community approach to keeping schools safe, launching a program aimed at improving the academic lives of students across the five boroughs while providing them opportunities to explore their talents.
As part of the Project Pivo program, community-based organizations will offer mentorship, counseling, arts and sports programming.
More than 100 organizations will be involved in the program that includes violence interrupters that will create safe corridors for students as they come and go from school.
“We’re thinking about our children and the right they have to succeed like all children have that right to succeed and in the long run we will keep them safe and keep their schools safe. Safety is not a police job, it is a village job, and the village is here today,” said Mayor Eric Adams Thursday.
The program will cost $9 million and will be available in 138 schools that were identified based on safety factors like the number of suspensions, incidents and chronic absenteeism.
Officials say the program is an additional resource for students struggling to reach their goals.
“They have children in their schools who are brilliant. They are every bit as talented as every other child, they just need the additional support and the support is going to be provided through Project Pivot,” said city schools Chancellor David Banks.
The program is part of a larger effort to take a holistic approach to reaching students across the five boroughs, especially Black and Brown children who face challenges at home and school. The program is expected to reach about 10,000 students.
“Struggling Black children, they are named, they are shamed, they are really blamed for the societal failures and we attach those failures to them,” said Susan L. Taylor, founder and CEO of National CARES Mentoring Movement.
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