Jamaica Plain Youth Violence Tests Local Schools

By Abe Scherzer

On Oct. 18, three teenage boys, one 12 –year-old and two 11-year-olds, were allegedly shot in the Jackson Square area of Jamaica Plain. The prime suspect in the crime is a 17-year-old Jamaica Plain resident, the Jamaica Plain Gazette reported.

As youth violence escalates, it becomes increasingly vital for schools to educate students on the dangers of the streets.
Bisi Oyedele, principal of Nativity Preparatory School just off Jackson Square, says his school’s extended education programs help keep kids off the streets.

“Violence is a reality of these students’ lives,” says Oyedele, 26. “Our extended school year program is designed to take them away from the influences of the streets.”

Nativity Preparatory School teaches students grades five to eight. During July, fifth and sixth graders attend a day camp at the school while seventh and eight graders go on an over night month-long camping trip.

Oyedele says students’ students spend two hours after school in a mandatory sports program, and the fifth and sixth graders attend an evening program that includes recess, dinner and a two-hour study period. “It gives them a healthy alternative to being out on the streets,” Oyedele says.

Andrew Curtis, a fifth and sixth grade teacher at Neighborhood Schools Inc., which teaches pre-kindergarten through sixth grade, says his school’s small size is helpful for dealing with street violence.

“We only have about 60 students, and we mostly deal with personal issues,” says Curtis, 40. “It’s more of getting a sense of students’ concerns and then letting them drive an in-class discussion.”

Terry Belli, the clinical director at Compass Inc. school, which is a school for emotionally disturbed kids and is a few blocks from Jackson Square, says his school addresses violence.

“Everything we do is about addressing violence,” says Belli, 44. “We do counseling and therapy. Everything is focused on our kids dealing with violence in healthy ways.’

Belli says incidents like the one in Jackson Square validates Compass Inc.’s mission. “These incidents reinforce what we’re doing,” Belli says. “During the 1988-1989 school year, one of our students was shot and killed. We developed a program that addresses violence both in and out of school As violence increases, it just reinforces what we’re doing.”

As part of Boston Public Schools’ and the Boston Police Department’s “Safety Collaboration Efforts,” the Boston Police Department School Police Unit monitors activity of students in school and patrols surrounding neighborhoods before and after the school day. The School Police Unit also provides gang prevention services and anti-gang/crime presentations.

Denise Hamilton is director of marketing and admissions at Italian Home for Children, a school of 42 students in Jamaica Plain. Italian Home for Children is a residential treatment center for students with mental disabilities. Hamilton says she and her staff urge to avoid violence.
“Most of what we do around issues of violence is we talk with students about the issues of bullying,” says Hamilton, 45. “We teach students to not bully others.”