A coalition of unions yesterday called on Mayor Bloomberg to convene a “safety summit” to address a spate of violent attacks in and around schools in the past week.
“We’re seriously concerned about the safety of students and staff,” said United Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten.
The UFT, joined by three unions representing school supervisors, safety officers and school aides, held a press conference at which they presented as an example Clifton Frazier, a Bronx teacher who was repeatedly punched in the face by two 16-year-old students last week.
“There aren’t enough consequences for our children and they know it,” said Frazier, a teacher at PS 12X, a school for troubled youths.
“I was shocked” by the attack, he added. “The students don’t see you as an adult figure.”
Weingarten cited nine incidents from Oct. 17 to Oct. 22 in calling for the summit.
She said the summit should be held before Halloween, one of the worst days for school violence, and should include teachers, administrators, parents and community leaders.
Mayor Bloomberg quickly shot down the proposed summit as a waste of time.
“Randi should know by now that we’re more interested in taking action than talking,” said Bloomberg spokesman Jerry Russo.
Schools Chancellor Joel Klein’s office said that despite the recent crime wave, the number of serious felony incidents are down 6 percent this year. Misdemeanor incidents are down 31 percent.
On Wednesday, Department of Education safety director Benjamin Tucker announced he’s adding 135 safety officers to help scan students through metal detectors at 66 high schools.
But Lafayette HS teacher Rick Mangone said the school climate is the worst he’s seen this early in the year.
“We had to impose emergency measures because kids were lighting the bulletin boards on fire,” said Mangone, the union leader at the Brooklyn school.
He said staffers are now supposed to escort students to the bathroom to cut down on mischief.
Meanwhile, good students are suffering.
Teachers at Washington Irving HS complained that students are late to class because of the length of time it takes for students to go through metal detectors.