around the uft
Protest for safety
Feb 28, 2008 12:20 PM
Teacher Dean Yanakis’ umbrella takes the brunt of the early morning wind and rain.
Angered that Chapter Leader Taneeka Jones was assaulted and hospitalized for the second time in January and the student who assaulted her was back in the classroom the next day, the entire staff of PS/MS 42, Queens, took to the streets. Braving freezing rain and wind, they protested unresolved safety issues at an early morning rally in front of their overcrowded school. District Representative Marilyn Cooper reported that the assaults are part of the larger problem facing the middle school where students run rampant, the lunchroom is out of control and there is an atmosphere of no respect and no consequences. She said that the principal did not get the support she needed when the middle school was added to a building not equipped for a middle school two years ago. In solidarity, the staff of both schools turned out to protest conditions at the school.
Staffers take their safety concerns to the streets.
