Even though the city has touted that statistically crime is down in some ways, that doesn’t mean that it’s been eliminated. Gun violence and school safety remain a very real concern in the lives of students and parents, especially in high-risk neighborhoods.
Some anti-violence advocates have gone on the offensive, deciding to educate students and parents in conflict resolution and positivity skills through various workshops and programs. Schools have even shifted their entire curriculum and mission to focus on nonviolence and security as a way of fostering safer communities.
The Ascend Public Charter Schools, in collaboration with local organizations like Single Parents University, are taking this innovative approach for their students—both inside and outside the classroom.
“It’s all about fostering inclusive learning environments and directly addressing systemic inequities,” said Maryann Li, Ascend’s President.
The Single Parents University, which is a grant-funded subsidiary of the 67th Precinct Clergy Council, is run by Gizan Denoon, director and operations manager. As a single mom herself, Denoon is passionate about creating space for other single parents. The idea is to give parents tools along their parenting journey. The workshops are designed to assist with stress management, financial management, career building, personal development, and then the Positive Parenting series. It’s also ACS-approved so if parents need parenting classes they can take the course and get a certificate, she said.
“We recognize the disproportionate impact of gun violence on Black and brown communities, and we are committed to addressing the root causes of this violence through education, empowerment, and community-building efforts,” said Rev. Edward-Richard Hinds, the 67th Precinct Clergy Council president in a statement. “By investing in the well-being and resilience of single parents and their children, we believe we can help create safer environments where all individuals, regardless of their background, can thrive and flourish.”
The Positive Parenting series is led by Jeffrey Barratt, who works for Martin De Porres Youth and Family Services and is transitioning to be a social worker. The class focuses on building communication skills, encouraging positive reinforcements and praise, and promoting problem-solving skills with the small cohort of single mothers that can attend. The series addressed ways of tackling even minor issues, like sibling rivalry and the undue influence of social media, with patience and openness while navigating the everyday burdens of running a household.
“I’m from Jamaica. I was raised a certain way. My father beated me because he was beat, and I’m pretty sure his father beat him because he was beat. That was how they taught discipline,” said Barratt. “You mix that with today’s society and those forms of discipline don’t work anymore or aren’t acceptable. Working with ACS, I can tell you how just beating your child can have an effect on the home. We have to find better ways.”
Barratt feels that behavioral issues have to be tackled very early on in the home so that students don’t seek out gangs or gun violence in an attempt to gain a sense of community or acceptance. “A lot of the kids go to school and join gangs because of the influence. The imagery, the support, the idea of a family. I’ve seen a lot of these kids ruin their lives,” said Barratt. “You have to start [positive parenting] at a young age. You can’t start at 15.”
Ascend was founded in 2009 and made the shift to “responsive classrooms” in 2015, a different discipline model to better serve their Black and brown students. Prior to the pandemic, they made anti-racism core to their values. Denoon’s programs are facilitated at her daughter’s school, Brooklyn Ascend Lower—one of 17 of the charter schools run by Ascend throughout Brooklyn, serving mostly Black and brown students and parents from the Brownsville area.
The Brownsville area has been prone to gun violence for decades. Though Denoon hasn’t experienced a loss to gun violence personally, she believes in aiding the parents who have to deal with that stress and pain on a daily basis.
“There was a shooting on Saturday and another today, the 13-year-old last week. I feel like I turn on the TV and there’s someone, even if it’s not in the confines of our home,”said Denoon, referring to the police involved shooting that occurred blocks away from school where the workshop was held on Monday, March 18. “Sometimes I can’t imagine what they’ve been through so I try to be there on the backend.”
Ascend’s CEO Recy Dunn said his schools are absolutely invested in the physical and socioemotional well being of their students. They have an incredibly high level of security, including a Raptor check in system that employs a quick background scan on visitor IDs.
He sees the positive parenting workshops as a great extension of their restorative justice policies.
Ascend Principal Jennifer Bauer was enthusiastic about allowing Noonan’s program to hold meetings and workshops in their building last November. Bauer said that she made it a priority to bring the parents into the fold this school year and invest in them as well as their kids. Currently, the school offers single parent support groups, positive parenting workshops, childcare spaces, free English language classes for parents, financial literacy workshops, resume building, and health and wellness initiatives in an effort to holistically educate the whole family.
“I’m also an immigrant, so when we came to the states it was not the priority to be fluent in money. It was just survival mode. I feel like most people are in survival mode to this day and it’s hard to come out of when real life is happening,” said Bauer. “And when I met with one of our parents, she brought Single Parent University to us.”
Denoon and Bauer bonded over this core belief that nonviolence can start at the home and in school for children, ultimately impacting how they navigate an unsafe environment in the long run. It also adheres to the school’s mission to promote educational equity and anti-racism through restorative justice practices. Instead of harsh punishments for unfavorable behavior, which are more likely to be doled out to Black students than their white counterparts, the school leans on accountability and repair. The school strives to not use in-school suspension, corporal punishment, or involve law enforcement.
“We don’t have any punitive systems at Ascend,” said Bauer. “We have restorative practices, that means we meet kids where they are by understanding what choice they made and how it impacted them and the people around them. We give logical consequences to whatever the action is. So if you hit someone, you write an apology or spend some time outside that classroom in another class—still learning but understanding that you hurt someone in your community.”
[updated Mon, March 25]
Ariama C. Long is a Report for America corps member and writes about politics for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.