The mental health crisis in public schools

Plus Gracie Mansion parties, lots of stories to read, and some art. #40

This was the stat that stuck with me from my colleague Abigail Kramer’s investigation into how New York City public schools deal with kids experiencing a mental health crisis:

In close to 1,370 incidents since 2017, students ended up in handcuffs while they waited for an ambulance to arrive, according to NYPD data. In several incidents, those kids were 5 or 6 years old.

The piece is a well-reported look at discipline in schools and the lack of adequate mental health services for kids. An accompanying data piece lets your check schools your kids may go to, with a breakdown of the number of kids per every guidance counselor and social worker. Here’s one more paragraph that explains some of the challenges:

The city’s current mayor, Eric Adams, announced a sweeping mental health plan in March that includes a “Mental Health Continuum,” a project that was conceived under de Blasio and rolled out last year to connect schools directly to mental health clinics and mobile crisis teams. But Adams’s proposed city budget, released a month later, included no funding for the project.

You can read the full story here, see how your schools are doing here, and get mental health resources here.

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Other interesting stories:

What historic city building would you like to get married in, for free? I wrote about the weddings and parties hosted by the mayor at Gracie Mansion.

You can hear me and Chrissy Greer talk about Gov. Hochul and other stuff in this week’s FAQ.

“We cannot just continue to stand by with complicity.”

My former DNAinfo colleague Gwynne Hogan started this week as the Brooklyn reporter at THE CITY and is already putting out great work, like an accusation of deed theft against Bishop Lamor Whitehead and the raw sewage leaks plaguing a Williamsburg NYCHA development.

Also: If you aren’t already subscribed to my friend Mike’s Books on GIF, there’s time to before the 7th anniversary post, featuring 14 of his favorite books. Sign up here!

🎧 The songs I’ve been playing on repeat over the last few weeks🎧

”Afterthought” by Fugazi
”November” by Colleen
”Ameyatchi” by Mathey
”Kifak Inta” by Fairuz
”Open Up (Slow Version)” by KZA

I’ll end this week with some art from Harry Sternberg, a painter, woodcutter, and teacher. I saw some of his art inside the cafeteria at The Art Students League (where he taught) a few months ago and then went down the rabbit hole reading about his life and art. Sternberg was a painter but also took an interest in silkscreen printing. His murals can be found in post offices across Pennsylvania, all part of his work with the WPA. He also made woodcuts, like some seen below.

You can see more of his work here, or from the book No Sun Without Shadow: The Art of Harry Sternberg, where these photos are from. The Whitney also has a few pieces of art in its collection; this is my favorite.

Thanks for reading!