Our hearts go out to the families and students affected by the violence that took the life of a 13-year-old freshman at the Humanities and the Arts High School in Cambria Heights. According to The New York Times, young Kevin Miller was on his way to a McDonald's restaurant after school on Friday when "shooting erupted during a fight between two students" from the nearby school. A 16-year-old has been arrested and charged with his murder.
Humanities and the Arts is one of four small schools in a school building now known as Campus Magnet. It was founded after the large and troubled Andrew Jackson High School was closed in the mid-1990s due to a long history of poor performance and violence. During the 2006-2007 school year, the entire campus was designated as an "impact" school, a city designation for a dangerous school that requires extra security guards; the building apparently came off the list a year later.
On Insideschools' most recent visit to Humanities and the Arts last November, we found that student achievement was up and the building had benefited from a reorganization, which gave each school its own area for classrooms and separate times for lunch and gym. This tragedy, although it took place off school grounds, is a sad setback for the challenged building.
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