Occupy High School

This afternoon student leaders from Paul Robeson High School joined forces with the Occupy Wall Street’s (OWS) Sanitation Crew for a community clean-up of their school neighborhood. With brooms and dustpans donated by OWS supporters from around the world, the group swept and cleaned the entire perimeter of the school but were denied entry into the school by safety officers and the administration.

“I learned a lot today, it was great working with the cleanup crew, we learned to organize & the Mic Check was very useful,” said Robeson HS student leader Ana Leguillou.

“The dedication of these students to their community and school is an inspiration,” said Jordan McCarthy, an OWS Sanitation Crew member.

“The Paul Robeson HS community has suffered – like so many other communities – under Mayor Bloomberg’s corporate-style education reform. It’s about time for a mayoral control clean-up session,” says Justin Wedes an educator and activist in NY.

“When youth are politically aware in this city they are engaged and radically awesome,” commented Doxie, an OWS supporter

Occupy Wall Street is in its fifth week in lower Manhattan and has inspired hundreds of solidarity protests and encampments around the world. The OWS sanitation crew is reaching out to communities across the city to help coordinate self-organizing street cleaning actions. If you are interested in organizing a cleaning of your community contact the OWS Sanitation crew at owssanitation@gmail.com.

Paul Robeson HS is a public high school in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, being targeted for closure by the Dept. of Education under the mayoral control of Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Its community mission is to “commit ourselves to instill and perpetuate [Paul Robeson's] belief that it is the destiny of our children to contribute and share in the fruits of the American Dream.