Juanita Orengo-Rodriguez

JUANITA ORENGO-RODRIGUEZ On October 4th, 1992 Juanita Orengo-Rodriguez, president of the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA), initiated the Eastern District High School boycott to protest the violence, fear and overcrowding at the school. After a student was stabbed as he walked out of the library, Juanita and the PTA called for students to stay out of class and organized students and parents to picket outside the school. Support from the PTA, students, elected officials and elected officials and neighborhood groups allowed Juanita to transform the high school situation of violence, fear and overcrowding. The Board of Education agreed after three days to increase the number of teachers, add counseling, improve security and relieve overcrowding. Parents gained access to walk around the school to ensure safety. Juanita Orengo-Rodriguez has been a community activist in Brooklyn for 28 years. She is a member of the National Congress of Neighborhood Women, the Neighborhood Women of Williamsburg-Greenpoint, GROOTS International and the Huairou Commission. As a community organizer, she has worked to better the school system in the Williamsburg-Greenpoint community through collective action including the Eastern District High School Boycott and serving as 'Principal and Executive Director of the You Can Community School for 10 years. She has received many awards from city council members, government officials and community groups for her dedication to improving the public school system in New York City. Neighborhood Women Legacy Project www.neighborhoodwomen.org