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Story Pirates Theater Troupe Takes Up Common Core in Expanded Repertoire

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VIENNA, VA - JULY 10
Chrissy Shackelford, members of Story Pirates, punches the air during a performance at Children's Theatre-in-the-Woods at Wolf Trap National Park in Vienna, Virginia Friday July 10, 2015. Story Pirates is an organization based in New York and Los Angeles that pairs teachers with comedians and actors to make learning engaging.  (Photo by Jared Soares for Education Week)
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Top: Story Pirates actor Kati Skelton, foreground, performs in front of elementary school students during the Little Falls, N.J., workshop in 2012. –Emile Wamsteker for Education Week. Bottom: Chrissy Shackelford, a member of the Story Pirates, punches the air during the group’s performance this summer at Children’s Theatre-in-the-Woods at Wolf Trap National Park in Vienna, Va. The group has expanded and fine-tuned its curriculum in the years between the two performances. –Jared Soares for Education Week

Maggie DeBlasis writes about the art of storytelling and the nonprofit performance group Story Pirates.


Can an educational sketch-theater group known for teaching kids the art of storytelling thrive in the age of the Common Core State Standards and rigorous accountability expectations? The nonprofit Story Pirates appears to be making it work.

Education Week Teacher profiled the Story Pirates back in 2012, catching up with troupe members as they conducted an “Idea Storm”—“a creative writing master class, a hilarious improv show, and a pep rally, all at once”—at a New Jersey elementary school. The story, by current Education Week Assistant Editor Liana Heitin, told of how the then-little-known group offered a selection of in-school and afterschool theatrical programs, largely in Los Angeles and New York, designed to “create a safe space for students to express their most outlandish ideas” and develop their creative writing skills.

Among other tactics, the Story Pirates members would regularly adapt students’ stories into short plays for performance.

“We set up stakes for them in their writing—they might get to see their story performed,” said one of the group’s teaching artists. “We give writing a purpose beyond writing class.”

Since the 2012 article was a reader favorite, we decided to check in with the Story Pirates recently when they performed at the Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts in Vienna, Va., as part of the group’s annual tour of the country.

According to CEO Jamie Salka, the group has grown in a number of ways in the past few years. “We’re definitely bigger in terms of [the number of] schools we travel to, and bigger in size of the cast and administrative offices and bigger in national and international reach,” he said.

In the 2013-2014 school year, the troupe had more than 300 cast members, or teaching artists, and visited 130 schools. For this coming academic year, the Story Pirates is currently fundraising to visit and hold workshops for 420 students in a Los Angeles school, and 3,279 students in six New York City schools.

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Top: Story Pirates actor Peter McNerney, left, waits offstage for his cue during an “Idea Storm” at Little Falls Township Public School in Little Falls, N.J., in 2012. During the Idea Storm, the Story Pirates teach children the fundamentals of storytelling, first by discussing the basic structure of a story and then asking for ideas from students. Each time a student contributes an idea, the actors respond on the fly, incorporating it into an ongoing improvisational comedy sketch. —-Emile Wamsteker for Education Week Bottom: Story Pirates member Lauren Brickman readies props before a recent performance at Children’s Theatre-in-the-Woods at Wolf Trap National Park. —Jared Soares for Education Week

Nonfiction Performances?

The group has also made some significant programmatic changes. The “biggest difference is we’re taking lots of steps toward rigorous assessments” of students’ writing development, Salka said.

Story Pirates education director Quinton Johnson explained one of the organization’s goals now is to find a better way to evaluate students’ progress in the various programs the group offers. The organization is more interested in “the nitty-gritty data to measure writing skills,” which they hope to harness by comparing students’ writing samples from before and after their participation in workshops. Last summer, with the help of a Harvard Graduate School of Education student, the group’s leaders designed a more rigorous rubric to evaluate student writing.

Perhaps not surprisingly for a group that contracts with public schools, the Story Pirates has also taken deliberate steps to adapt its work to the common core. Salka said the group’s leaders have “refined and overhauled” certain aspects of their curriculum based on the common standards and years of feedback from teachers and parents.

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Top: Story Pirates actors put together a storytelling “Idea Storm” at a Little Falls, N.J., elementary school in 2012. –Emile Wamsteker for Education Week Bottom: Members of the Story Pirates put together a routine at Children’s Theatre-in-the-Woods at Wolf Trap National Park in 2015. —Jared Soares for Education Week

Johnson noted that the organization has been getting more requests for workshop and performance programs focused on nonfiction writing styles—a key focus of the common standards in English/language arts.

In such cases, instead of asking students to develop to write fictional stories, the Story Pirates identify a local issue the class is studying and have one of the actors play devil’s advocate, to whom students write out arguments.

For example, Johnson said that recently in a California school, an actor played a rich tycoon who wanted to demolish the local preserve the class had been studying. It “sparked an interest in persuasive writing” and gave the class “real-world applications” to apply their writing. Some students had their work read aloud to “melt [the actor’s] icy heart.”

Johnson said the shift in emphasis has not affected the group’s creativity or performance values. “We tend to feel that creativity is often enhanced by being required to work within specified boundaries,” he said in an email. “If you have all the freedom in the world to do anything you want, it can be easy to get stuck and not know how to choose a direction to go in. But if you have to work within a particular box, such as figuring out how to make essay writing engaging and fun, or how to keep the comedic tone of your work while being sure you are aligning with common core, that’s often exactly the time when you have to be the most creative, and when some of the most interesting things happen.”

This post was adapted from the original article on Education Week Teacher.


Enter If You Dare: The Preston School of Industry

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Preston Castle in Ione on Thursday, June 11, 2015. Preston Castle was a reform school for delinquent youth called the Preston School of Industry from 1894 until 1960. The castle closed in 1960, but new facilities for the school on the grounds remained in service for several years after that. The Preston Castle Foundation offers tours of the building.
Visitors including Anthony Antonopoulos, 7, right, explore the now-vacated building. —Randall Benton/The Sacramento Bee
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Randall Benton, a staff photographer with The Sacramento Bee newspaper, shares his thoughts on photographing the Preston School of Industry in Ione, Calif.


I photographed the Preston School of Industry recently and tried to capture the building’s current state of decay, while also paying homage to its troubling past.

Now named Preston Castle, the Preston School of Industry operated as a reform school for delinquent boys from 1894 until its closure in 1960. Abandoned and long neglected, the large Romanesque Revival-styled stone mansion still looms over the town of Ione, Calif., from its hilltop perch like a creepy movie set. In its heyday, the 46,000-square-foot, 77-room mansion had a rose garden, tennis courts, swimming pool, and a library. It had 43 fireplaces with hand-carved rosewood mantels, with marble floors and sinks. The facility is a California State Historical Landmark, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Sited on 13 acres, the building is now owned by the Preston Castle Foundation, which aims to rehabilitate it and convert it to a multi-purpose facility.

But for all its amenities, the place was also full of brutality, violence, mental and physical abuse. When new wards were admitted into Preston, they were stripped, heads shaved, and then submerged in a pool full of chemicals described as a “cattle dip.” Misbehaving boys were beaten, whipped or placed in solitary confinement. And until 1913, wards underwent medical surgeries conducted on them while they lay on the floor. Preston is now in the process of being restored, and the public may tour the facilities.

While photographing, I used the interesting play of light streaming into the building from its many windows and collapsing walls to illuminate the curious faces of visitors. I tried to use the few remaining furnishings to suggest the ghostly ambiance that permeates the spaces, and the countless stories of a barbaric life long gone.

College Competencies Take Root

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FoodCorps member and gardening/home economics teacher Tyrone Thompson, left, helps eighth grader Kristopher Cody plant lettuce in a greenhouse at the STAR School outside of Flagstaff, Ariz. on August 28, 2015. Many of the K-8 charter school's students are from the nearby Navajo Nation and the curriculum is set up to reflect traditional values, of which farming and food sovereignty are among the most important. Local farmers spend time  teaching children how to grow an organic garden in the  greenhouses at the school and students go on field trips to local farms to learn how to grow crops.
STAR School 8th grader Charliegh John helps harvest tomatoes and peppers grown at the farm. --Nick Cote for Education Week
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Nick Cote describes his experiences photographing a school on the Navajo Nation in Northern Arizona that integrates cultural experiences, such as working with local farmers, with students’ academic studies to nurture the necessary skills, and motivation to attend college.

In the event of a zombie apocalypse, the students at the STAR School in northern Arizona would be relatively well-off. The K-8 charter school, which lies just outside the boundary of the Navajo Nation and about 30 miles from Flagstaff, is completely off the grid. The school has its own water well, and electricity is provided by solar panels. Students work with local farmers to grow enough organic vegetables to stock the cafeteria’s salad bar twice each day to feed 150 people.

As I photographed students working on a nearby farm, it was clear that all were enjoying the work. While the teachers and farmers did most of the heavy lifting, the students did their fair share of the work. On this particular day they were harvesting tomatoes and chiles, and daring each other to eat the latter was the afternoon pastime. While most schoolchildren spend most of their time indoors, these kids go on field trips each week to learn firsthand how their ancestors thrived in the desert.
If the school were located in a less remote area, organic vegetables and greenhouses on campus would be a novelty, but “food sovereignty,” as the school’s CEO Mark W. Sorensen calls it, is a necessity. In an area the size of West Virginia with about 300,000 people, there are only 10 grocery stores, he tells me. There are convenience stores in some remote areas, but they mostly sell junk food. The Navajo have been farming the desert for centuries and the school’s curriculum taps into the knowledge of the local farming community. Not only do the students take pride in growing their own food, they even claim to love kale.

Oil Boom Brings Football Back to North Dakota Town

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In this Sept. 5, 2015, photo, Dayden Rafferty (99) second from right, helps an injured Ryan Bergstrom, (46) as players walk off the field after their first varsity game in Alexander, N.D. An oil boom in what's known as the Bakken region has increased the population in and around the tiny town, bringing in enough players for the school to have its own football program for the first time in nearly 30 years. Rafferty is the fourth generation of his family to play football for the Comets. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
A derrick pumps oil on a hill above Alexander, N.D, and the town's school. The oil boom in what is known as the Bakken region has increased the population in and around Alexander, bringing in enough players for the school to have its own football program for the first time in nearly 30 years. --Martha Irvine/AP
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ALEXANDER, N.D. (AP) — As a blanket of gray clouds rolls over the prairie, the grunts of scrimmage, the shrill chirp of the referee’s whistle and cheers from the crowd fill the Saturday afternoon air. This is how a small town turns a page in history.

After 27 years, football is back in Alexander. The Comets have returned.

The first high school football game here in a generation comes thanks to the oil boom that’s reversed the fortunes of this tiny school. Enrollment is up after years of decline. And 13 young men in cardinal red, gray and white — some recent North Dakota arrivals — are new celebrities in this rejuvenated town.

“High school sports — that’s what people live and breathe for in small-town North Dakota,” says Jerry Hatter, Alexander’s mayor. “It brings back a sense of pride to the community. … To see football again in our own little town … I think it’s just neater than hell.”

Alexander’s return to the gridiron is a story of revival and resilience — for the school and the latest Comets team.

Like many rural schools, Alexander has struggled to keep its doors open. Enrollment from pre-kindergarten to 12th grade dropped to just 41 in 2006-2007. The Bakken oil bonanza changed all that, luring new workers and their children to the area. The school, where all grades attend in a single building, now has 210 students, a number projected to grow. But the Class of 2016 — with just four members — is still small enough to fit at a card table.

Now that football is back, there’s buzz all around town. Old-timers are reminiscing about their glory days. The new Comets, whose coach is also an oil worker, are bracing for a tough season. And most everyone else knows where they’ll spend Saturday afternoons this fall.

“Having a football team to rally around strengthens the community,” says Leslie Bieber, Alexander’s superintendent, who spearheaded efforts to rebuild the team. “It allows us to have our identity again.”

A lot of townsfolk helped make it happen. Last May, a few hundred people gathered at a semi-formal ball at the firehouse and, on a single night, raised more than $50,000 for jerseys, helmets and other equipment. Some of that money also will go to the girls and boys basketball and girls volleyball teams that are resuming after 11 years.

The official football launch came on the first Saturday in September as Alexander celebrated Old Settlers’ Day for the 70th year with a parade along Elk Street, past the post office, the Hard Ride Saloon, the Lions Burger Fry grill and the Ragged Butte Spring that was a watering hole for cattle in pioneer days.

The Comets play six-man football, and since North Dakota doesn’t have that division, its competitors are Montana schools.

This year’s squad is a collection of homegrown kids and transplants from states including Florida, California, Louisiana, and Arkansas. Many have never played football. Several have endured hard times.

Nick Armour, the 16-year-old quarterback who also is a saddle bronco rider, suffered a double tragedy in January. He lost his 18-old-year-old brother, Brady, and best buddy, Nathan Sims, 16, when they were killed in a car accident.

He and Sims were looking forward to being teammates. “I sure would like to have a really good season for him,” he says.

Ryan Bergstrom, 16, a Florida native, normally would work after school to ease the financial load for his mother, who manages a man camp for oil workers. This fall, he says, she told him to pursue his football dream. He’s committed to the Comets.

“It’s a brotherhood like no other,” he says.

Jack Heen, 14, the youngest varsity player, is playing with a heart condition, but has the approval of his doctor and the school nurse, who happens to be his mother. “Life’s a lot better when I’m playing sports,” he says.

And there’s Jayy Morgan, 18, the only senior, who arrived this spring from California eager to join the team, though basketball is his true passion. “I love the town and I’m pretty sure I can get the town to love me,” he says.

Morgan’s plans were almost derailed when his mother needed him to work to help make ends meet. When he told school officials he might have to quit, the teachers, coach and others rallied — with his mother’s OK — to help with the bills for the rest of the season.

“When I say we are a family, we ARE a family,” Bieber says, growing tearful at times as she talks about the team’s return. “Our students are not just our students. They’re our kids. They would do it for anyone if he’s an athlete or not.”

As it turned out, Morgan was a fan favorite. He scored all three Comets’ touchdowns.

Unfortunately, the team’s first game back was a rout — 65 to 18 — by the much larger Grass Range/Winnett High School team from Montana. But the crowd didn’t seem discouraged.

Bruised but unbowed, the Comets walked off the field to shouts of “Good job, you guys! We love you!”

And there was a rousing cheer:

“That’s our team and we couldn’t be prouder.

“If you don’t believe us, we’ll yell a little louder!”

Townsfolk hope this fall ritual is here to stay. One encouraging sign: A school addition is being built and enrollment is expected to surpass 360 in three years.

Jacobson, who wore his Comets jersey long ago, says it’ll take time to develop a strong team.

“They’re going to take their lumps … but they’re going to learn and get better,” he says. “And they’ve got to realize the community is always behind them.”

Bergstrom, who plays both running back and linebacker, took the shellacking in stride.

“This is the first game in 30 or so years, and we all really tried our best, tried our hardest,” he said, “… so even though we lost today it was still a win in the end.”

Story by Sharon Cohen/AP

Photos by Martha Irvine/AP

Transgender Youths Display Resilience Amid Hardship

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In this photo taken Dec, 17, 2014, Kassidy Suarez, 22, is hugged by her mother, Maria Alguilar, after legally changing her name at family court in Miami. Suarez has come a long way since being rejected by her family, dropping out of high school, being homeless, abusing drugs and doing survival sex work. She is now focused on getting her GED. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

MIAMI (AP) — The transgender community has gained a degree of acceptance in recent years with the help of such celebrities as Caitlyn Jenner and Laverne Cox, an actress in the Netflix series “Orange is the New Black.” But for members of the transgender community who are ordinary citizens, their life experiences are often a painful struggle. Many young transgender people, wrestling with their identities, find themselves shunned by family, friends, and co-workers. Episodes of homelessness, alcoholism, drug abuse, and violence often follow.

“A lot of people really don’t realize the like immense amount of pain the average trans person goes through just trying to like live their life,” says Eli, a 17-year-old male who was born a girl and lives in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Eli and other young transgender people in South Florida illustrate the hardship this community faces. They also show its resilience. Here are their stories, as told to Associated Press photographer Lynne Sladky.

In this photo taken June 11, 2015, Eli, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., poses for a photograph at the beach in Dania Beach, Fla., on Thursday, June 11, 2015. Eli, who now identifies as a transgender male, went through a lot of soul searching, anxiety and depression growing up, before coming to accept himself as who he is. Eli dropped out of high school and is an activist with Food not Bombs. He is also interested in working with the transgender homeless population. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Eli, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., poses for a photograph at the beach in Dania Beach, Fla. Born a girl, he has struggled with depression: “I would look in the mirror and just hate my chest. And just try to squish it down. And just like sob for hours, like I was a little kid.” Now identifying as a transgender male, the 17-year-old dropped out of high school, where he sported a mohawk haircut, had no friends, and was seen by his peers as weird and intimidating. The prospect of transitioning to a male identity in high school? “Horrifying.” Eli is now an activist with the group Food not Bombs, and is interested in working with the transgender homeless population. –Lynne Sladky/AP

 

In this photo taken May 14, 2015, Alex Ramos, 13, who identifies as a transgender male, poses for a photograph in a park near his home in Homestead, Fla. Ramos realized in sixth grade he wasn't at peace with his biological female gender. He struggled to come to terms with it, afraid of how people at school would react. Ramos has since come out, and has the support of his mother and friends. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Alex Ramos says he realized in the 6th grade that he wasn’t at ease with having been born a female. The 13-year-old, who identifies as a transgender male, was scared of how his friends would react. Friends and family members have since helped Alex come out. He is still coming to terms with identifying as male, frustrated with the expectations he must juggle. “I have to have a flat chest, you have to sit this way, you have to talk like this. This is really hard for me. What if I want to wear makeup?” –Lynne Sladky/AP

 

In this photo taken May 18, 2015, Jess Fajardo, 18, of Miami, who identifies as transgender, poses for a photograph at a park near his home in Miami on Monday, May 18, 2015. Fajardo was born a girl, but describes himself as a tomboy growing up, playing soccer with the boys. He views gender identity as fluid, but now is more comfortable being seen in a male setting. Fajardo recently graduated from high schools and plans to pursue a college degree in art. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Born a girl, Jess Fajardo, 18, said he was a tomboy as he grew up in Miami, playing soccer with the boys and dressing in his brother’s clothes. Fajardo now identifies as a transgender male, but he does not have the support of his mother, who continues to say: “You’re a girl, not a boy.” Fajardo, however, is accepted by his friends and other family members. “I just want a happy life, and I want a safe life. I don’t want to worry if I go into a bathroom, are these people going to have a problem with me.” –Lynne Sladky/AP

 

In this photo taken May 26, 2015, Kassandra Leach, 17, left, poses for a photograph with her mother, Renee Taylor, at their home in Miami. Leach, who identifies as a transgender female, says she never felt like one of the boys, and once in ninth grade she began experimenting with clothing, dressing more like a girl. In high school she lived her life secretly as a girl for over a year. Now out to her family and friends, she is transitioning with the help of counseling and hormones. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Kassandra Leach, 17, left, with her mother, Renee Taylor, at their home in Miami. Kassandra says she never felt like one of the boys growing up in Miami. Her thoughts on identity are a constant work in progress. By 9th grade, she realized she wasn’t living in the body she was born into as a boy. A pivotal moment came when a friend did a makeover for her, applying makeup and putting on a bra. Kassandra stared into the mirror. “It was like looking at yourself for the first time.” Since coming out as a transgender female, the 17-year-old enjoys the support of her mother and close friends. Taylor, Leach’s mother, says, “The most important thing is that your child be happy and comfortable in their skin.” –Lynne Sladky/AP

 

In this photo taken May 20, 2015, Atticus Ranck, 26, of Sunrise, Fla., who identifies as a transgender male, poses for a photograph in a hammock at a friend's apartment in Sunrise, Fla. Ranck first came out as a lesbian at age 17. Once in college, he became more masculine, describing the transformation as relatively easy. Ranck, who is taking hormones and has had surgery on his chest for the transition, just graduated with a master's degree in women, gender and sexuality from Florida Atlantic University. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Atticus Ranck, 26, of Sunrise, Fla., who identifies as a transgender male, poses for a photograph in a hammock at a friend’s apartment in Sunrise, Fla. Atticus had his chest surgically altered — a breast reduction — in February as part of the transition to become a transgender male. Having grown up as a girl in Pennsylvania, the 26-year-old came out as a lesbian at age 17 and gradually became more “masculine” after moving to Florida for college. Ranck has been taking hormones for more than a year, and says the surgery has helped him “feel more male.” –Lynne Sladky/AP

 

Theodore Xander Frey, 18, of Cutler Bay, Fla., who identifies as an agender male, poses for a photograph in his bedroom at home in Cutler Bay, Fla. Frey began questioning his identity at a young age, facing a tumultuous few years suffering from depression, running away from home, and being placed into psychiatric care. He has since been accepted by his parents and is coming to terms with himself. Frey is studying women and gender studies. --Lynne Sladky/AP

Theodore Xander Frey self-identifies as agender, or someone who identifies with neither gender (though Frey favors being identified with the “he” pronoun). Born a girl, and now 18, Frey began to question his identity in elementary school, telling people he was a boy. He wrestled with bouts of confusion, anxiety, and depression as he approached adolescence. Frey also ran away from home and was later detained for a mental health evaluation. “That was sort of the kind of thing, the push that needed to happen for all of use to really be able to talk openly,” Frey says about his parents. “And realize that they love me no matter what.” –Lynne Sladky/AP

 

In this photo taken June 6, 2015, Andii Viveros, 21, of Davie, Fla., applies makeup as she prepares to host the annual Sun Serve LGBTQA Colors of the Wind youth prom in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Viveros, who identifies as a transgender female, said she was always different from an early age growing up as a boy. Her parents accepted her to be anyway she wanted to be. She fought for her rights in high school, sometimes violating the school's code of conduct by wearing dresses. She was elected prom queen in high school and is now studying sociology in college. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

A transgender female, Andii Viveros defied school dress codes by wearing dresses. This led to bullying but didn’t deter her from being elected prom queen in high school — despite an organized petition from her classmates. Still, she had the unwavering support from her parents. “From an early age, my parents told me, ‘obviously you’re different, so we accept you anyway you want to be,'” she said. The 21-year-old now hosts events for LGBTQ youths and imparts this advice: “Live authentically as who you are, not how the public perceives you.” –Lynne Sladky/AP

 

In this photo taken June 18, 2015, Ro Brown, 23, poses for a photograph as he waits in a Greyhound bus station in Miami, with his wife, not pictured, for a bus to Macon, Ga. Brown, who identifies as a transgender male, has been homeless for six years, and has not yet told his family about his gender identity. He is moving to Georgia to live with his wife's family, where they hope to find work and move into their own place. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Ro Brown waits in a Greyhound bus station in Miami for a bus to Macon, Ga. Brown, who identifies as a transgender male, has been homeless for six years, and has not yet told his family about his gender identity. Born a female, the 23-year-old recently came out as a transgender male — but not to his family. “I thought they was going to treat me different if I tell them that I prefer he over her,” he says. So he’s building a family of his own and married his girlfriend in June, happily receiving support from his in-laws. –Lynne Sladky/AP

 

In this photo taken Dec, 17, 2014, Kassidy Suarez, 22, is hugged by her mother, Maria Alguilar, after legally changing her name at family court in Miami. Suarez has come a long way since being rejected by her family, dropping out of high school, being homeless, abusing drugs and doing survival sex work. She is now focused on getting her GED. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Kassidy Suarez, 22, is hugged by her mother, Maria Alguilar, after legally changing her name at family court in Miami last year. After coming out at 15, first as a gay young man, and then at age 17 as a transgender woman, Kassidy Suarez dropped out of high school, faced rejection from her family, and ended up homeless. She spent several years on the streets, dabbled with drugs, and engaged in survival sex work. With the help of Project SAFE, a program that seeks to address the needs of at-risk LGBTQ youth, Suarez found housing, counseling, and a support network. Now a 22-year-old transgender woman, she has made amends with her mother, and is taking hormones. –Lynne Sladky/AP

Schools in Fayette County, W.Va., Contend With Coal Dust, Rotting Roofs

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A space heater is surrounded by kickball marks in the coal dust on the gymnasium wall at Ansted Elementary in Fayette County, W. Va. Space heaters have replaced a once functional basement coal furnace in the school.

Doyle Maurer, Education Week’s multimedia intern, describes his experience photographing facilities in Fayette County, West Virginia, for a recent story that detailed the area’s predicament with outdated and decaying school infrastructure. A native of the state, Doyle describes returning to see schools in the area as eye-opening.

A space heater is surrounded by kickball marks in the coal dust on the gymnasium wall at Ansted Elementary in Fayette County, W. Va. Space heaters have replaced a once functional basement coal furnace in the school.

A space heater is surrounded by kickball marks in the coal dust that coats a gymnasium wall at Ansted Elementary in Fayette County, W. Va. Space heaters have replaced a once-functional basement coal furnace in the school.

Fayette County, W. Va., is in a predicament when it comes to public education facilities. Some of its schools have rotting roofs, loose bricks in the walls, and coal dust in the gymnasiums. The county, about an hour from the state capital, is home to three of five schools in the state that are still heated with coal furnaces. One school in the county, Collins Middle, was partially closed nearly a year ago because it was deemed “unsafe for student occupancy,” though some students still attend in a building next door. Michael Martirano, West Virginia’s state superintendent, proposed a plan to consolidate four existing high schools and use three of those buildings for new K-8 schools, but it wasn’t approved by state officials who oversee funding for school facilities. For many years, county residents have been resistant to approving a local bond measure that would help pay for new school buildings.

Shawna Sparks, an involved parent at Collins Middle School in Fayette County, W. Va., helps a local resident measure the arch in a wall the school's closed building. The measurement was 1/2 in. away from level over about six feet horizonally.

Shawna Sparks, parent at Collins Middle School in Fayette County, helps a local resident measure the shifting of a wall in a closed portion of the school’s building.

Terry George, the state-appointed school superintendent in Fayette County, stands next to the broken furnace and a coal bin sprinkled with asbestos chips. A controversial school consolidation plan would shutter some schools and include a new $56 million high school.

Terry George, the state-appointed school superintendent in Fayette County, stands next to the broken furnace and a coal bin sprinkled with asbestos chips that had fallen from the ceiling above. A controversial school consolidation plan would have shuttered some schools and include a new $56 million high school.

Pat Dickerson (left) talks to Tami Langley at Ansted Elementary in Fayette County, W. Va. The cooks said they have to cover all of their food and cooking utentsils with trash bags before they leave at night because coal dust from the furnace will settle in the kitchen.

Pat Dickerson, left, talks to Tami Langley at Ansted Elementary in Fayette County. The cooks said they have to cover all their food and cooking utensils with plastic bags before they leave at night because coal dust from the furnace settles in the kitchen.

Students walk between classes at Collins Middle School in Fayette County, W. Va. The orange fencing stands between them and a building that closed in January, 2015 because it was deemed unsafe for student occupancy.

Students walk between classes at Collins Middle School in Fayette County. The orange fencing stands between them and a building that closed in January 2015, because it was deemed unsafe for student occupancy.

The inside roof of the breezeway that students use between classes at Collins Middle School in Fayette County, W. Va.

The underside of a newly-patched roof covers a breezeway that students use between classes at Collins Middle School in Fayette County.

After part of Collins Middle School closed, many of the kids were sent to other facilities in the area which resulted in crowded classrooms. The remaining students at the school have meals delivered to them from another school in the county. They eat in what they call  the “cafetornasium,” a concrete room that triples as the cafeteria, auditorium, and gymnasium.

Seeing these schools made me wonder if the children are any different from those at other schools in the country or if their situation in Fayette County is simply normal for them. How aware are they that the condition of their schools is not typical? As a West Virginia native who went to schools in Kanawha County, some of what I saw in Fayette was familiar. I don’t remember coal dust, but we had a breezeway, an old building, and a dark and gloomy gymnasium. The past seven months of my life are the first in which I haven’t lived in my home state.  I’ve spent about half of that time in New Mexico, some of it exploring the country, and the other few months in Washington D.C. Getting away from my home for awhile, seeing other things, and then coming back with a new perspective was eye-opening for me. In order for me to really see and photograph what was going on in these schools I had to slow down, step back, and focus on separating my past from the frames I was making. We all have a bias, but the first step to creating honest photographs is be aware of it.

A Photographer’s View of the ESSA Signing

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President Barack Obama talks with student Sofia Rios, of Arlington, Va., right, as he signs the "Every Student Succeeds Act," a major education law setting U.S. public schools on a new course of accountability, Thursday, Dec. 10, 2015, in Washington. The law will change the way teachers are evaluated and how the poorest performing schools are pushed to improve. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., ranking member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee is at center. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Associated Press staff photographer Evan Vucci gives a behind-the-scenes account of his assignment to photograph President Barack Obama signing the Every Student Succeeds Act into law.

President Barack Obama, flanked by Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee Chairman Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., left, and the committee's ranking member Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., signs the Every Student Succeeds Act on Dec. 10 in Washington. The law will change the way teachers are evaluated and how the poorest performing schools are pushed to improve. Evan Vucci/AP

President Barack Obama, flanked by Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., left, and the committee’s ranking member Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., signs the Every Student Succeeds Act on Dec. 10 in Washington. The law will change the way teachers are evaluated and how the poorest-performing schools are pushed to improve. –Evan Vucci/AP

The White House is a unique place to work. Whenever the president makes a big announcement or signs a piece of legislation, you’re going to be working alongside a dozen other photographers trying to make a unique photo or a series of photos that tell the story. It can be a difficult thing to do, and it doesn’t always work out in your favor.

President Barack Obama talks with student Sofia Rios, of Arlington, Va., right, as he signs the "Every Student Succeeds Act," a major education law setting U.S. public schools on a new course of accountability, Thursday, Dec. 10, 2015, in Washington. The law will change the way teachers are evaluated and how the poorest performing schools are pushed to improve. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., ranking member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee is at center. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Barack Obama talks with 8th grade student Sofia Rios, of Arlington, Va., right, before signing the Every Student Succeeds Act. –Evan Vucci/AP

The Every Student Succeeds Act bill signing was held in a conference room on Dec. 10 in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in the White House complex. Usually the event would have been held in the more ornate East Room of the White House, but due to annual holiday parties the president hosts, it was unavailable. This conference room is a tough place to work- it doesn’t have the grandeur of the East Room. It’s a much smaller room that was packed with lawmakers, educators, students, and journalists.

Events at the White House are scripted and controlled to the finest details, from who introduces the president, to where the press will be allowed to work. Bill signings usually follow a prescribed script as well: The president is introduced by someone impacted by the law, the president makes brief remarks, then walks over to a table surrounded by lawmakers who helped the legislation pass, and finally signs the bill. One of the stranger things that occurs is the president will use a number of different pens to sign his name to the document. These pens are then given out at a later date as ceremonial gifts.

The "Every Student Succeeds Act," a major education law setting U.S. public schools on a new course of accountability, sits on a table before being signed by President Barack Obama, Thursday, Dec. 10, 2015, in Washington. The law will change the way teachers are evaluated and how the poorest performing schools are pushed to improve. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

The Every Student Succeeds Act sits on a table before being signed by President Barack Obama. Pens used by the president to sign the legislation will be later given away as mementos of the occasion. –Evan Vucci/AP

From start to finish the event lasts less than 20 minutes, and most wire photographers will file dozens of images. In the end, the best pictures will usually be the ones that show some real emotion. It doesn’t always happen, but when the president signed this bill there was a genuine smile on his face. A bipartisan bill passed by Congress and signed by the president can be a tough thing to do these days. “A Christmas miracle,” Obama said. “A bipartisan bill signing right here!”

President Barack Obama smiles after signing the "Every Student Succeeds Act," a major education law setting U.S. public schools on a new course of accountability, Thursday, Dec. 10, 2015, in Washington. The law will change the way teachers are evaluated and how the poorest performing schools are pushed to improve. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Attendees applaud, and President Barack Obama smiles, after he signed the legislation into law. –Evan Vucci/AP

President Barack Obama hugs Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., ranking member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, after signing the "Every Student Succeeds Act," a major education law setting U.S. public schools on a new course of accountability, Thursday, Dec. 10, 2015, in Washington. The law will change the way teachers are evaluated and how the poorest performing schools are pushed to improve. Committee Chairman Sen, Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn. is second from left. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

After signing the legislation into law, President Barack Obama hugs Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. –Evan Vucci/AP

President Barack Obama waves after signing the "Every Student Succeeds Act," a major education law setting U.S. public schools on a new course of accountability, Thursday, Dec. 10, 2015, in Washington. The law will change the way teachers are evaluated and how the poorest performing schools are pushed to improve. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Barack Obama waves to the crowd before leaving the Dec. 10 signing ceremony for the Every Student Succeeds Act. –Evan Vucci/AP

Education Week’s Photos of the Year for 2015

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Preschoolers Liezel, 4, left, and Ryan, 4, walk the hall at a prekindergarten center in the Windsor Terrace neighborhood in Brooklyn. To accommodate expanded enrollment, New York City places children in new pre-K centers, traditional schools, and community-based organizations. —Mark Abramson for Education Week
story: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2015/09/30/nyc-pushes-to-meet-promise-of-universal.html?qs=abramson+prek

Education Week’s photo staff presents images that informed, delighted, or disturbed us throughout the past 12 months. These are our favorite photographs of 2015.

Preschoolers Liezel, 4, left, and Ryan, 4, walk the hall at a prekindergarten center in the Windsor Terrace neighborhood in Brooklyn. To accommodate expanded enrollment, New York City places children in new pre-K centers, traditional schools, and community-based organizations. —Mark Abramson for Education Week story: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2015/09/30/nyc-pushes-to-meet-promise-of-universal.html?qs=abramson+prek

Preschoolers Liezel, 4, left, and Ryan, 4, walk the hall at a prekindergarten center in the Windsor Terrace neighborhood in Brooklyn. To accommodate expanded enrollment, New York City places children in new pre-K centers, traditional schools, and community-based organizations. —Mark Abramson for Education Week
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Students from Cohen College Prep Academy in New Orleans celebrate their acceptance to college during a Declaration Day parade. --Swikar Patel/Education Week story: http://neworleans.edweek.org/

Students from Cohen College Prep Academy in New Orleans celebrate their acceptance to college during a Declaration Day parade. —Swikar Patel/Education Week
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Billie Dolce, a special education teacher for 31 years, in her New Orleans East home. A decade after Hurricane Katrina destroyed the school she worked in, the pain and symbolism are as profound for Dolce as they were in the storm’s fresh wake. --Edmund Fountain for Education Week story: http://neworleans.edweek.org/veteran-black-female-teachers-fired/

Billie Dolce, a special education teacher for 31 years, in her New Orleans East home. A decade after Hurricane Katrina destroyed the school she worked in, the pain and symbolism are as profound for Dolce as they were in the storm’s fresh wake. —Edmund Fountain for Education Week
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J'Remi Barnes, a recent graduate of New Orleans' Sci Academy, walks to the bus stop in May. A college scholarship to a distant school could pave the way to a better life for his family. --Swikar Patel/Education Week story: http://neworleans.edweek.org/college-is-my-ticket-out/?qs=J%27Remi+Barnes

J’Remi Barnes, a recent graduate of New Orleans’ Sci Academy, walks to the bus stop in May. A college scholarship to a distant school could pave the way to a better life for his family. —Swikar Patel/Education Week
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Recovery School District Superintendent Patrick Dobard sits for a portrait on the stoop of his childhood home in New Orleans’ 7th Ward. —Edmund D. Fountain for Education Week Story: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2015/08/26/how-we-rebuilt-new-orleans-schools-from.html?qs=Patrick+Dobard+fountain

Recovery School District Superintendent Patrick Dobard sits for a portrait on the stoop of his childhood home in New Orleans’ 7th Ward. —Edmund D. Fountain for Education Week
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Normandy Middle School students in Inda Schaenen’s classroom this month, from left to right: Cartayza Shelton, 13, 8th grade; Jalisa Kibble, 14, 8th grade; Margaret Mischeaux, 12, 7th grade; Jamyra Holmes, 13, 8th grade; Darrell Thomas, 13, 8th grade; Braulio Escalante, 13, 7th grade; Lamarvin Darden, 13, 8th grade; Walter Harper, 12, 7th grade; and Mekil Sims, 13, 7th grade. --Swikar Patel/Education Week story: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2015/09/16/empowering-students-in-the-wake-of-michael-browns-death.html

Normandy Middle School students in Inda Schaenen’s classroom, from left to right: Cartayza Shelton, 13, 8th grade; Jalisa Kibble, 14, 8th grade; Margaret Mischeaux, 12, 7th grade; Jamyra Holmes, 13, 8th grade; Darrell Thomas, 13, 8th grade; Braulio Escalante, 13, 7th grade; Lamarvin Darden, 13, 8th grade; Walter Harper, 12, 7th grade; and Mekil Sims, 13, 7th grade. —Swikar Patel/Education Week
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Habeeb Quadri, the principal of Muslim Community Center Academy, shakes hands with students following afternoon prayers at the school's Morton Grove, Ill., campus. —Alyssa Schukar for Education Week story: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2015/11/11/building-community-one-student-at-a-time.html?qs=Habeeb-Quadri

Habeeb Quadri, the principal of Muslim Community Center Academy, shakes hands with students following afternoon prayers at the school’s Morton Grove, Ill., campus. —Alyssa Schukar for Education Week
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Paraprofessional Vicky Henderson works with a 3rd grader, Payton, during story time in his special education classroom at Clinch County Elementary School in Homerville, Ga. The law now called the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act turns 40 this month. —Melissa Golden for Education Week story: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2015/11/11/decades-of-progress-challenges-under-federal-special.html?qs=clinch+county+golden

Paraprofessional Vicky Henderson works with a 3rd grader, Payton, during story time in his special education classroom at Clinch County Elementary School in Homerville, Ga. The law now called the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act turned 40 this year. —Melissa Golden for Education Week
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Michael V. Walker, bottom left, the director of Minneapolis schools' Office of Black Male Student Achievement, greets students before the group heads into a college fair. A growing number of urban districts are creating special offices to address educational disparities. —Courtney Perry for Education Week story: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2015/10/28/minneapolis-anti-bias-efforts-focus-on-black-males.html?qs=Courtney+Perry

Michael V. Walker, bottom left, the director of Minneapolis schools’ Office of Black Male Student Achievement, greets students before the group heads into a college fair. A growing number of urban districts are creating special offices to address educational disparities. —Courtney Perry for Education Week
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Janna Sells, an instructional facilitator, hugs 3rd grader Shamonica Branch at East Iredell Elementary School in Statesville, N.C. The district faces an uncertain economic future as federal grants taper off. —Justin Cook for Education Week story: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2015/06/10/as-federal-grants-taper-off-two-nc.html?qs=Justin+Cook

Janna Sells, an instructional facilitator, hugs 3rd grader Shamonica Branch at East Iredell Elementary School in Statesville, N.C. The district faces an uncertain economic future as federal grants taper off. —Justin Cook for Education Week
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Ayat Husseini, a 17-year-old daughter of immigrant parents, and her friend travel on a school-sponsored bus trip to visit Lafayette College in Pennsylvania. —Mark Abramson for Education Week story: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2015/12/02/for-some-immigrant-students-culture-bears-on.html?qs=ayat+abramson

Ayat Husseini, a 17-year-old daughter of immigrant parents, and her friend travel on a school-sponsored bus trip to visit Lafayette College in Pennsylvania. —Mark Abramson for Education Week
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These children live at a trailer park in Mendota, Calif., a farmworker community hit hard by the state’s historic drought. Schools statewide are feeling the impact, but it’s especially acute for districts in the Central Valley, where farm jobs are drying up with the water. —Matt Black story: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2015/06/10/in-droughts-firm-grip-california-schools-try.html?qs=matt+black+drought

These children live at a trailer park in Mendota, Calif., a farmworker community hit hard by the state’s historic drought. Schools statewide are feeling the impact, but it’s especially acute for districts in the Central Valley, where farm jobs are drying up with the water. —Matt Black photo
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Former Atlanta Public Schools School Research Team Director Tamara Cotman, center, is led to a holding cell after a jury found her guilty in the test-cheating trial on April 1 in Atlanta. —Kent D. Johnson/Atlanta Journal-Constitution/AP story: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2015/04/02/atlanta-educators-convicted-in-test-cheating-trial.html?qs=kent+johnson+atlanta+trial

Former Atlanta Public Schools School Research Team Director Tamara Cotman, center, is led to a holding cell after a jury found her guilty in the test-cheating trial in Atlanta. —Kent D. Johnson/Atlanta Journal-Constitution/AP
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A series of screen grabs from video taken by a Spring Valley High School student last week shows Ben Fields, a sheriff’s deputy, forcibly removing a student from her desk after she refused to leave her high school math class in Columbia, S.C. —AP photos story: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2015/11/04/new-scrutiny-for-school-police-after-violent.html?qs=Ben+Fields

A series of screen grabs from video taken by a Spring Valley High School student shows Ben Fields, a sheriff’s deputy, forcibly removing a student from her desk after she refused to leave her high school math class in Columbia, S.C. —AP photos
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Teachers practice during a concealed firearm permit class in October in South Jordan, Utah. The training was reserved for educators free of charge. Utah allows permitted concealed weapons in public schools. --Jeffrey D. Allred/The Deseret News/AP

Teachers practice during a concealed firearm permit class in October in South Jordan, Utah. The training was reserved for educators free of charge. Utah allows permitted concealed weapons in public schools. –Jeffrey D. Allred/The Deseret News/AP

Carson Luke, 14, heads outside at his family’s home in Gambrills, Md. Carson, who has autism, ended up with broken bones at age 10 when staff at a Virginia school tried to muscle him into a seclusion room after an outburst.. —Matt Roth for Education Week story: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2015/02/18/state-legislatures-take-aim-at-restraint-seclusion.html?qs=Carson+Luke

Carson Luke, 14, heads outside at his family’s home in Gambrills, Md. Carson, who has autism, ended up with broken bones at age 10 when staff at a Virginia school tried to muscle him into a seclusion room after an outburst. —Matt Roth for Education Week
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President Barack Obama pats U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s back as Duncan announces that he will be stepping down after seven years in the administration. —Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP story: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2015/10/14/leadership-issues-could-cloud-federal-k-12-picture.html?qs=obama+duncan+Monsivais

President Barack Obama pats U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s back as Duncan announces that he will be stepping down after seven years in the administration. —Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP
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At tiny Datil Elementary in Datil, New Mexico, "personalized learning" for students like 8-year old Chisum Harriet doesn't involve much technology. --Swikar Patel/Education Week story: http://www.edweek.org/ew/projects/2015/rural-schools-broadband/they-rake-us-over-coals-affordable-internet.html?qs=patel+Datil

At tiny Datil Elementary in Datil, N.M., “personalized learning” for students like 8-year old Chisum Harriet doesn’t involve much technology. —Swikar Patel/Education Week
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Sunrise in the tiny town of Vardaman, Misssissippi, where everything moves slowly. Especially the Internet at the local high school. --Swikar Patel/Education Week story: http://www.edweek.org/ew/projects/2015/rural-schools-broadband/the-slowest-internet-in-mississippi.html

Sunrise in the tiny town of Vardaman, Miss., where everything moves slowly, especially the Internet at the local high school. —Swikar Patel/Education Week
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A Roundup of Education Videos for 2015

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The end of the year is a great time to look back at the work we’ve done in 2015. Education Week’s multimedia staff sifted through the full array of videos for this YouTube playlist of those that proved most popular.

Lone Black Teacher Gives A Minority Report

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Chrissell Rhone (cq) casts a look at a student at the Picayune Center for Alternative Education on February 11, 2016 in Picayune, Mississippi after the student mentioned how many times he had been placed under house arrest. Rhone taught in New Orleans until he was displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Now he is the lone African American teacher at his workplace.
Chrissell Rhone speaks with Gage Harrison, a student at the Picayune Center for Alternative Education in Picayune, Mississippi. After teaching for 10 years in a school system with an ample supply of black teachers, Rhone is now the only African-American teacher in his workplace.

Chrissell Rhone speaks with Gage Harrison, a student at the Picayune Center for Alternative Education in Picayune, Miss. After teaching for 10 years in a school system with an ample supply of black teachers, Rhone is now the only African-American teacher in his workplace.

Edmund Fountain photographs and interviews teacher Chrissell Rhone, the only African-American teacher at a school in Picayune, Miss.

By Edmund Fountain

Assigned to photograph teacher Chrissell Rhone for an Education Week story, I headed up to the town of Picayune, Miss., located some 40 miles north of New Orleans. Mr. Rhone, who is black, previously taught in New Orleans, but was displaced by Hurricane Katrina and lost his job as the school system there was reorganized after the storm. In the Crescent City, Rhone was surrounded by black colleagues and students; now he is the lone black educator in his school, which caters to children with special needs.

I had covered New Orleans’ switch to charter schools previously, but this was my first glimpse into the life of a displaced New Orleans teacher who was now teaching elsewhere. I was able to sit down with Mr. Rhone and talk about his experiences working in Picayune as well as how it differs from working in New Orleans.

Education Week: How does your experience in Picayune compare to your time in New Orleans?

Chrissell Rhone: It’s been very different.

Working in Picayune has been the first time I’ve had white administrators. In terms of students, there were some cultural differences. Things that I did not see or expect in New Orleans I’ve seen and expected here in Picayune.

EW: How did you adjust to that?

CR: I just kind of learned what behaviors to ignore or expect from certain students. For instance, the Confederate flag. While some do see it as inflammatory, for a lot of my students it’s just something with their heritage, and not that they’re trying to be disrespectful or racist. It’s just a part of their life, so it’s not an issue.

The Mississippi state flag flies beneath a POW MIA flag and the American flag in front of City Hall in Picayune, Miss.

The Mississippi state flag flies beneath a POW/MIA flag and the American flag in front of City Hall in Picayune, Miss.

Shirts for sale in a storefront in downtown Picayune. Located in the southern most tip of Mississippi, the town has a population of approximately 11,000 people.

Shirts for sale in a storefront in downtown Picayune. Located in the southernmost tip of Mississippi, the town has a population of approximately 11,000 people.

Chrissell Rhone moved from New Orleans to his grandmother's home in Picayune after Hurricane Katrina.

Chrissell Rhone moved from New Orleans to his grandmother’s home in Picayune after Hurricane Katrina.

EW: Do you feel as though you are racially isolated here?

CR: (I feel) isolated, yes, because I’m the only black teacher at my school and, no, because I’m not treated differently because of race. So physically looking at it, yes, but in terms of interactions, no.

EW: Do you ever get frustrated?

CR: There are times that I wish there were more black teachers in the district. I think our kids need to see more of us in the classrooms.

Chrissell Rhone (cq) casts a look at a student at the Picayune Center for Alternative Education on February 11, 2016 in Picayune, Mississippi after the student mentioned how many times he had been placed under house arrest. Rhone taught in New Orleans until he was displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Now he is the lone African American teacher at his workplace.

Chrissell Rhone casts a look at a student after the youth mentioned how many times he had been placed under house arrest.

Chrissell Rhone (cq) works at his desk while a student takes a GED preparatory test at the Picayune Center for Alternative Education on February 11, 2016 in Picayune, Mississippi. Rhone taught in New Orleans until he was displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Now he is the lone African American teacher at his workplace.

Chrissell Rhone works at his desk while a student takes a GED preparatory exam at the Picayune Center for Alternative Education.

Chrissell Rhone (cq) teaches at the Picayune Center for Alternative Education on February 11, 2016 in Picayune, Mississippi. Rhone taught in New Orleans until he was displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Now he is the lone African American teacher at his workplace. As the school day began he used a metal detector to search students for contraband.

Chrissell Rhone uses a metal detector to search students for contraband as the school day starts in Picayune, Miss.

EW: What’s kept you in the profession for so long?

CR: I really feel this is my calling. I’ve honestly tried to leave and didn’t get any of the other jobs that I’ve applied for. And I see now where God has just used me to work with certain kids– and actually some of my coworkers as well–so i just know this is what I’m supposed to be doing.

EW: How does school climate and work environment play into retention of teachers and recruitment of teachers of color in your district?

CR: None of the teachers who I knew that left the district left because they felt there was a race problem in the district. They either moved away or moved on to different jobs or different opportunities, but it was never because they felt like they were being harassed racially or mistreated racially.

EW: Why haven’t you gone back to New Orleans?

CR: Again, I just feel this is my calling, this is where I’m supposed to be. I am considering [that] maybe in the future because I’m looking into administration, and I know there would be more opportunities there just because it’s a larger district. So maybe in the future I may go back, but for now this is where I’m supposed to be.

Chrissell Rhone (cq) speaks with Andrea Reed, left, a special education teacher, and custodian Kim Green, right. before the start of classes at the Picayune Center for Alternative Education on February 11, 2016 in Picayune, Mississippi. Rhone taught in New Orleans until he was displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Now he is the lone African American teacher at his workplace.

Chrissell Rhone speaks with Andrea Reed, left, a special education teacher, and custodian Kim Green, before the start of classes at the Picayune Center for Alternative Education.

 

The Young Victims of Chernobyl

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In this photo taken on Tuesday, April  5, 2016, Natalya Vetrova, one year old, sleeps holding a bottle with fresh cow milk at home in Zalyshany, 53 km (32 miles) southwest of the destroyed reactor of the Chernobyl plant, Ukraine. Her village is in one of the sections of Ukraine contaminated by radioactive fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear explosion. (AP Photo/Mstyslav Chernov)
In this photo taken on Tuesday, April 5, 2016, Natalya Vetrova, one year old, sleeps holding a bottle with fresh cow milk at home in Zalyshany, 53 km (32 miles) southwest of the destroyed reactor of the Chernobyl plant, Ukraine. Her village is in one of the sections of Ukraine contaminated by radioactive fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear explosion. (AP Photo/Mstyslav Chernov)

Natalya Vetrova, 1 year old, sleeps holding a bottle with fresh cow milk at home in Zalyshany, located 32 miles southwest of the destroyed reactor of the Chernobyl nuclear plant in Ukraine. Her village is in one of the sections of the country still contaminated by radioactive fallout from the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear explosion. –Mstyslav Chernov/AP

Thirty years after the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl, children in surrounding villages of the Ukraine suffer from radiation illnesses and eat food tainted by the world’s worst nuclear accident.

YURAS KARMANAU, Associated Press

ZALYSHANY, Ukraine (AP) — Viktoria Vetrova knows the risk her four children take in drinking milk from the family’s two cows and eating dried mushrooms and berries from the forest.

But the cash-strapped Ukrainian government canceled the local school lunch program for 350,000 children last year — the only source of clean food in this village near Chernobyl. So rural families are resorting to milk and produce from land still contaminated by fallout from the world’s worst nuclear accident three decades ago. Vetrova’s 8-year-old son Bogdan suffers from an enlarged thyroid, a condition which studies have linked to radioactivity.

“We are aware of the dangers, but what can we do?” said Vetrova, standing in her kitchen after pouring a glass of milk. “There is no other way to survive.”

In this photo taken on Tuesday, April 5, 2016, Viktoria Vetrova, with her children, Bogdan, center, and Kolya, right, goes home after milking a cow in Zalyshany, 53 km (32 miles) southwest of the destroyed reactor of the Chernobyl plant, Ukraine. Viktoria Vetrova, a housewife, keeps two cows in order to help feed her four children. Vetrova’s 8-year-old son Bogdan suffers from an enlarged thyroid, a condition which studies have linked to radioactivity. (AP Photo/Mstyslav Chernov)

Viktoria Vetrova, with her children, Bogdan, center, and Kolya, right, return home after milking a cow in Zalyshany, Ukraine, located 32 miles southwest of the destroyed Chernobyl nuclear plant. Vetrova keeps two cows in order to help feed her four children. –Mstyslav Chernov/AP

In this photo taken on Tuesday, April 5, 2016, Viktoria Vetrov's sons Bogdan, left, and Kolya, eat at home in Zalishany, 53 km (32 miles) southwest of the destroyed reactor of the Chernobyl plant, Ukraine. Viktoria Vetrov, a 37-year-old housewife, keeps two cows in order to help feed her four children. One of her children, eight-year-old Bogdan suffers from an enlarged thyroid and Vetrov suspects it’s caused by contaminated food. (AP Photo/Mstyslav Chernov)

Viktoria Vetrov’s sons Bogdan, left, and Kolya, eat at home in Zalishany. Bogdan, 8, suffers from an enlarged thyroid, a condition which studies have linked to radioactivity. –Mstyslav Chernov/AP

Vetrova’s family and thousands of others are caught between the consequences of two disasters: the residue from Chernobyl and the recent plunge of Ukraine’s economy.

After the April 26, 1986, explosion and fire, the most heavily affected areas in Ukraine were classified into four zones. Residents from three of them were evacuated or allowed to volunteer for resettlement. But the village of Zalyshany, 53 kilometers (32 miles) southwest of the destroyed reactor, is in the fourth zone — not contaminated enough for resettlement but eligible for subsidies to help with health issues.

Ukraine’s Institute of Agricultural Radiology says the most recent testing in the zone showed radiation levels in wild-grown food such as nuts, berries, and mushrooms were two to five times higher than what is considered safe.

In this photo taken on Thursday, April 7, 2016, a radiation dosimeter measures radiation showing slightly increased levels in abandoned cow farm near Zalyshany, Ukraine. After the April 26, 1986 explosion and fire spewed radioactive fallout over much of Ukraine, the most heavily affected areas were classified into four zones. Zalyshany, 53 kilometers (32 miles) southwest of the destroyed reactor, is in the fourth zone, not contaminated enough for resettlement but eligible for subsidies to help with health issues. (AP Photo/Mstyslav Chernov)

A meter measures radiation showing slightly increased levels in an abandoned cattle farm near Zalyshany, Ukraine. –Mstyslav Chernov/AP

In this photo taken on Tuesday, April 5, 2016, a pediatrician performs yearly check for radioactive elements of Oksana Zabeylo, 10, in a hospital in Ivankiv, Ukraine. After the April 26, 1986 explosion and fire spewed radioactive fallout over much of Ukraine, the most heavily affected areas were classified into four zones. Last year, as the national economy deteriorated sharply, the government cut off paying for school lunches for children living in the fourth zone, not contaminated enough for resettlement but eligible for subsidies to help with health issues. (AP Photo/Mstyslav Chernov)

A pediatrician performs an annual examination for radioactive elements on Oksana Zabeylo, 10, in a hospital in Ivankiv, Ukraine. –Mstyslav Chernov/AP

In this photo taken on Tuesday, April 5, 2016, children stay in a queue, as they wait to be checked by a pediatrician for radioactive elements in a hospital in Ivankiv, Ukraine. After the April 26, 1986 explosion and fire spewed radioactive fallout over much of Ukraine, the most heavily affected areas were classified into four zones. Last year, as the national economy deteriorated sharply, the government cut off paying for school lunches for children living in the fourth zone, not contaminated enough for resettlement but eligible for subsidies to help with health issues. (AP Photo/Mstyslav Chernov)

Children wait to be checked by a pediatrician for radioactive elements at a hospital in Ivankiv, Ukraine. –Mstyslav Chernov/AP

However, Ukraine’s economy has since been weakened by separatist war in its eastern industrial heartland, endemic corruption, and the loss of Crimea, which was annexed by Russia. Last year, the Ukrainian government, which is propped up by billions of dollars in loans from the United States, the European Union, and the World Bank, cut off paying for school lunches in Zone 4. There are no official cost figures, but a typical price of about 20 hryvnia (80 U.S. cents) would put the program’s funding at about $50 million a year.

“Hot meals in the schools were the only clean food, which was tested for radiation, for the children,” teacher Natalya Stepanchuk said. “Now the children have gone over to the local food, over which there is absolutely no control.”

In 2012, the government halted the monitoring of radioactive contamination of food and soil in Zone 4, which was called the “zone of strict radio-ecological control.” The state has also cancelled a program for buying Ferocin, known as Prussian Blue, a substance farmers could give their cattle to hasten the elimination of the cesium-137 isotope. Without financial help, farmers in the area are unwilling to buy it on their own.

“The government spends huge funds for the treatment of the local population, but cannot put out a little money on prevention,” said Valery Kashparov, head of the Ukrainian Institute of Agricultural Radiology. “I am ashamed to look people in the eye.”

In the view of Vitaly Petruk, head of the agency that administers the “exclusion zones” closest to the Chernobyl plant, the decision on the school lunches came down to how best to use limited funds.

“What is better: to give all the money to people who have radiation sickness and save them, or split the money … and give each of them four hryvnia (15 cents)?” he asked. “The idea was to focus on certain things, rather than dissipate energy and waste money.”

This calculation means that many in the village of about 350 people go without food. And beyond Zalyshany, there are some 1,300 settlements in the zone where the lunches were cancelled. Even when the lunches were available, children were likely eating contaminated food when out of school.

Nine-year-old Olesya Petrova’s mother is sick with cancer and can no longer work. Olesya hungrily awaits the coming of warm weather, when she can scour the woodlands for berries and other goodies.

In the meantime, she can hope that one of her classmates will slip her a sandwich. But in economically depressed Zalyshany, such largesse is fitful.

The lunch cancellations did not affect kindergartens, such as the one that’s in the same building as the local school. The kindergarten’s cook, Lyubov Shevchuk, sometimes slips the older children a little something.

“Children faint and fall. I try to at least give them some hot tea, or take from one child to give to another,” she said.

In this photo taken on Tuesday, April 5, 2016, kindergarten's cook Lyubov Shevchuk sits at the empty table of a canteen, where children used to have lunch before it was canceled, in Zalyshany, 53 km (32 miles) southwest of the destroyed reactor of the Chernobyl plant, Ukraine. After the April 26, 1986 explosion and fire spewed radioactive fallout over much of Ukraine, the most heavily affected areas were classified into four zones. Last year, as the national economy deteriorated sharply, the government cut off paying for school lunches for children living in the fourth zone, not contaminated enough for resettlement but eligible for subsidies to help with health issues. (AP Photo/Mstyslav Chernov)

School kindergarten cook Lyubov Shevchuk sits at the empty table of a canteen, where children used to have lunch before funding was cancelled by the Ukrainian government. The school is located in Zalyshany, 32 miles southwest of the destroyed Chernobyl reactor. –Mstyslav Chernov/AP

In this photo taken on Tuesday, April 5, 2016, Olesya Petrova, 9, attends lessons in a school in Zalyshany, 53 km (32 miles) southwest of the destroyed reactor of the Chernobyl plant, Ukraine. Olesya Petrova hungrily awaits the coming of warm weather, when she can scour the woodlands outside her village for berries and other goodies that can help make up for her canceled school lunch program. But the forest treats carry an invisible danger, her village is in one of the sections of Ukraine contaminated by radioactive fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear explosion. (AP Photo/Mstyslav Chernov)

Olesya Petrova, 9, attends lessons in a school in Zalyshany, Ukraine. Olesha says she awaits the coming of warm weather, when she can scour the woodlands outside her village for berries and other goodies that can help make up for her cancelled school lunch program. Ukraine’s Institute of Agricultural Radiology says the most recent testing in the zone where she lives showed radiation levels in wild-grown food such as nuts, berries, and mushrooms were two to five times higher than what is considered safe. –Mstyslav Chernov/AP

In this photo taken on Tuesday, April 5, 2016, teacher Natalya Stepanchuk, background center, reads, while children write during a lesson in a school in Zalyshany, 53 km (32 miles) southwest of the destroyed reactor of the Chernobyl plant, Ukraine. After the April 26, 1986 explosion and fire spewed radioactive fallout over much of Ukraine, the most heavily affected areas were classified into four zones. Last year, as the national economy deteriorated sharply, the government cut off paying for school lunches for children living in the fourth zone, not contaminated enough for resettlement but eligible for subsidies to help with health issues. (AP Photo/Mstyslav Chernov)

Teacher Natalya Stepanchuk reads, while children write during a lesson at a school in Zalyshany, Ukraine. –Mstyslav Chernov/AP

With no government agency taking responsibility for feeding the schoolchildren, it’s left to warmhearted efforts like Shevchuk’s or to charities. An Italian group, Mondo in Cammino, took notice of the Zone 4 lunch cancellations and raised money to supply the 130 pupils in one village, Radynka, with a year’s lunches at a cost of 15,000 euros ($17,000).

“We know that Ukraine is near default. They decided that these families were no longer children of Chernobyl,” said the organization’s director, Massimo Bonfatti.

The overall effects of radioactive fallout remain intensely debated. A United Nations report concluded that the additional radioactivity over a 20-year period was approximately equivalent to that of a CAT scan, because of higher levels of the long-lived cesium-137. Ausrele Kesminiene, a doctor with the World Health Organization, said there is little evidence associating radioactivity-contaminated food with cancers other than in the thyroid.

But a review compiled by the Greenpeace environmentalist group and published in March found scientific studies indicating children in areas contaminated like Zalyshany show much-reduced respiratory capacity. A European Union-funded study tracking 4,000 children for three years in contaminated areas also found cardiovascular insufficiencies in 81 percent of the children.

Yuri Bandazhevsky, a pediatrician who has studied the effect of small doses of radiation on the human body, said there are “very serious pathological processes” which can lead to defects of the cardiovascular system and cancer. Bandazhevsky, whose work is widely cited abroad, was imprisoned in his native Belarus for four years. Supporters allege it was due to his work on studying Chernobyl’s consequences; he now works in Ukraine.

“With regret I have to state that nobody cares about this, and those hungry children are another proof of how authorities treat a population which suffers on these territories,” he said.

Nadezhda Ivanchenko, whose grandson was monitored in the European Union study, agreed that the government seems callous. She brought the 10-year-old boy for examination at the hospital in the district center of Ivankiv. He shows advanced sinus arrhythmia of the heart.

“People get sick a lot, but neither children nor anyone here are needed. We were thrown away and forgotten,” she said.

Olesya, the 9-year-old who now often has to go without lunch, wants to eventually become a doctor, so she can “treat everybody for radiation.” But for right now, her desire is to fill her stomach with treats foraged from the woods.

“In the forest, you don’t need money,” she said. “There’s all kinds of food that can feed everyone.”

In this photo taken on Thursday, April 7, 2016, one of abandoned houses in Karpylivka, Ukraine. Karpylivka is one of the nearest villages to the destroyed reactor of the Chernobyl plant and has very few inhabitants. After the April 26, 1986 explosion and fire spewed radioactive fallout over much of Ukraine, the most heavily affected areas were classified into four zones, from three of which residents were evacuated or allowed to volunteer for resettlement. (AP Photo/Mstyslav Chernov)

One of the many abandoned homes in Karpylivka, Ukraine. Karpylivka is one of the nearest villages to the destroyed reactor of the Chernobyl plant, and has very few inhabitants. –Mstyslav Chernov/AP

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Associated Press writers Jim Heintz in Moscow and Colleen Barry in Milan, Italy, contributed to this story.

A Photographer’s View of Chicago Schools’ Fiscal Crisis

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Assistant Principal Alexandra Escobar hugs second grader Analise Rivera, 8, during recess at R. H. Lee Elementary School in Chicago on Friday, May 6, 2016. 

The school, which is located in a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood, is losing Escobar who took a job in another school district.


Photo by Alyssa Schukar
Assistant Principal Alexandra Escobar hugs second grader Analise Rivera, 8, during recess at R. H. Lee Elementary School in Chicago on Friday, May 6, 2016. The school, which is located in a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood, is losing Escobar who took a job in another school district. Photo by Alyssa Schukar

Assistant Principal Alexandra Escobar hugs 2nd grader Analise Rivera, during recess at R. H. Lee Elementary School in Chicago. Escobar is leaving the school, located in a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood on the city’s West Side, for a job in a suburban district. –Alyssa Schukar for Education Week

Photographer Alyssa Schukar shares her favorite images and her experiences working on a recent story about the Chicago schools’ funding crisis for Education Week.

Working as a photojournalist in Chicago, I’m often sent into the city’s public schools schools to visually document life in the embattled district. The last year has been particularly tumultuous for the schools, especially with the Illinois budget crisis, and a corruption scandal that lead to the ousting of former Chicago schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett. Just last month, the teacher’s union held a one-day strike, demanding Illinois lawmakers fund public education. Currently, officials are considering the biggest budget cuts in district history.

Students enter Lindblom Math & Science Academy at the start of the day on Friday, May 6, 2016. The Chicago Landmark building, which was built in 1917, is located in Englewood, a predominantly black neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago. Lindblom Math & Science Academy is one of ten selective enrollment high school in Chicago. Its students were so moved by the budget crisis that they created a song about the situation, which they performed at the school board meeting. Photo by Alyssa Schukar

Students enter Lindblom Math & Science Academy at the start of the day earlier this month. The landmark building, which was built in 1917, is located in Englewood, a on Chicago’s South Side. –Alyssa Schukar for Education Week

All of this bad news can make for depressing pictures, but when I visit Chicago schools, I see hope rather than despair.  I don’t see downtrodden students, teachers, and administrators. I see Chicagoans who care deeply and are eager to create change from the inside.

Lindblom Math & Science Academy senior Ebere Forbes-Wilson, 18, in grey, goofs around with classmates all of whom helped write a song in response to the Chicago Public School's budget crises before the start of school on Friday, May 6, 2016. Pictured at back is choir teacher Stuart Fuess. Lindblom Math & Science Academy, which is located in the predominantly black South Side neighborhood of Englewood, is one of ten selective enrollment high school in Chicago. Its students were so moved by the budget crisis that they created a song about the situation, which they performed at the school board meeting. Photo by Alyssa Schukar

Lindblom Math & Science Academy senior Ebere Forbes-Wilson, 18, in gray, jokes with classmates on the Chicago school campus. The students recently wrote a song in response to the district’s budget crisis and performed it at a school board meeting. Choir teacher Casey Fuess is in back. —Alyssa Schukar for Education Week

I loved sitting in on a girls’ choir class taught by Casey Fuess, the choir teacher at the Lindblom Math & Science Academy, a selective-enrollment high school on the South Side. Some of his students — including those pictured above — created a song titled “When We Gonna Change?” about the budget crises, which you can view here.

Lindblom Math & Science Academy freshman Kemba Rasul, 14, sings during a girls choir class on Friday, May 6, 2016. Lindblom Math & Science Academy, which is located in the predominantly black South Side neighborhood of Englewood, is one of ten selective enrollment high school in Chicago. Its students were so moved by the budget crisis that they created a song about the situation, which they performed at the school board meeting. Photo by Alyssa Schukar

Lindblom Math & Science Academy freshman Kemba Rasul, center, sings during a choir class. –Alyssa Schukar for Education Week

The students are fired up. They recognize how important education is to their futures and the future of Chicago.

Lindblom Math & Science Academy sophomore Jasmine Curtis, 16, listens to a geometry lesson on Friday, May 6, 2016. Lindblom Math & Science Academy, which is located in the predominantly black South Side neighborhood of Englewood, is one of ten selective enrollment high school in Chicago. Its students were so moved by the budget crisis that they created a song about the situation, which they performed at the school board meeting. Photo by Alyssa Schukar

Jasmine Curtis, a sophomore at Lindblom, listens during a geometry lesson. –Alyssa Schukar for Education Week

In a city that is on pace for one of its most violent years in decades, I believe we need these inspired and engaged youth to help us become better.

The Chicago Transit Authority's Pink Line train passes over North Lawndale on the west side of Chicago. --Alyssa Schukar for Education Week

A Chicago Transit Authority train passes through the North Lawndale neighborhood on the city’s West Side. –Alyssa Schukar for Education Week

Portraits of an Urban School Turnaround

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GULFPORT, FLORIDA - MAY 26, 2016:  

Boca Ciega's valedictorian Da'Jhai Monroe, 17, is graduating with a 4.7 weighted GPA and going to Florida State University to study Biology and Public Policy. She was also accepted to Cornell University. "Overall I think I've gained a lot of confidence from being in high school, when I first came in I was kind of shy and introverted. And, I guess the more years I progressed, I started to understand my own potential." 

Boca Ciega High School's senior class is about 340 students with an addition 15-18 early graduates (students graduating a year early, at the end of their junior year). Approximately 75 percent of Boca Ciega's graduating seniors will be heading off to a college or university, with the remaining graduates geared toward the military, technical school or the work force. The 2014-2015 school year saw a 90 percent graduation rate for black students and a slightly lower graduation rate for white students -- at 87.79 percent. They have an annual event called "Let Them Eat Cake" to celebrate the seniors that are continuing their education. They have cake, a pep rally, play silly games, get to meet the other students heading to the same place they are, and get applauded by their peers as each individual student's future plans are announced. 

(Photo by Melissa Lyttle for Education Week)
GULFPORT, FLORIDA - MAY 26, 2016: Boca Ciega's valedictorian Da'Jhai Monroe, 17, is graduating with a 4.7 weighted GPA and going to Florida State University to study Biology and Public Policy. She was also accepted to Cornell University. "Overall I think I've gained a lot of confidence from being in high school, when I first came in I was kind of shy and introverted. And, I guess the more years I progressed, I started to understand my own potential." Boca Ciega High School's senior class is about 340 students with an addition 15-18 early graduates (students graduating a year early, at the end of their junior year). Approximately 75 percent of Boca Ciega's graduating seniors will be heading off to a college or university, with the remaining graduates geared toward the military, technical school or the work force. The 2014-2015 school year saw a 90 percent graduation rate for black students and a slightly lower graduation rate for white students -- at 87.79 percent. They have an annual event called "Let Them Eat Cake" to celebrate the seniors that are continuing their education. They have cake, a pep rally, play silly games, get to meet the other students heading to the same place they are, and get applauded by their peers as each individual student's future plans are announced. (Photo by Melissa Lyttle for Education Week)

Boca Ciega’s valedictorian Da’Jhai Monroe, 17, is graduating with a 4.7 weighted GPA and is going to Florida State University to study biology and public policy. She was also accepted to Cornell University. “Overall I think I’ve gained a lot of confidence from being in high school. When I first came in, I was kind of shy and introverted. And I guess the more years I progressed, I started to understand my own potential.”

Photographer Melissa Lyttle documents an academic turnaround at Boca Ciega High School in St. Petersburg, Fla.

“A friend who works at the school board in St. Petersburg, Fla., told me about an amazing turnaround at Boca Ciega High School (aka Bogie) in South St. Petersburg. This is a historically black, economically disadvantaged part of town, mired by segregation, where feeder schools have been labeled as ‘Failure Factories’ by the local paper. About five years ago, Bogie got a new principal, Michael Vigue, who was brought in to help fix the school. Last year, the number of black students graduating from Boca Ciega was at an all-time high.  This year, the number of black graduates — 90 percent — surpassed the number of white graduates — 88 percent — for the first time, and the school has the first black valedictorian as far back as anyone can remember.

I went into meet Principal Vigue to see what he was doing differently to change the culture of a school. He told me that it was simple: Teachers started showing the students that they care about and respect them. They shake their hands in the hallway, make eye contact, get to know their names and their families. And then these teachers challenge the students, by encouraging them to get into, and do well in, Advanced Placement classes.

At the end of the school year is an event called ‘Let Them Eat Cake,’ where the graduating seniors who are going onto college, a trade school, the military, or continuing workforce education (ESE students) get treated to cake and a pep rally. I asked if I could come meet some of his seniors and make portraits of them. He gave me unfettered access, and rather than hand-picking the cream of the crop for me to photograph and interact with, he gave me free reign at the pep rally to talk with anyone I wanted. So I picked a variety of students and asked them all a few simple questions. Why’d they pick the school they’re going to? And how did they change throughout high school?”

GULFPORT, FLORIDA - MAY 26, 2016: Daiquana Ware, 17, is going to Florida A&M University. "I was always a good kid, I always made great grades. FAMU is my favorite HBCU. I believe it's important to have an empowerment between African Americans and being surrounded by people that look like you and have the same goals as you. My high school experience has been amazing. Bogie has helped me in so many ways, especially my AVID program." Boca Ciega High School's senior class is about 340 students with an addition 15-18 early graduates (students graduating a year early, at the end of their junior year). Approximately 75 percent of Boca Ciega's graduating seniors will be heading off to a college or university, with the remaining graduates geared toward the military, technical school or the work force. The 2014-2015 school year saw a 90 percent graduation rate for black students and a slightly lower graduation rate for white students -- at 87.79 percent. (Photo by Melissa Lyttle for Education Week)

Daiquana Ware, 17, is going to Florida A&M University. “I was always a good kid, I always made great grades. I believe it’s important to have an empowerment between African Americans and being surrounded by people that look like you and have the same goals as you. My high school experience has been amazing. Bogie has helped me in so many ways, especially my AVID (college readiness) program.”

GULFPORT, FLORIDA - MAY 26, 2016: Koby Wynn, 18, is going to Jacksonvlle University where he'll be playing football and studying Kinesiology in hopes of becoming a Physical Therapist. "JU was recruiting me for football, but when I went to visit I just fell in love with the school. It's a close tight-knit community. The campus is not too big, not a lot of students, about 2400 students. And that's what I'm used to, a small close knit setting." Boca Ciega High School's senior class is about 340 students with an addition 15-18 early graduates (students graduating a year early, at the end of their junior year). Approximately 75 percent of Boca Ciega's graduating seniors will be heading off to a college or university, with the remaining graduates geared toward the military, technical school or the work force. The 2014-2015 school year saw a 90 percent graduation rate for black students and a slightly lower graduation rate for white students -- at 87.79 percent. (Photo by Melissa Lyttle for Education Week)

Koby Wynn, 18, is going to Jacksonville University where he’ll be playing football and studying kinesiology in hopes of becoming a physical therapist. “JU was recruiting me for football, but when I went to visit I just fell in love with the school. It’s a close tight-knit community. The campus is not too big, not a lot of students, about 2400 students. And that’s what I’m used to, a small close-knit setting.”

GULFPORT, FLORIDA - MAY 26, 2016: Au'Bryanna Clayton, 18, is going to Florida State University where she's going to be pre-med and study Chemistry. "FSU is a really big campus, and I like big. And they have my major. I came into high school the quiet time, shy, didn't really speak out. And I'm leaving very ambitious... ready for the world." Boca Ciega High School's senior class is about 340 students with an addition 15-18 early graduates (students graduating a year early, at the end of their junior year). Approximately 75 percent of Boca Ciega's graduating seniors will be heading off to a college or university, with the remaining graduates geared toward the military, technical school or the work force. The 2014-2015 school year saw a 90 percent graduation rate for black students and a slightly lower graduation rate for white students -- at 87.79 percent. (Photo by Melissa Lyttle for Education Week)

Au’Bryanna Clayton, 18, is going to Florida State University where she’s going to be pre-med and study chemistry. “FSU is a really big campus, and I like big. And they have my major. I came into high school the quiet kind–shy, didn’t really speak out. And I’m leaving very ambitious… ready for the world.”

GULFPORT, FLORIDA - MAY 26, 2016: Colin Thompson, 18, is going to Florida International University to become an athletic trainer. "I love the Miami area. And when I toured the campus I fell in love with it. I finished high school with a 3.8 weighted GPA, I was captain of the soccer team, and finished in the top 6 position in my ROTC brigade, and I'm running for Prom King. I grew out of my shell in high school and became more of a leader -- and I attribute that mainly to ROTC." Boca Ciega High School's senior class is about 340 students with an addition 15-18 early graduates (students graduating a year early, at the end of their junior year). Approximately 75 percent of Boca Ciega's graduating seniors will be heading off to a college or university, with the remaining graduates geared toward the military, technical school or the work force. The 2014-2015 school year saw a 90 percent graduation rate for black students and a slightly lower graduation rate for white students -- at 87.79 percent. (Photo by Melissa Lyttle for Education Week)

Colin Thompson, 18, is going to Florida International University to become an athletic trainer. “I love the Miami area. And when I toured the campus, I fell in love with it. I finished high school with a 3.8 weighted GPA, I was captain of the soccer team, and finished in the top 6 position in my ROTC brigade, and I’m running for Prom King. I grew out of my shell in high school and became more of a leader — and I attribute that mainly to ROTC.”

GULFPORT, FLORIDA - MAY 26, 2016: Destiny Weaver, 18, is graduating with a 4.3 weighted GPA and going to the University of San Francisco to study Psychology before going to med school. "I went to visit UC-Berkeley, and just really liked San Francisco. It's very cultured and there's a lot of good opportunities for me there. Growing and maturing I've been able to see, especially with my teachers helping me out, who really cares about me who really wants me to do well in school and how that's really going to help me in school. High school just gave me more of an overall appreciate for knowledge." Boca Ciega High School's senior class is about 340 students with an addition 15-18 early graduates (students graduating a year early, at the end of their junior year). Approximately 75 percent of Boca Ciega's graduating seniors will be heading off to a college or university, with the remaining graduates geared toward the military, technical school or the work force. The 2014-2015 school year saw a 90 percent graduation rate for black students and a slightly lower graduation rate for white students -- at 87.79 percent. (Photo by Melissa Lyttle for Education Week)

Destiny Weaver, 18, is graduating with a 4.3 weighted GPA and going to the University of San Francisco to study psychology before going to medical school. “I went to visit UC-Berkeley, and just really liked San Francisco. It’s very cultured and there’s a lot of good opportunities for me there. Growing and maturing I’ve been able to see, especially with my teachers helping me out, who really cares about me who really wants me to do well in school and how that’s really going to help me in school. High school just gave me more of an overall appreciation for knowledge.”

GULFPORT, FLORIDA - MAY 26, 2016: Zaria Maynard, 18, is graduating with a 4.0 GPA and is going to Florida State University to study Nursing. "I toured FSU's campus and I knew it was the school for me. It was just the vibe I got and the people I met there -- I knew that I needed to go there. Coming to Bogie has really helped me try new things, and it's opened so many doors. It helped me be able to attend FSU." Boca Ciega High School's senior class is about 340 students with an addition 15-18 early graduates (students graduating a year early, at the end of their junior year). Approximately 75 percent of Boca Ciega's graduating seniors will be heading off to a college or university, with the remaining graduates geared toward the military, technical school or the work force. The 2014-2015 school year saw a 90 percent graduation rate for black students and a slightly lower graduation rate for white students -- at 87.79 percent. (Photo by Melissa Lyttle for Education Week)

Zaria Maynard, 18, is graduating with a 4.0 GPA and is going to Florida State University to study nursing. “I toured FSU’s campus, and I knew it was the school for me. It was just the vibe I got and the people I met there — I knew that I needed to go there. Coming to Bogie has really helped me try new things, and it’s opened so many doors. It helped me be able to attend FSU.”

GULFPORT, FLORIDA - MAY 26, 2016: Christian Greene, 17, is graduating early (end of his junior year) with what he hopes will be at least a 3.0 GPA and joining the Marines. He's heading straight to Parris Island in South Carolina. "Ever since I was a little kids I've always admired the United States Marine Corps -- their uniform and their honor and their integrity. It's just about the pride of being a United States Marine." He was in the ROTC for the last two years of high school and hopes to make the Marines his career. Boca Ciega High School's senior class is about 340 students with an addition 15-18 early graduates (students graduating a year early, at the end of their junior year). Approximately 75 percent of Boca Ciega's graduating seniors will be heading off to a college or university, with the remaining graduates geared toward the military, technical school or the work force. The 2014-2015 school year saw a 90 percent graduation rate for black students and a slightly lower graduation rate for white students -- at 87.79 percent. (Photo by Melissa Lyttle for Education Week)

Christian Greene, 17, is graduating early — at the end of his junior year — with what he hopes will be at least a 3.0 GPA and joining the Marines. He’s heading straight to Parris Island in South Carolina. “Ever since I was a little kids I’ve always admired the United States Marine Corps — their uniform and their honor and their integrity. It’s just about the pride of being a United States Marine.” He was in the ROTC for the last two years of high school and hopes to make the Marines his career.

GULFPORT, FLORIDA - MAY 26, 2016: Diana Stancic, 18, is going to USF-St Pete and is currently Undecided, though she wants to do something in medicine or engineering. She's graduating with a 4.6 weighted GPA. "I feel as though USF-St. Pete might ease me into college life. I was considering going to an Ivy League School, but this is close to home and it'll get me into the college scene before I'm ready to maybe either transfer or go onto an upper echelon graduate school." Boca Ciega High School's senior class is about 340 students with an addition 15-18 early graduates (students graduating a year early, at the end of their junior year). Approximately 75 percent of Boca Ciega's graduating seniors will be heading off to a college or university, with the remaining graduates geared toward the military, technical school or the work force. The 2014-2015 school year saw a 90 percent graduation rate for black students and a slightly lower graduation rate for white students -- at 87.79 percent. They have an annual event called "Let Them Eat Cake" to celebrate the seniors that are continuing their education. They have cake, a pep rally, play silly games, get to meet the other students heading to the same place they are, and get applauded by their peers as each individual student's future plans are announced. (Photo by Melissa Lyttle for Education Week)

Diana Stancic, 18, is going to USF-St Pete and is currently undecided on a major, though she wants to do something in medicine or engineering. She’s graduating with a 4.6 weighted GPA. “I feel as though USF-St. Pete might ease me into college life. I was considering going to an Ivy League School, but this is close to home and it’ll get me into the college scene before I’m ready to maybe either transfer or go onto an upper echelon graduate school.”

GULFPORT, FLORIDA - MAY 26, 2016: Noah Bussell, 18, is going to Michigan State. He's originally from Michigan and still has family there. "Michigan State is in the Big Ten, and I know it's a great school. I'm most looking forward to going to a college where no one knows me." Boca Ciega High School's senior class is about 340 students with an addition 15-18 early graduates (students graduating a year early, at the end of their junior year). Approximately 75 percent of Boca Ciega's graduating seniors will be heading off to a college or university, with the remaining graduates geared toward the military, technical school or the work force. The 2014-2015 school year saw a 90 percent graduation rate for black students and a slightly lower graduation rate for white students -- at 87.79 percent. (Photo by Melissa Lyttle for Education Week)

Noah Bussell, 18, is going to Michigan State. He’s originally from Michigan and still has family there. “Michigan State is in the Big Ten, and I know it’s a great school. I’m most looking forward to going to a college where no one knows me.”

GULFPORT, FLORIDA - MAY 26, 2016: Ashley Aquil, 17, is going to Florida State University to study Biology. "My heart wasn't really set on FSU, but once I got on the campus it felt like home. And staying in state was important to me for financial reasons, and they offered a really good financial aid package as well." On high school she says: Academically in the last 4 years I became much more focused and much more dedicated to school work because I understood the value of an education -- and I just grew. Boca Ciega is a really great place to mature. your teachers are so invested and they care about you. I'm way more knowledgeable and way more experienced and ready to go to college and be successful." Boca Ciega High School's senior class is about 340 students with an addition 15-18 early graduates (students graduating a year early, at the end of their junior year). Approximately 75 percent of Boca Ciega's graduating seniors will be heading off to a college or university, with the remaining graduates geared toward the military, technical school or the work force. The 2014-2015 school year saw a 90 percent graduation rate for black students and a slightly lower graduation rate for white students -- at 87.79 percent. They have an annual event called "Let Them Eat Cake" to celebrate the seniors that are continuing their education. They have cake, a pep rally, play silly games, get to meet the other students heading to the same place they are, and get applauded by their peers as each individual student's future plans are announced. (Photo by Melissa Lyttle for Education Week)

Ashley Aquil, 17, is going to Florida State University to study biology. “My heart wasn’t really set on FSU, but once I got on the campus it felt like home. And staying in state was important to me for financial reasons, and they offered a really good financial aid package as well.” On high school she says: “Academically in the last 4 years, I became much more focused and much more dedicated to school work because I understood the value of an education — and I just grew. Boca Ciega is a really great place to mature. your teachers are so invested, and they care about you. I’m way more knowledgeable and way more experienced and ready to go to college and be successful.”

GULFPORT, FLORIDA - MAY 26, 2016: Anna Warrington, 17, is graduating with a 4.1 GPA going to attend Eckerd College and hopes to study Marine Biology. "I chose Eckerd because it's a great campus and it really speaks to me and it seemed like a good fit for me." She was homeschooled until her junior year, when she took one class at a public school. For most of her senior year she was dual-enrolled at a local community college and a public high school. This last semester she was fully enrolled as a Boca Ciega High School student. "Public School really brought my personality out and I made a great group of friends," she said."I just really enjoy the atmosphere of being with other students." Boca Ciega High School's senior class is about 340 students with an addition 15-18 early graduates (students graduating a year early, at the end of their junior year). Approximately 75 percent of Boca Ciega's graduating seniors will be heading off to a college or university, with the remaining graduates geared toward the military, technical school or the work force. The 2014-2015 school year saw a 90 percent graduation rate for black students and a slightly lower graduation rate for white students -- at 87.79 percent. They have an annual event called "Let Them Eat Cake" to celebrate the seniors that are continuing their education. They have cake, a pep rally, play silly games, get to meet the other students heading to the same place they are, and get applauded by their peers as each individual student's future plans are announced. (Photo by Melissa Lyttle for Education Week)

Anna Warrington, 17, is graduating with a 4.1 GPA going to attend Eckerd College and hopes to study marine biology. “I chose Eckerd because it’s a great campus, and it really speaks to me, and it seemed like a good fit for me.” She was homeschooled until her junior year, when she took one class at a public school. For most of her senior year she was dual-enrolled at a local community college and a public high school. This last semester she was fully enrolled as a Boca Ciega High School student. “Public School really brought my personality out and I made a great group of friends,” she said.”I just really enjoy the atmosphere of being with other students.”

GULFPORT, FLORIDA - MAY 26, 2016: David Gonzalez, 18, plans on getting his A.A. degree at St. Pete College before transferring to the University of South Florida to study microbiology. He's graduating with a 4.53. "I got accepted to USF, but I'm going to SPC to save some money." Boca Ciega High School's senior class is about 340 students with an addition 15-18 early graduates (students graduating a year early, at the end of their junior year). Approximately 75 percent of Boca Ciega's graduating seniors will be heading off to a college or university, with the remaining graduates geared toward the military, technical school or the work force. The 2014-2015 school year saw a 90 percent graduation rate for black students and a slightly lower graduation rate for white students -- at 87.79 percent. They have an annual event called "Let Them Eat Cake" to celebrate the seniors that are continuing their education. They have cake, a pep rally, play silly games, get to meet the other students heading to the same place they are, and get applauded by their peers as each individual student's future plans are announced. (Photo by Melissa Lyttle for Education Week)

David Gonzalez, 18, plans on getting his A.A. degree at St. Pete College before transferring to the University of South Florida to study microbiology. He’s graduating with a 4.53. “I got accepted to USF, but I’m going to SPC to save some money.”

GULFPORT, FLORIDA - MAY 26, 2016: Boca Ciega High School's senior class is about 340 students with an addition 15-18 early graduates (students graduating a year early, at the end of their junior year). Approximately 75 percent of Boca Ciega's graduating seniors will be heading off to a college or university, with the remaining graduates geared toward the military, technical school or the work force. The 2014-2015 school year saw a 90 percent graduation rate for black students and a slightly lower graduation rate for white students -- at 87.79 percent. Boca Ciega has an annual event called "Let Them Eat Cake" to celebrate the seniors that are continuing their education. They have cake, a pep rally, play silly games, get to meet the other students heading to the same place they are, and get applauded by their peers as each individual student's future plans are announced. Principal Michael Vigue sits amongst his seniors. (Photo by Melissa Lyttle for Education Week)

Students surround Principal Michael Vigue at Boca Ciega High School’s “Let Them Eat Cake” event, where the graduating seniors who are going onto college, a trade school, the military, or continuing workforce education (ESE students) get treated to cake and a pep rally.

Nurturing Success at a Los Angeles Charter School

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Students attend classes at Alliance Collins Family College-Ready High School, a free public charter school, on Monday, May 23, 2016 in Huntington Park, Calif. © 2016 Patrick T. Fallon/Special to Education Week

Photographer Patrick Fallon writes about his experiences photographing a charter school in Los Angeles, and how it contrasts with the high school he attended.

Students attend classes at Alliance Collins Family College-Ready High School, a free public charter school, on Monday, May 23, 2016 in Huntington Park, Calif. © 2016 Patrick T. Fallon/Special to Education Week

Students arrive for classes at Alliance Collins Family College-Ready High School, a public charter school in Huntington Park, Calif.

On my recent assignment for Education Week that chronicled the 25th anniversary of the charter schools movement, I couldn’t help but think of some of the major contrasts of my own large public high school experience and that of the students at Alliance Collins Family College-Ready High School.

The high school that I graduated from in 2007 – Redondo Union High School in Redondo Beach, Calif. – is a massive beast of a campus. It’s the second-largest in area in California at 56 acres—with over 2,700 students. By comparison, the Alliance charter school that I visited has a population of less than a quarter of that and operates inside a shuttered shoe factory in an industrial part of the Los Angeles area. The downtown skyline looms on the northern horizon.

The skyline of downtown Los Angeles stands at sunset as seen from a bridge in Vernon overlooking the Los Angeles river, a few miles north of Alliance Collins Family College-Ready High School, a free public charter school, on Monday, May 23, 2016 in Vernon, Calif. © 2016 Patrick T. Fallon/Special to Education Week

Just a few miles north of the Alliance Collins Family College-Ready High School, the skyline of downtown Los Angeles stands at sunset as seen from a bridge overlooking the Los Angeles River.

The 100-year-old Redondo campus has views of the Pacific Ocean. It was there where I started working with photography on the school’s yearbook and newspaper staffs, and realized that photographing people and news events could be my job. Friday nights in the fall were spent covering football games and talking to newspaper photographers – some of whom I now work alongside covering events for competing publications.

While some skylights in the campus at Alliance Collins funneled natural light into the hallways, I felt a little starved for natural light and windows as I walked around the school. Going outside for science experiments or meal breaks proved to be a welcome reprieve. Every so often, freight trains rumbled and roared from the tracks that run parallel to the school.

But the lack of natural light and noisy interruptions didn’t detract from the strong intimacy I observed among the students, staff and administrators. While I never felt “lost” at Redondo High, I could easily see how other students there might feel that way. The closer environment of Alliance Collins helps keep everyone connected, focused and more accountable.

Students attend classes at Alliance Collins Family College-Ready High School, a free public charter school, on Monday, May 23, 2016 in Huntington Park, Calif. © 2016 Patrick T. Fallon/Special to Education Week

Student Krystal Lopez completes a class assignment about Freedom Riders in a U.S. history class at Alliance Collins.

Students attend classes at Alliance Collins Family College-Ready High School, a free public charter school, on Monday, May 23, 2016 in Huntington Park, Calif. © 2016 Patrick T. Fallon/Special to Education Week

Alberto Esparza and Valerie Flores, right, prepare a lab experiment with teacher Matt Duda, left, during chemistry class.

Students attend classes at Alliance Collins Family College-Ready High School, a free public charter school, on Monday, May 23, 2016 in Huntington Park, Calif. © 2016 Patrick T. Fallon/Special to Education Week

Counselor Lani E. Advokat discusses the college application process with junior Susana Delgadillo.

Students attend classes at Alliance Collins Family College-Ready High School, a free public charter school, on Monday, May 23, 2016 in Huntington Park, Calif. © 2016 Patrick T. Fallon/Special to Education Week

A poster pays tribute to parents who have become actively involved in their child’s education at Alliance Collins. The school serves mostly low-income, Latino students.

I was most impressed by the high college acceptance rate of the 2016 class at Alliance Collins: Every graduating student was accepted into a 4-year university. There was no shortage of posters and banners supporting students in this quest – a visual representation of how the school creates an environment and an expectation that students will go onto, and be ready for college.

It was this very explicit expectation for success that tied both schools together for me. With the right environment and resources, hopefully the future of all students can be shaped to grow positively in high school and enable them to explore their individual talents.

Focus on the Republican National Convention

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in Cleveland during the Republican National Convention. 
--Swikar Patel/Education Week

A member of the Education Week team that is chronicling the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Associate Director of Photography Swikar Patel offers his unique view of the event. This photo gallery will be updated throughout the convention proceedings.

in Cleveland during the Republican National Convention. --Swikar Patel/Education Week

Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump arrives at the Quicken Loans Arena Wednesday evening. –Swikar Patel/Education Week

in Cleveland during the Republican National Convention. --Swikar Patel/Education Week

Vice Presidential candidate Mike Pence addresses the Republican National Convention Wednesday night. –Swikar Patel/Education Week

in Cleveland during the Republican National Convention. --Swikar Patel/Education Week

Newt Gingrich addresses the Republican National Convention Wednesday. –Swikar Patel/Education Week

in Cleveland during the Republican National Convention. --Swikar Patel/Education Week

Delegates cheer as radio talk show host Laura Ingraham addresses the Republican National Convention on Wednesday. –Swikar Patel/Education Week

in Cleveland during the Republican National Convention. --Swikar Patel/Education Week

Delegates cheer Wednesday during the Republican National Convention. –Swikar Patel/Education Week

in Cleveland during the Republican National Convention. --Swikar Patel/Education Week

Age 17, Jace Lequerre of Vermont is the youngest delegate attending the Republican National Convention. –Swikar Patel/Education Week

Panorama shot using the camera app on my iphone during the RNC. —Swikar Patel/Education Week

A panoramic view of the convention floor on opening night, shot from a cellphone. —Swikar Patel/Education Week

in Cleveland during the Republican National Convention. --Swikar Patel/Education Week

There are almost as many flags as delegates in the Quicken Loans Arena, site of the Republican National Convention. –Swikar Patel/Education Week

Donald Trump walks onto the stage at the Quicken Loans Arena to introduce his wife Melania Trump before she speaks at the #RNC Monday night in Cleveland. --Swikar Patel/Education Week

Donald Trump walks onto the stage Monday night to introduce his wife, Melania Trump, before her speech to the convention. –Swikar Patel/Education Week

in Cleveland during the Republican National Convention. --Swikar Patel/Education Week

Delegates roar during convention speeches Tuesday night. –Swikar Patel/Education Week

in Cleveland during the Republican National Convention. --Swikar Patel/Education Week

Boxing promoter Don King is interviewed Tuesday evening after arriving at the Republican National Convention. –Swikar Patel/Education Week

button for sale outside the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland during the Republican National Convention. --Swikar Patel/Education Week

Buttons for sale outside the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland during the Republican National Convention. –Swikar Patel/Education Week

Detail of young Arkansas Delegate Darren Waddles in Cleveland during the Republican National Convention. --Swikar Patel/Education Week

Arkansas delegate Darren Waddles is interviewed during the Republican National Convention. –Swikar Patel/Education Week

Young Arkansas Delegate Darren Waddles poses for a portrait in Cleveland during the Republican National Convention. (see alyson for quote) --Swikar Patel/Education Week

Arkansas delegate Darren Waddles poses for a portrait. –Swikar Patel/Education Week

Florida delegate Tina Harris, reacts in Cleveland during the Republican National Convention. --Swikar Patel/Education Week

Florida delegate Tina Harris reacts to speakers during the convention. –Swikar Patel/Education Week

Gail Stanart, of Houston, Texas, in Cleveland during the Republican National Convention. “I don’t think government can do education from Washington,” she said. --Swikar Patel/Education Week

“I don’t think government can do education from Washington,” says delegate Gail Stanart, of Houston, Texas. –Swikar Patel/Education Week

in Cleveland during the Republican National Convention. --Swikar Patel/Education Week

Decorated cowboy boots are modeled on the streets of Cleveland. –Swikar Patel/Education Week

Secret Service monitor lines at the security tent at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland during the Republican National Convention. --Swikar Patel/Education Week

Uniformed Secret Service monitor lines at the security-tented entrance to the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. –Swikar Patel/Education Week

in Cleveland during the Republican National Convention. --Swikar Patel/Education Week

Police and the curious monitor the street scene in Cleveland on Tuesday during the Republican National Convention. –Swikar Patel/Education Week


Focus on the Democratic National Convention

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A group of convention goers watches President Obama take the stage on the third night of the Democratic National Convention, July 23, at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pa. --Deanna Del Ciello/Education Week

A member of the Education Week team covering this week’s Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, multimedia producer Deanna Del Ciello offers her unique view of the event. This gallery will be updated throughout the convention proceedings.

A group of convention goers watches President Obama take the stage on the third night of the Democratic National Convention, July 23, at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pa. --Deanna Del Ciello/Education Week

Delegates and observers watch President Barack Obama take the stage on the third night of the Democratic National Convention on July 27 in Philadelphia. –Deanna Del Ciello/Education Week

Hat details on the third night of the Democratic National Convention, July 27, at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pa. --Deanna Del Ciello/Education Week

Campaign buttons and sequins decorate a delegate’s hat on the third night of the Democratic National Convention. –Deanna Del Ciello/Education Week

Delegates check their phones while waiting for the next speech on the third night of the Democratic National Convention, July 27, at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pa. --Deanna Del Ciello/Education Week

Blue light bathes delegates while they wait for the next speech on the third night of the Democratic National Convention. –Deanna Del Ciello/Education Week

A delegate reacts to a speech about gun violence on the third night of the Democratic National Convention, July 27, at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pa. --Deanna Del Ciello/Education Week

A delegate reacts during a speech about gun violence, during the third night of the Democratic National Convention. –Deanna Del Ciello/Education Week

President Bill Clinton addresses the crowd at the Democratic National Convention on July 26 in Philadelphia, Pa. --Deanna Del Ciello/Education Week

Former President Bill Clinton addresses the crowd at the Democratic National Convention on July 26 in Philadelphia. –Deanna Del Ciello/Education Week

Kim Cubin of Washington, D.C., tears up as Hillary Clinton is named the first woman presidential nominee of a major party on the second night of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Pa., on July 26. --Deanna Del Ciello/Education Week

Kim Cubin, from Washington, D.C., tears up as Hillary Clinton is named the first woman presidential nominee of a major party on the second night of the Democratic National Convention. –Deanna Del Ciello/Education Week

Karla Stoebig, Wisconsin delegate, waits for Wisconsin's turn to cast delegate votes during the roll call on the second night, July 26, of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Pa. --Deanna Del Ciello/Education Week

Wisconsin delegate Karla Stoebig waits for her state’s turn to cast delegate votes during the roll call on the second night of the Democratic National Convention. –Deanna Del Ciello/Education Week

National Education Association President Lily Eskelsen Garcia speaks to a crowd at a DLCC event on the second day, July 26, of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Pa. --Deanna Del Ciello/Education Week

National Education Association President Lily Eskelsen Garcia speaks to a crowd at a Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee event on the second day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. –Deanna Del Ciello/Education Week

Senator Bernie Sanders takes in the crowd's applause before he begins his headliner speech at the Democractic National Convention on Monday, July 25, 2016 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pa. --Deanna Del Ciello/Education Week

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders takes in the crowd’s applause before he begins his speech at the Democratic National Convention on Monday, July 25, at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. –Deanna Del Ciello/Education Week

Senator Bernie Sanders leaves the stage at the Democractic National Convention after his speech on Monday evening, July 25, 2016 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pa. --Deanna Del Ciello/Education Week

Sen. Bernie Sanders, primary rival of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, leaves the stage after his speech Monday evening at the Democratic National Convention. –Deanna Del Ciello/Education Week

Many spectators at the Democratic National Convention made personal edits to their signs to show support for Senator Bernie Sanders on Monday, July 25, at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pa. --Deanna Del Ciello/Education Week

Some delegates at the Democratic National Convention made personal edits to their signs on Monday to show support for Sen. Bernie Sanders. –Deanna Del Ciello/Education Week

First Lady Michelle Obama takes in the crowd's cheers before beginning her speech at the Democratic National Convention on Monday, July 25, at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pa. --Deanna Del Ciello/Education Week

First Lady Michelle Obama takes in the crowd’s cheers before beginning her speech at the Democratic National Convention on Monday at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pa. –Deanna Del Ciello/Education Week

A woman holds a "Rise Together" sign at the Democratic National Convention on Monday, July 25, at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pa. The theme of the convention is unity in the Democratic party. --Deanna Del Ciello/Education Week

Reflecting the convention theme of party unity, a delegate displays a “Rise Together” sign at the Democratic National Convention on Monday. –Deanna Del Ciello/Education Week

A New Sandy Hook Elementary School Opens

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CORRECTS YEAR TO 2012- The new Sandy Hook Elementary School hosts a media open house, Friday, July 29, 2016, in Newtown, Conn. The public is getting its first look at the school which will replace the one torn down after a gunman entered it in December 2012 and killed 20 first graders and six educators. The $50 million, 86,800-square-foot building opens next month. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Education Week reporter Evie Blad and Associated Press photographer Mark Lennihan preview the new Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. The school replaces the one torn down after the 2012 shooting that left 26 people dead.

CORRECTS YEAR TO 2012- The new Sandy Hook Elementary School hosts a media open house, Friday, July 29, 2016, in Newtown, Conn. The public is getting its first look at the school which will replace the one torn down after a gunman entered it in December 2012 and killed 20 first graders and six educators. The $50 million, 86,800-square-foot building opens next month. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

The new Sandy Hook Elementary School hosts a media open house on July 29 in Newtown, Conn. The public is getting its first look at the school, which will replace the one torn down after a gunman entered it in December 2012 and killed 20 students and six educators. –Mark Lennihan/AP

Newtown, Conn., unveiled a new Sandy Hook Elementary School last week, providing public tours of a new building constructed on the site of the 2012 school shootings that remain a centerpiece of discussions about school safety in the United States.

The $50 million cost of the pre-k-through-4th grade school was covered by state funds, the Hartford Courant reports.

CORRECTS YEAR TO 2012-A sign, right, reads, "Sandy Hook Elementary 12.14.12 We'll Always Remember," in a classroom of the new Sandy Hook Elementary School, Friday, July 29, 2016, in Newtown, Conn. The public is getting its first look at the school which will replace the one torn down after a gunman entered it in December 2012 and killed 20 first graders and six educators. The $50 million, 86,800-square-foot building opens next month. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

A sign at the new Sandy Hook Elementary School pays tribute to those killed after a gunman entered the old school in December 2012, and killed 20 students and six educators. The $50 million, 86,800-square-foot building opens later month. –Mark Lennihan/AP

CORRECTS YEAR TO 2012-Three surveillance cameras, top, are part of the security in place in the lobby of the new Sandy Hook Elementary School, Friday, July 29, 2016, in Newtown, Conn. The public is getting its first look at the school which will replace the one torn down after a gunman entered it in December 2012 and killed 20 first graders and six educators. The $50 million, 86,800-square-foot building opens next month. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Three surveillance cameras in the ceiling are part of the security in place in the lobby of the new Sandy Hook Elementary School. –Mark Lennihan/AP

CORRECTS YEAR TO 2012- A classroom of the new Sandy Hook Elementary School is open for a media open house, Friday, July 29, 2016, in Newtown, Conn. The public is getting its first look at the school which will replace the one torn down after a gunman entered it in December 2012 and killed 20 first graders and six educators. The $50 million, 86,800-square-foot building opens next month. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Members of the media tour a classroom at the new Sandy Hook Elementary School on July 29. –Mark Lennihan/AP

CORRECTS YEAR TO 2012-Colored toy ducks are placed in a classroom at the new Sandy Hook Elementary School, Friday, July 29, 2016, in Newtown, Conn. The public is getting its first look at the school which will replace the one torn down after a gunman entered it in December 2012 and killed 20 first graders and six educators. The $50 million, 86,800-square-foot building opens next month. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Colored toy ducks are placed in a classroom at the new Sandy Hook Elementary School. –Mark Lennihan/AP

“We are very grateful to the taxpayers of Connecticut for giving our town the funding to build this school,” Newtown First Selectman Patricia Llodra said in a statement to the paper. “Our goal was to create a place of community and learning, a place that would honor those we lost and allow those who were left behind the chance to move forward. I hope everyone who comes to see this new building takes away from it these ideals.”

The town previously razed the old building where a gunman killed 20 children, six adults, and himself. To protect the privacy of a still-grieving community and to prevent pieces of the building from being sold, organizers shielded the site from public view with large screens and required demolition workers to sign non-disclosure agreements that would prevent them from taking materials off-site. Public interest in the town and the project has remained high since the shootings even as residents have worked to restore a sense of normalcy.

CORRECTS YEAR TO 2012- The lobby of the new Sandy Hook Elementary School is open for a media open house, Friday, July 29, 2016, in Newtown, Conn. The public is getting its first look at the school which will replace the one torn down after a gunman entered it in December 2012 and killed 20 first graders and six educators. The $50 million, 86,800-square-foot building opens next month. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

The lobby of the new Sandy Hook Elementary School. The new building will serve students in preschool through fourth grade. –Mark Lennihan/AP

CORRECTS YEAR TO 2012- Colored blinds hang outside of a first grade window at the new Sandy Hook Elementary School, Friday, July 29, 2016, in Newtown, Conn. The public is getting its first look at the school which will replace the one torn down after a gunman entered it in December 2012 and killed 20 first graders and six educators. The $50 million, 86,800-square-foot building opens next month. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Brightly colored blinds hang outside of a first grade window at the new Sandy Hook Elementary School. –Mark Lennihan/AP

CORRECTS YEAR TO 2012-A playground bench is colorfully decorated at the new Sandy Hook Elementary School, Friday, July 29, 2016, in Newtown, Conn. The public is getting its first look at the school which will replace the one torn down after a gunman entered it in December 2012 and killed 20 first graders and six educators. The $50 million, 86,800-square-foot building opens next month. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

A playground bench is colorfully decorated at the new Sandy Hook Elementary School. Mark Lennihan/AP

Painted hand prints with names of teachers and students are on a playground bench at the new Sandy Hook Elementary School, Friday, July 29, 2016, in Newtown, Conn. The names are not those of people killed in the 2012 massacre at the school. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Painted hand prints with names of teachers and students decorate a playground bench at the new Sandy Hook Elementary School. The names are not those of people killed in the 2012 massacre at the old school. –Mark Lennihan/AP

A board formed to oversee the rebuilding processed opted to build a memorial to the shootings off of school grounds, architects Svigals + Partners said on a project website. And creating a new building, complete with safety upgrades and asbestos removal, was ultimately less expensive than it would have been to upgrade the old building, a project description said.

The new building, created with community input, incorporates children’s artwork, upgraded safety features, and tree-themed features like sculptural branches that reach toward high ceilings.

High School Students Give Voice to Presidential Election

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Noah, 17
I will remain an American. I love this country, what it is and what it was, but I’m honestly worried about the future.

Amy Powell, a high school photography teacher in Ohio, asked her students how they felt about the presidential election during a time when they are not yet old enough to vote.

Many of us adults are fatigued by what’s being called “election depression” and can’t wait for this to be over. Friends online have posted about needing to do yoga or drinking copious amounts of wine to stomach the third debate, and I admit, this particular election season has made me feel a bit anxious too.

As a high school photography teacher in Ohio, I’ve struggled with how to talk about the election with my students. Generally speaking, teachers don’t usually share their own political beliefs and it’s often easier to steer away from controversial topics in the classroom. When things get uncomfortable for me, however, it’s typically a signal to do something.

On a whim following the final debate, I asked students to sit for a portrait expressing their feelings about the upcoming election. These pictures offer a snapshot at how suburban Ohio teens feel at a time when they’re old enough to have opinions about what’s going on in the world, but not old enough to vote.

This experience gave our class an opportunity to be silly and make light of what seems to be a troubling situation for many of us.

 

Carrie, 17 It’s weird. Right when I become old enough to understand what’s going on with elections and things of that matter, all I want to do is run away from it all. To say the least, I don’t think I’ve ever been more worried for my future.

Carrie, 17
It’s weird. Right when I become old enough to understand what’s going on with elections and things of that matter, all I want to do is run away from it all. To say the least, I don’t think I’ve ever been more worried for my future.

Ava, 16 Everything has been annoying. A huge eyeroll for a hugely obnoxious election.

Ava, 16
Everything has been annoying. A huge eyeroll for a hugely obnoxious election.

Eric, 18 What has surprised me most about this election has to be internet rights. While cyber security has been discussed, it has largely been concerning national, not personal security. What if your e-mails were hacked like Hillary’s?

Eric, 18
What has surprised me most about this election has to be internet rights. While cyber security has been discussed, it has largely been concerning national, not personal security. What if your e-mails were hacked like Hillary’s?

Brigid, 16 No matter what angle I look at it, I can’t find a positive thing to say. I’m embarrassed I live in America.

Brigid, 16
No matter what angle I look at it, I can’t find a positive thing to say. I’m embarrassed I live in America.

Noah, 17 I will remain an American. I love this country, what it is and what it was, but I’m honestly worried about the future.

Noah, 17
I will remain an American. I love this country, what it is and what it was, but I’m honestly worried about the future.

Derek, 17 I’m angry that they haven’t made much progress and are so divided. Overall, stressed.

Derek, 17
I’m angry that they haven’t made much progress and are so divided. Overall, stressed.

Hafiz, 16 People aren’t taking it seriously. People need to think.

Hafiz, 16
People aren’t taking it seriously. People need to think.

Kendall, 17 This election has to be one of the most crude and embarrassing displays in the history of the US. I usually love politics, but right now I’m scared of starting my adult life with either candidates as president. But, oh well.

Kendall, 17
This election has to be one of the most crude and embarrassing displays in the history of the U.S.. I usually love politics, but right now I’m scared of starting my adult life with either candidates as president. But, oh well.

Sierra, 16 One of our candidates doesn’t know the definition of equality, nor supports it. It makes me nervous.

Sierra, 16
One of our candidates doesn’t know the definition of equality, nor supports it. It makes me nervous.

Rachel, 15 Both outcomes don’t sound so fun. What if she lies to us? What if he bullies us?

Rachel, 15
Both outcomes don’t sound so fun. What if she lies to us? What if he bullies us?

Sophia, 16 It seems to be full of drama, almost like high school drama, and whoever wins will impact the world. Whatever happens, happens… but all I see is craziness, madness. What will become of this world?

Sophia, 16
It seems to be full of drama, almost like high school drama, and whoever wins will impact the world. Whatever happens, happens… but all I see is craziness, madness. What will become of this world?

Syrrina, 17 I feel absolutely appalled and disgusted to be a bystander to this.

Syrrina, 17
I feel absolutely appalled and disgusted to be a bystander to this.

Syrian Refugee Students Start Over in U.S.

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Bibi Aryoubi, 13, works on her English using a computer program in a class filled with refugee children at Cajon Valley Middle School in El Cajon, Calif. According to the U.S. State Department, nearly 80 percent of the more than 11,000 Syrian arrivals over the past year were children. Many of those children are enrolling in public schools around the country, including Chicago; Austin, Texas; New Haven, Connecticut; and El Cajon, which received 76 new Syrian students the first week of school.  –Christine Armario/AP
Bibi Aryoubi, 13, works on her English using a computer program in a class filled with refugee children at Cajon Valley Middle School in El Cajon, Calif. According to the U.S. State Department, nearly 80 percent of the more than 11,000 Syrian arrivals over the past year were children. Many of those children are enrolling in public schools around the country, including Chicago; Austin, Texas; New Haven, Connecticut; and El Cajon, which received 76 new Syrian students the first week of school. –Christine Armario/AP

Bibi Aryoubi, 13, works on her English using a computer program in a class filled with refugee children at Cajon Valley Middle School in El Cajon, Calif. According to the U.S. State Department, nearly 60 percent of the more than 11,000 Syrian arrivals over the past year were children. Many of those children are enrolling in public schools around the country, including Chicago; Austin, Texas; New Haven, Conn.; and El Cajon, which received 76 new Syrian students the first week of school. –Christine Armario/AP

EL CAJON, Calif. (AP) — Seated at his desk at a suburban San Diego middle school, 12-year-old Abdulhamid Ashehneh tries not to let his mind wander to the painful memories of his life in civil war-torn Syria.

His father disappeared suddenly four years ago and, the family believes, was killed. Months later, Abdulhamid’s mother boarded a bus with her six children, the youngest age 2, and fled to Jordan, the sound of bombs ringing in the distance.

“I think about my Dad a lot,” Abdulhamid said recently after practicing English at Cajon Valley Middle School, which has received an influx of Syrian children. “I wish he would come back.”

Abdulhamid Ashehneh, 12, works on English language exercises with fellow students. –Christine Armario/AP

Abdulhamid Ashehneh, 12, works on English language exercises with fellow students. –Christine Armario/AP

Abdulhamid is like many of the Syrian refugees arriving today in the U.S. Nearly 60 percent of the more than 11,000 Syrian arrivals over the past year were children, according to the U.S. State Department.

That’s a larger percentage than some refugee groups, in part because Syrians tend to have larger families and many have managed to stay together despite displacement, according to resettlement agencies helping the families acclimate to the U.S.

Many of those children are enrolling in public schools around the country, including Chicago; Austin, Texas; New Haven, Connecticut; and El Cajon, which received 76 new Syrian students the first week of school.

Syrian children face many of the same challenges as other young refugees — limited English, an interrupted education — but they are somewhat distinct in the level of trauma they have experienced, school leaders and resettlement workers said.

“The truth is, a lot of them have seen some pretty nasty stuff,” said Eyal Bergman, a family and community engagement officer for the Cajon Valley Union School District. “But I also see incredible resilience.”

In response to the influx, school districts are beefing up English instruction and making extra efforts to reach out to parents unfamiliar with the U.S. school system. In El Cajon, one-on-one orientations introduce families to the school’s teachers and staff and show them basics like how to read the district’s academic-year calendar.

Some refugee students are enrolled in “newcomer” classes where they are provided intense English instruction before being placed in mainstream classrooms. Others go directly into classes with English-fluent peers but are assigned to smaller groups for individual instruction. Teachers are trained in identifying trauma, and on-site counselors help students who need extra attention.

“I’ve had students tell me that maybe some of their family members passed away,” said Juanita Chavez, a second-grade teacher. “But I think a lot of them just want to focus on here, on learning. A lot of them don’t focus on the negative things that have happened to them.”

Mary Hizon instructs students in a class designed for refugee children. Christine Armario/AP

Mary Hizon instructs students in a class designed for refugee children. Christine Armario/AP

At night, Arabic-speaking staff and teachers hold a “parent academy” where newly arrived moms and dads are given bilingual children’s books in English and Arabic and guided on how to help improve literacy at home.

The rising number of Syrian refugee students comes amid a heated presidential campaign. During the second debate, Donald Trump called Hillary Clinton’s plan to expand the Obama administration’s refugee program and accept 65,000 Syrian refugees the “great Trojan horse of all time.”

Last November, in response to the deadly Paris attack believed carried out by operatives who fought and trained in Syria, nearly 30 states vowed to deny entry to Syrian refugees.

Resettlement agencies and school staff worry inflamed rhetoric about Muslims and Syrian refugees will trickle into the classroom. A report last year by the California chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations found 50 percent of Muslim students surveyed were subjected to mean comments or rumors because of their religion.

“This is a concern of ours, to be watching that they do not feel shunned or stigmatized because of their national origin,” said Ellen Beattie, a senior director with the International Rescue Committee.

Refugee children study at tables with laptops and "Inside the USA" textbooks. –Christine Armario/AP

Refugee children study at tables with laptops and “Inside the USA” textbooks. –Christine Armario/AP

El Cajon, a city of roughly 104,000 people 15 miles east of San Diego, has become a melting pot of refugees from Uganda to Afghanistan. The first Middle Eastern immigrants were Chaldean Christians fleeing persecution in Iraq in the 1970s. Those earlier, now established waves of migrants are playing a role in helping settle the new arrivals from Syria.

“Most of them tell us the only reason they accepted the whole immigration process is really for their kids,” said Anas Kayal, who emigrated to the U.S. from Syria in 2001 and is a physician in San Diego. “They are OK with their own lives being disrupted by the war and crisis, but they are hoping their kids can have a better life.”

Watching her children learn English and adapt to U.S. schools has been redeeming for Abdulhamid’s mother after two years in Jordan, where she often struggled to feed them and at one point lived in a feeble tent that would blow apart in the wind.

“We’re still trying to cope with this emotionally,” said Amena Alshehneh, 37. “But it’s the reality. We have to face the reality and get on our feet.”

As Abdulhamid assimilates, he still pines for his homeland and the life he left behind.

He remembers the Damascus home where he wrestled and practiced reading with his father. He remembers playing soccer and hide-and-seek with his best friend, and wonders what happened to him.

He also thinks about his computer and a remote-control car — cherished toys his father gave him and that he had to abandon.

“I feel so sad I left Syria,” said Abdulhamid, whose expression quickly shifts from joy to grief. “Because it’s my country. My home.”

Ahad Al Haj Ali, 10, sits in a class for refugee students. –Christine Armario/AP

Ahad Al Haj Ali, 10, sits in a class for refugee students. –Christine Armario/AP

Kindergartners Write Letters to the President-Elect

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Three teachers at the Co-op School, a private school in Brooklyn, N.Y., had each of their students write letters to the new president-elect, Donald Trump. Teacher Dahna Bozarth wrote about the exercise for Education Week. Photos by Bozarth, and her teacher colleagues, Allison Woodin and Emily Silver.

Teacher Emily Silver helps kindergartners at the Co-op School in Bedford-Stuyvesant, N.Y., draft letters to President-elect Donald Trump. The letters will be mailed to the new President. Photo by Dahna Bozarth.

Teacher Emily Silver helps kindergartners at the Co-op School in the Bedford-Stuyvesant community of Brooklyn, draft letters to President-elect Donald Trump. The letters will be mailed to the new President.

Today in the Lion class, it was important to talk about the Presidential results. We knew that with a life lesson or disappointment, there is a teachable moment. We compared President-elect Donald Trump to our many new friends (aka our persona dolls). We remembered that on each of our students’ first days in our class, we were expected to be role models, to show them what’s important in kindergarten.

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We discussed how Donald Trump will be totally new to the presidency, and maybe isn’t quite sure how to do his job just yet. He will look around and see beautiful hearts like ours and know that compassion and kindness is something that is important for his people. We concluded we have to be his role model.

The Lions wrote a letter to President-elect Trump, and we will later take a trip to a mail box to send our letters to him. In the classroom, we are talking about what we can do to spread positivity, think constructively, empower ourselves and exercise our powerful words.

student-letter-markerThe Lions were asked two questions. Here are some of their responses.

What is the President’s job?
Chance – to take care of the world
Liev – He goes in a big building and sits on the top and works to be compassionate
Gus – to take care of the world and treat everyone with respect
Rishi – to be respectful and kind to other people
Calvin – to rule our state (country)
Ellie – President is supposed to run the country
Mateo – he is the boss of the country
Robin – to keep everybody safe and next year Hillary Clinton will be the president

 

How will he know what makes us happy?
Nico – if we teach him how to be nicer than he is now
Chance – we can teach him to be kinder and not to do bad things
Liev – to teach him to be compassionate be kind be nice and to not make a wall
Lee – we can teach him compassion
Zymair – we can teach him a lesson
Khalifa – keep the town safe and don’t let it be destroyed
Miles – he will know if we write him a letter
Ogden – the president could go some where to not learn bad words and learn good words. As president he could say good words

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It is important we…
Are nice – Joseph
Use kind words – Alice
We should not hate women we should treat them nice – Lee
Be nice to boys – Khalifa
Are happy and love everybody – Robin
Are nice – Mateo

We spoke about how it is our new president’s job to make us feel happy and safe. We
concluded that he will be new at his job and maybe needs some of our suggestions and advice. Just like a common cold, kindness and compassion are contagious. It starts with us.

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The teachers had full hearts as the Lions worked together to spread the love that comes so naturally to them. We are so proud of our young activists!

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