The Ripple Effect

Raising a male black teenager is hard. It helps to have the support of a great school…

2012-02-03T09:50:00.001-05:00

Myson, Asante Sandiford, had a difficult last two years of middle school. He had always had such a calmtemperament and loved school so I was very surprised when I started receivingphone calls from administration putting me on notice of his behavioralissues. I attributed some of thisbehavior to the hormonal changes of a growing teenager and some to the factthat his dad had been recently diagnosed with cancer. My son constantly came home and complained of not likingschool and his teachers. Again, Iattributed this to him becoming a teenager and decided to keep him in thisschool. After all, it was one of the top ranked middle schools in Boston, myson was in their advance work program and even one of our Presidents hadvisited and given the school accolades! After visiting to speak with a teacherwith whom Asante was having a problem and a member of the administration, I wasappalled. This teacher was veryantagonistic and the administrator chose to roll her neck and eyes whilespeaking to me! I left the schoolthat day knowing the choice I made regarding the institution where my son wouldbe educated for the next four years was more crucial than ever. Not only was I raising a young blackman that was entering some of the most challenging years of his life, I wasfacing raising him alone. Hiseducation was so important to keeping him on the right track in life and onefatal mistake could cost my son. Ihad made the decision that my son would not continue in traditional districtschools. If he did not want toattend Boston Latin Academy (my high school alma mater) or one of the otherexamination schools, then I knew private school was the only option. It was at this time Asante’s dadstarting researching charter schools and came back with information he hadfound on a wonderful charter school named City on a Hill. I was impressed by the testingscores, the uniform policy and the small school setting which guaranteed my sonone-on-one time, if needed. Hisdad had also known some parents of other students at the school and afterhaving them rave about the academics, structure and discipline of the school myson was entered into the lottery and received a place at the school. My son wasactually excited to start high school as were his dad and I.

Atthe beginning of Asante’s freshman year, his dad’s health began todecline. Asante was spending latenights at the hospital with his dad while continuing with his studies. He loved his new school and was determinedto make the honor roll every term despite what he was going through. In early November of my son’s freshmanyear, his dad passed away. Thesupport that not only my son, but I received from the whole school wasamazing! My son had only been atthis school for two months, but everyone went out of their way to make surethat my son was as comfortable as could be regarding school during this time. There were check in calls during myson’s absence and administrators attended all services in support of my son. Bythe way, my son did still make the honor roll that term!

Asante’spast two years at City on a Hill have been awesome. Asante loves his teachers. Even when he has done something wrong, Asante does not feeldisrespected as he has felt in the past. My son has been disciplined, but notantagonized. He now feels like he can have conversations with histeachers. He has not been beratedever, but everything explained in an authoritative manner. I have not run into a neck-rollingadministration at City on a Hill. Even if I may not agree with something or a decision, I have always hadvery professional discussions with anyone I have come across at the school. Asa parent, I could not ask for better communication from a school. Teachers know I am a phone call oremail away and do not hesitate to contact me if the need arises. I attend all parent/teacher meetingsand I feel I know what is going on at all times. If I ever feel out of theloop, I can always give any teacher a call, send an email or just check the webportal that is always up to date! I love when my son walks in the door and hiseyes bulge in shock when I ask him about a demerit he received that day.

Thelove that my son has for school is back. City on a Hill offers a demanding curriculum that makes students workand Asante is invested in doing the work. There is such an expectation of greatness and success at City on a Hillthat they have helped instill in my son. Freshman year was almost considered a disappointment by him because hedid not make the honor roll all terms. He has set this goal again and is well on his way to achieving it. My same son who moaned and groaned oncehe found out he had to wear uniforms every day has now embraced wearinguniforms to school and loves dressing professionally for presentations andother events at the school. Asanteplays basketball at City on a Hill and has excelled. Onaje Woodbine is a coach, mentor and positive influence formy son and the other young men on the team. It is great for the boys to see aneducated man of color balance education and sports. The focus is alwayseducation first and Coach Woodbine has become a partner of mine in Asante’sbasketball development. Theresources and time he gives to me, my son and the team are invaluable. Thanksto the Coach, Yale University is now one of Asante’s top college picks!

Some studies and statistics say that my young black son should be in ajuvenile detention home or should have been arrested already. Now that he does not have his dad, heis destined to fail. City on aHill is a well rounded school that is totally invested in my son doing well andI feel, committed to partnering with me to make sure that happens. From Dr. Hays, to all of his teachers,to Coach Woodbine – I know I have true partners in my son’s educationalsuccess.

Ms. Tori Willis is the mother of Asante Sandiford, City on a Hill Class of 2014.

Giving Back

2012-01-05T13:05:00.000-05:00

As I open my nine-year-old copy of Romeo and Juliet, I have a deep feeling of nostalgia. It is the same copy I received my freshman year at City on a Hill, complete with all my notes in the margins. And it is the copy that I use to lead the current City on a Hill 9th graders in their first Shakespeare experience. This keepsake reminds me of why I decided to return to City on a Hill as an English teacher.

It was 2002 that I entered the doors of City on a Hill as a 9th grader, when it was still located at the Huntington YMCA, and I read Shakespeare for the first time. After four years of challenging college preparatory classes, over 100 hours of community service, countless Friday Town Meetings, and home basketball games taking place at the YMCA gym, it was finally time for me to take what I had learned and use it to further my education. For four years at City on a Hill I was taught to believe that I held the key to my future, and with that in mind I headed off to Centre College with a Posse Scholarship in one hand and my City on a Hill diploma in the other. Despite being 1,500 miles away from home, I felt confident knowing that my CoaH community would be traveling with me in spirit as well.

Everyone can agree that City on a Hill is rigorous in terms of academics, but an aspect of City on a Hill that is just as important is giving back to the community. In meeting the community service graduation requirements, I thoroughly enjoyed my experience volunteering with an organization that focused on HIV/AIDS education. It was this internship that helped me to realize where I belonged when I got older. I knew I wanted to use education to benefit a community that helped make me who I am today.

For me, City on a Hill is that place. I am grateful for the opportunities I've received as a result of my CoaH education. For that reason, I have chosen to return to City on a Hill to educate students, not only about the importance of Shakespeare and research papers, but also the importance of giving back to the community, especially the City on a Hill community. I am a daily reminder to our students that all this hard work is worth it. Meanwhile, I am blessed to have the opportunity to help students foster a love for education that was fostered in me during my high school years.

In each and every one of them I see a younger version of myself.

Claudette Accime is in her first year as an English Teacher at City on a Hill, after being an English Teaching Fellow at CoaH during the 2010-2011 school year. She is a member of City on a Hill's Class of 2006, and graduated from Centre College in 2010. Ms. Accime is also the coach of CoaH's girls basketball team, the Lady Blue Storm.

Ako

2011-12-16T10:23:00.001-05:00

While studyingabroad in New Zealand during college, I came across the Maori word ako, reflecting the inherent reciprocityof teaching and learning – the idea that both teachers and students can teachand can learn. It struck me as potentially the most important concept educatorscan remember when teaching, especially when teaching populations of studentswith very different backgrounds from their own. We as educators must embraceour own education everyday, which we receive from our students, our peers,administrators, community members, and ourselves. We have the unique professionin which real success is based solely on the outcomes of our students, and inorder to best serve them we must continually reflect on and revise our ownteaching.

A few months agoI found myself in conversation with some family members about my new job as atutor at City on a Hill. In trying to explain why I love it so much, I let slipa confession – I actually feel bad for other recent college graduates, eventhose thriving in the “real world,” because they don’t have my job. My familywas unconvinced that this could be true – being a tutor means long hours, lowpay, school on Saturday mornings, and hours of lesson planning. To most, itdoesn’t make sense.

I realize I havenow joined the chorus of educators who continuously refer to the gratificationin their work. When I started tutoring at City on a Hill, I couldn’t wait tofind out what this gratification actually felt like. What does that ambiguousfeeling of fulfillment truly mean? Would I feel it? Would it make thechallenging work worth it?

I explained tomy family that I am getting as much out of my job as I hope my students are;that I am embracing the idea of ako. Thesecret may be different for every educator, but as a first year tutor, I findgratification in knowing that as much as I can possibly teach my students, Iwill continually be surprised by what I learn from them.

Every tutorial classis different from the one before, and each brings fresh challenges requiringcreativity and patience. I am getting to know my students’ unique personalitiesand dispositions and I am figuring out how to plan our classes to accommodatethose. My students are teaching me how to motivate them each individually, howto make our lessons relevant, and how to help them achieve in school. I am continually surprised - by their intelligence, their wit,their attitudes, opinions, and pure unpredictability, which I am learning toembrace with an open mind.

I came to Cityon a Hill along a very different path from the students I teach. But acknowledgingand appreciating the discrepancy in our experiences enables us to learn fromeach other. As I have been a successful student my entire life, helping my students who sometimes struggle has been challenging and at times frustrating. Mystudents bring life experiences to which I have never before been exposed, andyet are as important to their education and mine as Shakespeare and theAmerican Revolution. They teach me about themselves, their lives, and the waythey see the world; which in turn teaches me about myself, and the way I seethe world.

Andso I explained to my family that while I amsure there are plenty of other rewarding jobs, I have found a community thatembraces and encourages our ability as students and educators to continuallygrow and improve. As an educator at City on a Hill, I am systematically a partof the continual reform and improvement of the education we provide – areflection of just how much every member of our school learns everyday.

There is no wayto tell for sure that embracing the idea of akois the key to helping students succeed, but I know that it is enabling all ofus to become better citizens and life long students. I hope I can teach mystudents in a year as much as they have already taught me in the first quarter.

Emily McCaffrey is a first year CoaHCORPSTutor at City on a Hill. Shereceived her B.A. from Boston University, where she studied Political Science,Education, and International Development.

In Memory

2011-12-05T13:57:00.001-05:00

Sean Jackson, City on a Hill 2003alumnus, graduated from the “Old” City on a Hill. “Old CoaH” lived in the YMCA on 320 Huntington Ave. for overten years. An historical landmarkas one of the oldest urban YMCA’s in America, our time there consisted of gianthissing steam pipes, random power outages followed by all-building fire alarms,cracked-tile swim classes, and everyone’s favorite open-campus lunch whenstudents could leave the building to eat anywhere in the neighborhood so longas they returned to school in thirty minutes. Now, City on a Hill resides in Roxbury just down the streetfrom Dudley Square in the old St. Joseph’s Catholic School. Before, we were renters. Now we are owners, permanent members ofthe community in which our students reside.

In October, when I walked into Mt. Olive Kingdom BuildersChurch to celebrate Sean’s life after his sudden and premature passing, I wasnot taken aback by the number of people in attendance – the church teemed,people stacked outside the stone doorways craning their necks to join theservice. What struck me was thedominant number of City on a Hill graduates present from the classes of ‘02,‘03, and ’04. They sat together intight pods throughout the congregation, shoulders pressed. Ms. Pratt, Ms. Accime, two presentstudents, and I attended the memorial.

We stood in line and waited topay our respects. What everyoneremembered most about Sean was his smile: a true, joyful smile. Seanhad perfect dimples in the center of both cheeks. He smiled when he spoke and smiled when he listened. The corners of his smile effortlesslypointed to rhinestone stud earrings he always sported. True style. Always looking smooth, Sean had thesharp haircut mandatory of a starting member of the basketball team. Sean loved to run hoop, the CoaH Blue Storm won the StateChampionship with Sean at point. Most members of the team were present at the service.

Sean earned a full ride to theUniversity of Vermont; he transferred to Bridgewater State his sophomore yearto be closer to home and play basketball. Like many of City on a Hill’s graduates, the biggest obstacle to collegecompletion for Sean was tuition. ThoughSean was still working to finish his degree, he embodied a central pillar ofCity on a Hill’s mission: he consistently served his community. Every summer, he worked for the YMCAhelping with a camp, which developed into after-school mentorship andtutorial. Weekdays and weekends heworked at different Y branches and for Boston Public after school programsmentoring and coaching. Likehis smile, everyone spoke of Sean’s altruism and of being touched by the cheerof this thoughtful and present young man who gently cared for grade school boys andgirls as if they were his younger brothers and sisters.

Waiting to pay our respects, weplanned to hold a Town Meeting later that week and dedicate it to Sean. Former classmates would come and fillthe back of City on a Hill’s new auditorium. Darrus Sands would speak of his memories of Sean, anddescribe how Sean was a model for him, his classmates, and his community and hope for the sake of Boston that future graduates of City on aHill would follow in Sean’s footsteps and dedicate their lives to service. We would hold a moment of silence, likemoments of silence we had held many times before. Only this time for one of our own.

The line of mourners slowlyreached the front of the church. As I turned from paying my respects at the foot of the alter, I caughtthe eyes of the City on a Hill alumni and Central Y staff throughout thecongregation and, for a moment, Mt. Olive Kingdom Builders Church wastransformed back into Town Meeting in the Teen Center Auditorium on HuntingtonAve ten years ago. A Town Meetingconsisting of thoughtful silence, or raucous celebration, or eloquent verbalparry, or spontaneous bawdy cheering, or even standstill boredom. Same as our Town Meetings today. And we were all together, smiling,along with Sean, celebrating the peace and safety of our open community looking forward to the uncertain future and our role in it together.

Dr. Paul Hays is a founding teacher and the current Principal of City on a Hill. He began his 18+ years in public education in 1992 as a Teach For America Corps member in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. A certified science teacher and high school administrator, Dr. Hays holds a B.A. from Denison University, an M.A.T. from Union College, and a Doctorate in Education Administration from Boston University.

"Imagination is the capacity to think of things as if they could be otherwise." - Maxine Greene

2011-11-21T10:26:00.001-05:00

My first year out of my Master’s program, I taught ninth andtenth grade English at one of Boston Public’s monstrous high schools (~1,000kids). I came in bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, ready to work hard and changelives. I had read countless books, I had written countless papers, and I had rockedstudent teaching. Oh, yes. I was ready.

…Actually, no, I wasn’t. None of those books, none of thosepapers, and none of my student teaching experiences had prepared me for aconstantly-changing roster that assigned 36 kids to a room with only 31 seats(“Don’t worry—they’ll never all be here,” another teacher said); 120-minuteblocks; and an administration that was so hands-off that unless a student waspuking or bleeding, I had to take care of it myself. If I assigned a detention,the student was serving it with me; if the student didn’t show up, I had thepower to suspend. Within the first week, there was a huge fight involvingripped out earrings, broken glass, a metal stapler, blood, and a concussion inthe room next door. Unfortunately, that was only the beginning of the violencethat my students and I had to witness that year.

Here’s a journal entry that I wrote on October 24, 2005:

I have come to realize thatteaching in this school is a lot like riding a terrifying roller coaster...inthe dark.

When you walk in every morning, youhave no idea whether it will be a good day or a bad day. You work hard to makeit a good day. You plan like mad, you get to school at 6:00am to prepare, youtry to be ready for anything. But then you go and screw it up. You make a fewmistakes. Small, but crucial. The day begins to unravel. The kids feel it. Youfeel it. You try not to show it, but the tension in your voice is too obviousto hide. Your frustration builds. Their frustration builds. You lose whatyou've worked so hard for the past month and a half to gain: their attention,their respect, their effort. The class is lost. Gone. Unfortunately, you teachtwo-hour blocks...so you still have 100 minutes to go.

And by the time your day ends, youare so exhausted that you can barely throw the broken pieces of your brand newbathroom pass away without crumbling. You wonder if any other job exists whereone can work so incredibly hard and feel so completely defeated ifeven one part of the plan goes wrong. No job can be this hard to dowell. Surely no job under the sun.

Kathleen Cushman says, “Good teaching requires the courageto look honestly at what is and imagine what it could be.” When I wasstruggling through that first year in Boston Public—a time I commonly refer toas ‘the winter of my life’—I looked at how poorly the school was run, howunsafe my students felt, and how alone I felt, and I imagined a school thatserved the same population but did it well. So I started looking, and Ifound City on a Hill. Here was a school that took the kids who lived next doorto the kids I taught in Boston Public and got them to college! (As a side note,I hate it when people say that charter schools ‘weed out’ the worst behaved orthe most behind students; it simply isn’t true—I can tell you, they serve the exactsame kids.)

Here’s a journal entry that I wrote on August 30, 2006,three days into my first faculty orientation week at City on a Hill:

I'm really excited about thisschool. I definitely work with a fantastic group of people. I feel supported inso many ways (which can't be further from how I felt a year ago at my oldschool). The exact moment that I realizedthis: My planning partner (who is also the Principal—all of the administratorsteach!) and I were looking over my classroom contract from last year (afive-page document) and were able to cross off 90% of the ‘classroom procedures’I had made up for my room because they already have school-wide systems inplace that cover them. Everyone is on board; I am no longer an island untomyself. Hoorah!!

For me, quite literally, City on a Hill was a dream cometrue.

Ms. Gentry with her senior advisory on their last day of classes - May 21, 2010

Christine Gentry is a Ph.D. candidate in
the English Education department at Teachers College, Columbia University and a
Curriculum Coach and Lead Instructor at Student
Press Initiative. She taught high school English in inner-city Boston for
five years, four of which were at City on a Hill. She studied English and
Sociology at Baylor University and received her Master's in English Education
from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Her long-term plan is to teach
future urban English teachers at the college level while always teaching at
least one high school class.

Above and Beyond

2011-10-27T12:54:00.000-04:00

City on a Hill students are in school for a long day. They arrive at or before 7:45am andmost don’t leave until 4:30pm. Those who participate in after school clubs or sports stay as late as5:30 or 6pm. For some, that’s a10-hour day before homework – longerthan many people spend at their full-time jobs. They also have an extended week. Students have Saturday school one Saturday per month, wherefreshmen and sophomores take practice MCAS exams, juniors take practice SATtests, and the seniors taking AP courses come in to do work in those classes. And if longer school days and longerschool weeks are not enough, CoaH students also have a longer school year thantheir district counterparts. Allincoming freshmen attend a two-week long Freshman Academy in August, and starting inSeptember with the start of the traditional school year, City on a Hill studentsare in school for 190 days, compared to 180 days for their friends in districtschools.

We must also not forget that for all the extra time City ona Hill students spend in school CoaHfaculty and staff members spend an equal amount of time, if not more, helpingstudents succeed as they navigate through CoaH’s rigorous academic curriculumin preparation for college. Thededicated staff at City on a Hill work countless hours outside of the schoolday, week, and year. They workwith students before and after school when they need extra help outside ofclass. They meet with parents andguardians to form a united and supportive front as their students prepare forcollege. They coach sports teamsand advise clubs to ensure that their kids have access to the same well-roundedhigh school experiences as their peers in district schools. They go to evening events to raise money and support for the programs that make possible the success of our students. They go to school themselves in theevenings and on weekends to learn and grow as professionals.

All members of the CoaH community – students, staff,parents, Board members, and supporters – work extremely hard to build what wehave here. One might think thatafter all the time put in on a regular basis, students and staff would cherishthe time to themselves when a free weekend presents itself. So, when the American DiabetesAssociation offered City on a Hill the opportunity to show its support foranother great cause by participating in its annual Walk for Diabetes, I wasamazed at the response. This past Saturday,I showed up at the Boston Common, looking for the City on a Hill check-intable. It wasn’t hard to find, asI quickly spotted the throngs of familiar smiling faces – some of which had beenthere since 8:30am – waiting eagerly for the walk to start. While the mob of CoaH students andstaff walked around the Common with thousands of other walkers from all overthe city, I hung back at the check-in table, just in case any latecomers werelooking for the group. Sureenough, students and staff kept coming, some running to catch up with the restof the group to participate in the walk, others to simply hang out and showtheir support for the ADA and for the school that they already dedicate so muchtime to.

Christine Bullard cameto City on a Hill in 2009 and is the school’s Assistant Director of Development& Community Relations. She hasa B.S. from Cornell University, an M.S.Ed from The University of Pennsylvania,and an MPA in Public and Nonprofit Management and Policy from NYU.

One Track Mind

2011-10-21T11:26:00.000-04:00

At City on a Hill Charter Public School, there are not separateclasses for the smart kids and separate classes for the kids who just...can’t. All students can do everything CoaH asks of them, and all students MUST dothese things, or they will not graduate. We never lower the standards for anyof our students, but rather increase the expectations for all of our students. We do not have “tracking” at City on a Hill. This notion of equality –not separate, therefore equal – helps our students succeed.

Myhigh school had almost complete racial uniformity, but was still fairlysegregated. We were divided not by race or socioeconomic status (although Isuspect there were strong correlations), but by ability, or, more accurately,perceived ability. We were “tracked.” There was a de facto elite who took allhonors/AP classes. There was a broad “middle class” who took some honors andmostly “college prep” classes. Below them was a class of students, mostlyinvisible to me except in gym class and at assemblies, who took “the easyclasses.” Our school had some fuzzy euphemism for those classes, but to behonest I have no idea what it was. Occasionally some students would work theirway up or down, but from my position on top, everyone seemed content with theirstation. In some sense, we all were where we believed we “should” be.

Itwas easy for me to make these assumptions because I was a member of thehonors/AP elite. We took the hardest classes because we were smart, andwe were smart because we took the hardest classes. It was a self-reinforcingmechanism, and one that had disastrous implications. We didn’t need to work that hard because we had alreadysucceeded. After all, why else would we be “allowed” into the AP classes by theguidance counselors? We deserved good grades because we were smart, and smartkids got good grades. Woe betides the teacher who dared to give a “smart kid” a“bad grade.”

Ifthat’s what it felt like for a “smart kid,” what must it have felt like for thestudent who just...couldn’t? Who couldn’t handle the “hard” classes, who knewat age 15 that he was not bound for college. I’m deeply ashamed to say: I haveno idea. I wasn’t friends with any of them.

Cityon a Hill does not segregate its students through tracking. There is one rigorousEnglish class for all freshmen, one for all sophomores, one for all juniors,and one for all seniors. If you get less than a 70 in freshman English, youcannot go onto sophomore English, and you cannot become a sophomore. Somestudents finish it on their first try, some need two or three, but all of ourgraduates have passed all four English classes. The same is true for othersubjects. There is no pressure to pass students along with the grade level they“should” be in; the grade you “should” be in is determined by how yousuccessful you are in your courses. To those of us who were indoctrinated intothe value system of tracking, this can seem at first excessively harsh. ButCity on a Hill is quick to remind everyone that no students “fail” – the only gradesare A, B, C and “Not Yet Passing.” You are not a failure if you do not passEnglish I, you just need another try before you are ready to pass.

Asthese subtle language changes demonstrate, a lot of teaching is self-esteemmanagement. For too long, too many teachers have thought that if students were encouraged, then they could succeed. In my highschool, this resulted in a lot of students in the “easy classes” who wererobbed of an education and given platitudes in exchange. At City on a Hill, wereverse the logic: if studentssucceed, then they will beencouraged. Their teachers will provide the encouragement initially, but thestudents will eventually learn to encourage and motivate themselves.

Everystudent at City on a Hill has a tutor, and while part of our job is to makesure they succeed, an even more important part is to make sure they know they can succeed. One of my students, who didnot pass geometry last year and is a sophomore again because of it, stopped mein the hall this week to tell me good news.

“Mister!” she beamed. “Guess whatmy grade is in geometry.”

She was too excited to wait for my obligatory replyand instead blurted “77!!!!”

In my high school experience, I can honestly say Inever spent time with anyone who was excited to get a 77. I realized, though,that she had probably worked harder for that C+ than I had ever worked for anyA. I gave her a high-five and asked her if she thought she could get it to a Bin time for report cards.

“Of course!” she said, and cheerfully bounced alongon her way to class.

Because she was not labeled a “failure” and because shedid not get switched to another track that was “more her level,” she wasempowered and encouraged to succeed at a subject that had been a genuinestruggle for her.

Ihave been shocked by how quickly my previous assumptions have evaporated. Thisis my first academic teaching job and I can’t imagine what it must be like towork in a school where it is implicitly or explicitly stated which kids canlearn and which kids can’t. I hope I never have to work in such a place.

Someof our freshmen enter here from middle schools where they were “the smartkids;” some were “the dumb kids” or “the troubled kids” or the “ones who justcouldn’t do it.” A few came from other schools where such labels were held atbay, if not abolished. Yet every single one of our students will be “the smartkid” by the time they graduate.

MatthewLawrence is a first year CoaHCORPS member at City on a Hill. He received his B.A. in History andEuropean Cultural Studies from Brandeis University. He is originally from Vermont and visits there as often aspossible.

Learning to Lead

2011-10-13T08:46:00.001-04:00

My main goal is to not only graduate fromCity on a Hill, but to also get into the college of my choice and then graduatefrom that college. My guidance counselor has advised me that participating inoutside programs will help me stand out when applying, so she suggested theSummer Search program because she thought it would be very beneficial and agreat experience for me. SummerSearch Boston provides mentoring, summer experiences, and college advising toBoston high school students, so they gain the skills to succeed in college anddramatically improve their life prospects. The goal of Summer Search is to help young students gaintheir independence, change for the better, and much more. Therefore, I gladly took theopportunity to be a part of the program.

During my amazing and life-changing threeweeks with Summer Search, I was able to overcome many challenges and learnabout myself. On this trip I wentrafting and backpacking in Utah, spent community service hours with a Navajofamily in Arizona, and embraced nature in Colorado. A few challenges that I overcame were my fear of nature, theanxiety of being apart from my twin sister, the challenge of being on my own in anunknown environment, and the challenge of working on having patience.

When I first went into this trip mymentor and I talked about what I wanted to get out of it, which was to gainpatience. In my point of viewpatience is the key to life, and I lacked it majorly. As a Summer Search representative, I knew that I had to keepcool and remain patient. Only afew days into the rafting trip in Canyon Country, we came across copious amountof tamaris beetles that bothered me tremendously. These beetles would fly around and land on humans and crawltheir way around one’s body. Atthe time, bugs were one of my biggest fears, and another camper found it funnyto tease me about it. He would lieand tell me there were bugs on me, when there really weren’t. He would laugh and make side jokesabout them when I was showing frustration, and I snapped. I told this camper to shut up in a verysharp tone. I wanted to continuewith words that would make him feel bad, but I knew I had to keep my composure,and this was the skill that I was coming here to master. So instead of telling him off, I tooksome time to cool down, drank a lot of water and continued on with my share ofwork. After this was over I satback and reflected on what I did. I could see the change already and that this trip was transforming me. Back at home this would have ended witha huge argument, but there I knew that an argument wasn’t going to solveanything. I knew that I had tokeep cool because not only would I be hurting the other camper but also therest of the campers in the boat with us. I knew that in order to keep going we had to all work together andtension was not going to help.

I also learned that I could adapt to newplaces, no matter how different an environment is from my home in Boston. I learned that I’m actually morehelpful and a better leader than I thought. Last summer I had the opportunity to become captain of Cityon a Hill’s cheerleading squad, but I didn’t try to get the position because Ithought I wasn’t good enough for it. At the time, I didn’t think I was a good leader, but I was completelywrong. In fact on my trip I waschosen to lead a day hike and also to help out with an emergencyevacuation. During the second weekof the camping trip, a camper got injured and the camp leaders had to pick twopeople to help climb back out of the Dark Canyon and walk a few miles back tothe road. I was one of the twochosen. At that moment I felt somuch elation because it showed that the other campers saw me as not just a goodleader, but an awesome leader, and Ifelt like I could take these leadership skills back to CoaH and master being acheer co-captain. From that pointon, I knew I could change anything I wanted to as long as I set my mind to it.

Summer Search gave me the amazingopportunity to learn about myself, a chance to be an individual, and theopportunity to grow and overcome challenges! Summer Search opened my eyes and gave me the confidence totake risks. I’m grateful for thisbecause Summer Search helped me find the strengths in me, and helped meovercome my weaknesses. I lookforward to taking what I’ve learned and applying it to my life at CoaH and myfuture in college and beyond.

DaeshianaHoward is currently a junior at City on a Hill Charter Public School. She is athree-year member of the Blue Storm cheerleading squad and recently became co-captainof the team. She is also a two-year member of COAH’s National Honor Society,along with being one of City on a Hill’s newest class representatives for theClass of 2013.

Putting the "J" in "J-Factor"

2011-10-07T11:24:00.000-04:00

I smile at school. It’s what I do. I tease, I banter, I greet everyone by name (loudly, and in a highly witty manner I swear), I laugh, I hold mini impromptu dance parties at my tutorial bench. Every fist-pump from an excited student, every wacky moment, every small (and large) achievement puts a giant toothy grin on my face (someday, I will pay a fortune for teeth-whitening). I try to pass these grins on throughout my day. I try to put the J in J-Factor.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the concept of ‘J-Factor,’ I refer to Doug Lemov’s Teach Like A Champion technique: make learning joyful! Include some ‘joy-factor’ in each of your lessons. This could be a game or competition or awesome activity in the classroom, or it could simply be an attitude, brought to every single minute moment of learning. This is the attitude that I strive to have at school, and I have found almost without fail that smiling really does transcend some sort of universal language. Smile at a student, greet him or her by name, show them you’re excited to see them, and they will be excited to see you, maybe even excited to learn.

Last year, I worked primarily with sixth graders at another Boston charter school, and I worried that this year, in making the transition to high school, my particular brand of cheesy grins would not be so appreciated. As it turns out, it’s not just me and the middle-schoolers who crave smiles. After just over a year and a half in the public school system, I have come to truly believe that the smile is one of my most important educational tools. Of course, like any tool, it is not appropriate at all moments – some times call for seriousness in a variety of guises, but it is nevertheless enormously useful to me. Having a smiling attitude as a natural state of being helps me as a teacher to always be patient, and avoid becoming frustrated. It’s nearly impossible to shake my happy (as my grumpy sleepy first period class has learned). A smile can convey many messages to students: great job!, cheer up!, this-is-my-slanted-eyebrow-look-get-your-book-out-and-start-reading-oh-just-became-a-smile-thanks! And so much more. Like I said, a universal language, for middle school students, for high school students, for cheering yourself on.

As I walk through the parking lot in the afternoon to get my clothes for cross-country practice from my car, I almost always run into two smiley senior girls waiting at the gate (I’m not sure for what … I’m fairly certain it’s not me). Every time our paths cross we grin at each other, and usually I crack some corny joke, and they laugh, hopefully genuinely. I realized the other day that I am always capable of smiling at these two girls - whether I have had a fantastic day or not. Smiling throughout the day has helped me to retain happy spirits; knowing these two girls will smile back at me and are happy to see me brightens my afternoon. Mutual joy. It’s what I love best about spending my days with high school students.

Julia Woodward is a Lead Tutor with the CoaHCORPS Tutorial Program, in her 1st year at City on a Hill. She earned her Bachelor's degree from Cornell University, where she studied Development Sociology and Education.

This Isn't Just a Test

2011-09-30T10:34:00.002-04:00

Last Wednesday, I cleared my schedule for 3:30, the timewhen MCAS scores were scheduled to be distributed to City on a Hill’s 11^thgraders.

Two years ago this fall, these 11^th graders begantheir freshman year achieving far below grade level, with few of the study, problemsolving, and social skills that students in more affluent communities havelearned by the time they are 14. Some entered with all Fs on their 8^th grade transcript,but — strangely — had 8^th grade diplomas. Many entered the 9^th grade at City on a Hillnever having passed an MCAS test before. It wasn’t that this group of new City on a Hillfreshman couldn’t learn, it was thatmany of them attended schools that simply hadn’t taught them.

Between the time these students arrived as freshman untilthe days they took the test in the 10^th grade, their teachers,tutors, advisors, and administrators at City on a Hill worked with them to fillin the gaps between their academic strengths and challenges. By the time they sat for the MCAS lastspring, an army of well-educated, passionate, and ferociously hard-workingadults had intervened on a fundamental injustice: that most of these young people had reached the age of 14without access to the kind of education that families living in places likeBrookline or Newton are accustomed to.

Now 11^th graders, these students sat to the exams last spring,in March, in May, and in June. Their teachers and tutors cheered them on before the tests started,congratulated them when they finished, and protected the sanctity and integrityof the testing environment like mother bears protecting the den. The students knew they would receive theirexam results together in our community meeting space, because they had attendedlast year’s score release and learned firsthand the power of this communityritual. And their teachers andtutors attended too, even though by now they had closely examined (and madecurricular adjustments informed by) the results.

So when our Principal fired up the LCD projector, these 16-year-old11^th graders knew what was coming. They sat on the community meeting benches, close together,holding hands. First, thePrincipal showed them the results of the classes before them, naming graduateswho belonged to each group, some of whom have attended college, returned, andserved as their teachers. The roomcollectively held its breath in the millisecond before the class of 2013’sscores showed. All of them — 100% ofthe class of 2013 — had passed the ELA and Math exams on the first try. Over 94% of them had earnedProficienct or Advanced. Theirgrowth from middle school results was astronomical.

They jumped, they screamed, they cried, they hugged theirteachers and tutors.

A new teacher standing with me at the back of the roomcommented with awe: “I’ve neverseen anybody get so excited about a standardized test.”

I answered, “This isn’t just a test.” As a 10^th grade Englishteacher I always attended these score releases because I was so proud of myformer students’ scores. As aPrincipal, I ran these score releases to maximize the whole school community’sunderstanding of what success can be. Now, as the school’s Executive Director, I stand to the side while theproud students, tutors, teachers, advisors, and administrators—without a singleounce of condescension or irony—celebrate their legitimate success. And I am convinced to my very core thatmore young people deserve the opportunity to experience this magical thing—a community that cares, cares enough to holdeveryone to the highest standards, and cares enough to succeed together.

However busy my schedule becomes with the many competing andbureaucratic demands of running a successful high school, I will always clearmy schedule for this demonstration of community.

Erica Brown joined City on a Hill in 1998 to teach 10th grade English. She became the school's Principal in 2003 and has been the Executive Director since 2007. Ms. Brown received her B.A. in British and American Literature from Harvard College and her M.Ed. from Tufts University.

Yes You Can

2011-09-22T09:19:00.000-04:00

During the first week ofschool, a student caught my eye and burst out a beaming smile.

It was only 2 weeks earlier,during CoaH’s Freshman Academy that I saw this same young lady shed tears ofdoubt and fear bursting from her eyes as if a lifelong build-up of deepemotions was trying to escape.

"I can't," she mumbledas she held her head low, lacking any confidence against the test in front ofher.

I was proctoring a diagnosticexam, not uncommon at the beginning of a new school year, given to students so teachers can basetheir lessons on what the students already know. After an hour of test taking,the first student finishing seemed to snowball the entire room of anxiousyoungsters to turn in their completed exams and leave the challengingenvironment of their newfound school. But that one young woman was left alonein the corner, amongst empty desks, likely questioning her hope of having thesame achievements as her peers in suburban public schools, or even her peers atCity on a Hill. After all, high school at City on a Hill is a very newenvironment with challenges unlike any she has had in her previous years ofschool.

I may not know her story rightnow, but I know I will. She likely has one similar to many of her fellowstudents, who are faced with the alarming statistics of under-achievement forchildren of their socio-economic and demographic background. Many of thesestudents have been subject to what is debatably the greatest social injusticeour nation faces – the achievement gap.

This long buildup of thoughtsand emotions prompted me to say: "yes you can... regardless of any of your past orpresent circumstances, I believe in you. I know we don't know each other thatwell, but I believe in you, and you can. We are here to help, and if you acceptthat help you will go to college, and you will achieve great things. It startsby putting your pencil on the paper and writing the problem."

I share this story not soanyone will pity her situation, or even praise my attempt to inspire her inthis newfound community of support. I share this because at the last high schoolI taught at those same words of encouragement would have been a lie. City on aHill is a different school because it is rooted in different expectations withthe right people and refined systems that produce results – meaning nothingother than student achievement. Hence, I am thrilled to be a part of thiscommunity and contribute in some way to its legacy of success, where I am yetto see many other youngsters replace doubts and fear with hope and success justas this young lady faced her fears and finished her test.

Kelin Crane is a first-year Math teacher at City on a Hill, brought to us through the Teach for America program. He earned his Bachelor's degree from Brigham Young University and is currently working towards a Master's degree in teaching from Boston University.

What Will I Do Today That Matters?

2011-09-15T09:37:00.000-04:00

When Iwas sixteen, I really didn’t like high school. Rather, I was one of thosestudents that acted like I didn’t like high school, but then stoodoutside the building long after classes were over. I was the type of studentwho knew exactly how many classes I could miss and still keep honor rollgrades. I was terrible at math but became good at memorizing steps and gettingright answers. The problem was that I never understood why or howI got certain answers; I just wanted A’s. When things were too difficult and Icouldn’t trick my way to an A, I gave up. I dropped pre-calculus after thefirst quarter and finagled my way through the rest of high school withouttaking math again.

In mysenior year of high school, I didn’t want to go to college. I thought thatcollege would be like high school all over again, and it wasn’t until I met mysenior year English teacher, Ms. Simoni, that things completely shifted. Shedidn’t try to give me the “You can do it! Just work harder!” speech, butinstead, she proved that education isn’t just about grades. Yes, getting As wasimportant, but she constantly pushed me to question why reading Emily Dickinsonand learning ancient histories were important. It wasn’t just about grades; itwas about growing as a person and learning about myself in relation to theworld I live in.

The mostimportant question she ever asked me was, “What will you do today thatmatters?” and it was then that I knew I couldn’t acquiesce to mediocrity. Sheinspired me to want to continue my education, and thus, I applied to a collegethat catered to how I learn. My college didn’t have grades or standardizedevaluations of academic success, but instead motivated students with themantra, Non Satis Scire: To Know Is Not Enough. My education becameabout self-growth, and I was motivated internally to become a better student.This was perhaps the single most important shift in my life, and perhaps thisis what drove me to want to return to high school education, despite how much Ireally, really didn’t like high school.

I came toCity on a Hill in August 2010 and am entering my second year in the tutorialprogram, now as a Lead Tutor with other new responsibilities throughout theschool. Sometimes, people are skeptical of my job, and think that I exaggeratethe energy and care I put into it, every single day, no matter how tired I amor how infinitely grey February seems.

Everyday,from 8:00 - 4:30, my one goal is to help my students make a little bit moresense of what they’re learning, no matter how many times we have to reviewpunctuation rules, trigonometry, or Toni Morrison over and over again in orderfor them to really understand. Once they understand, then I ask the hardquestions--the types of questions that hopefully spark their desire to learn becausethey want to, not just because they have to. I push them to ask why,and really understand what they’re seeking.

Of coursewe work for high grades with the expectation that all are going to college, butI also hope to inspire my students to want to go to college in order to becomebetter thinkers, better learners, and better citizens of the world. It is myhope that they will want to earn not only a high GPA, but will also askthemselves “What will I do today that matters?”

Jess Kim is a Lead Tutor with the CoaHCORPS Tutorial Program, now in her 2nd year at City on a Hill. She earned her Bachelor's degree from Hampshire College, where she studied critical social theory and poetics.

"A wise educator once told me that students do what we tell them to do."

2011-09-09T11:03:00.000-04:00

It was about two weeks into my first year as an English teacher at City on a Hill that I decided to go buy a snack at the local convenience store down the street. On my way I saw three young men in City on a Hill uniforms whom I had never met before walking towards me – seniors, apparently, because they had off-campus lunch privileges – and as we passed I said, “Good afternoon, gentlemen.”

And they replied, “Good afternoon, sir.”

“Good afternoon, sir.”

“Good afternoon, sir.”

I was so stunned I called my dad on my cell phone and told him about what had just happened.

Now, that might not be a particularly moving story to a lot of teachers out there who are used to a modicum of civility from their students, but I taught for the first three years of my career in New York City. I was used to breaking up fights a couple times a day; I would shrug off threats from my students, because the administration would only yell at them and send them back to class; I was told that the solution to a 75% tardiness rate in the morning was to make my class more interesting so that students wouldn’t want to miss it (I can’t really imagine a lesson so captivating that it would internally motivate a student to get up at 6:00am and rush to school).

A wise educator once told me that students do what we tell them to do. And I thought at the time that he was being sarcastic. But looking back on it, the reason the kids in New York fought was because a five-day suspension for staple-gunning another kid in the skull tells him that that is generally frowned upon behavior, but certainly not serious. Having no consequence for tardiness tells kids quite clearly that they should come to school at some point during first period, but it’s okay to take your time.

At City on a Hill, the adults actually tell the young people precisely what they would like them to do. You must wear a belt. If you forget your belt, you have to go home and get your belt. You cannot come late. If you come late, you don’t get to interrupt your first period class, and you have to stay for an hour at the end of the day to make up your work. Learn to write an essay. If you don’t learn how to write a freshman essay, you don’t get to become a sophomore. Here, just like everywhere else, the students do what we tell them to do.

It was a pretty hard for me to fully realize that it was we – the adults – who had failed in that New York school. They were the exact same population of students there that we have here, the exact same socio-economic demographic, but the teachers were largely ill prepared to structure the school. What we do at City on a Hill results in students actually wanting to be excellent students. Because we tell them every day, with every class period, that they should want that.

Dan O'Connor is an English teacher entering his 4th year at City on a Hill. He studied English at the College of Wooster and earned a Masters in Teaching English from Teachers College at Columbia University.