Reversing the Tide

It is the beginning of spring and the end of long and brutal winter. The mind of everyone in a high school, teacher's and student's alike, drifts toward pleasanter times, and, inevitably, toward graduation. City on a Hill's graduation is held in the majestic Faneuil Hall, but despite the nice weather and the suitable pageantry, most look toward to Graduation for representing the too often unattained culmination of American achievement and democratic ideals. There is little controversy in the goal of a high school graduation.

Similarly, my high school graduation speech was not very controversial. It told that clichéd story of the old man, walking at dawn along an expansive section of low-tide shoreline, tossing doomed and desiccated starfish into the surf. An observer calls out that the man’s work is futile; he cannot possibly save all the starfish.

“You’re wasting your time,” he says. “There’s miles of shore, and the tide will roll in before lunch time. Why are you doing this if it won’t make a difference for all of them?”

“Well,” the old man said, hucking another starfish into the sea. “I made a difference for that one.”

My job as a tutor, when I explain it to friends, colleagues, acquaintances, neighbors, fellow-travelers of the MBTA, and anyone else foolish enough to ask me “...and what do you do?” is also not controversial: I teach minority, low-income inner-city students skills in math and English in order to get them ready for college. There are very few people on any point of the political spectrum opposed to this description of my day-to-day work. Yet charter schools remain a flashpoint of debate for various reasons. In the complex political world of urban education and education reform, I am transformed from an educator into an activist by the very nature of my employment.

In my desire to teach math and English skills to low-income minority students, I did not court controversy. I simply felt it my duty to help those most excluded from the so-called American meritocracy achieve the skills they need in order to join the ranks of decision-makers. My day-to-day work is apolitical – few ideologies are opposed to Shakespeare and fewer still to the quadratic equation. Yet our school’s overall mission is based on premises both appealing and appalling to various political orientations. At City on a Hill, we emphasize the importance of hard work and we stress decorum and civility. However, we also acknowledge structural biases and vestigial racism. Most importantly, we maintain high standards: our students dress conservatively, interject appropriately, question probingly, debate academically, compete ferociously and achieve competitively.

Anyone reading this blog is likely familiar with the myriad of arguments against charter schools and the controversy they can create. The most persuasive argument against charter schools I have yet found is the fear that we are neither replicable nor sustainable. City on a Hill boasts an impressive 4:1 student to faculty ratio and consistently manages to recruit an all-star roster of absurdly dedicated young educators. It does not seem imminently likely that America’s education system can be reformed in such a way that every low-income urban high school student can have access to a system like ours. To me, this is not an argument against charter schools. This is an argument against the status quo, and what it means that our most talented young educators are not welcome in our traditional public school system. If more schools were like City on a Hill, I have no doubt that more and more graduates from our most prestigious universities would invest time in closing the achievement gap.

The tide is rolling in. For years, we were forced to deny more and more middle-schoolers a spot at City on a Hill. The number of potential students who wanted what we offer increased, but the number of seats we could legally offer remained constant. For years, our lotteries were painful ceremonies where families had a roughly 1 in 10 chance of receiving our unique education. In February, helped by the recommendation of Education Commissioner Mitchell Chester, Massachusetts has tripled the amount of students City on a Hill might access, by accepting our application to replicate our charter once in New Bedford and once again in Boston.

According to the internationally recognized magazine The Economist, Massachusetts “has had excellent results [because] it is strict about the schools it allows to operate.” The only problem they find with our Commonwealth’s system is that the mandated “caps on the number of charters in a state drag down performance...and discourage investment.” Our potential donors, on whom we depend due to state funding policies, are hesitant to invest heavily in an organization that has legally constricted barriers to growth. Now that the Commonwealth has recognized the stifling nature of the limit on charter school seats, I hope sincerely that more interested parties will support the efforts of non-traditional educational organizations with demonstrated success.

As a tutor, I only work with 12 students. My fellow tutors only teach 12 students each, and my colleagues who teach full classrooms reach no more than twice that many per class. Yet there are enough of us that we can work with 280 students. 280 students is less than .05% of the humans in Boston, less than .5% of the students in Boston Public Schools, and yet 100% of our graduates get accepted to a college that is right for them. When I look at these numbers, the only outrage I feel, and the only controversy I see, is that the number of young adults we help get to college is so small. We know what we’re doing and we know how to help our population, yet the Commonwealth, which used to only let us help 280 students, now will let us help merely 840. The facts are clear and I wish the desire to help ever more students – even minority students from historically low-performing school districts – was not controversial. Even with the generous recognition of the DESE, the problem is real and the effects are enormous, but the rising tide is reversible.

Matthew Lawrence is a CoaHCORPS Lead Tutor, currently in his 2nd year at City on a Hill. He attended Brandeis University and graduated in 2010 with a degree in History. While he loves exploring his new home in Boston, he is originally from Vermont and visits as often as possible.

Words from the Class of 2012

Toyin Egharevba moved to the US when she was 12 years old.  Since then, she has become an academic powerhouse who excels in all subjects, particularly math and science.  In her senior year at City on a Hill, she volunteered over 100 hours of her time to the YMCA Family in Transition Program.  This fall, Toyin will attend Wellesley College where she plans to major in Biology.  Below is her 2012 Valedictorian speech:

Good evening, family and friends, faculty and staff, members of the Board of Trustees, members of the graduating class of 2012, and of course the JFK advisory.

I can clearly remember the first day of our Freshman Academy.  Some of us felt awkward, shy, scared, and confused.  Even after asking for directions, we still went to the wrong classrooms.

Wow...it seem like we only started yesterday.

And as I stand here before you, I am overwhelmed with many memories that I know that you all hold as well.  I remember the long lunch line outside the trailer, the morning hand shakes, and that time when Ivan was locked out on the balcony during the D.C trip.  Who will ever forget the countless days we spent at Saturday schools and SAT preps, those late nights finishing projects, and of course, Field Day.

One thing I’ll never forget about the class of 2012 is our perseverance. I’ll share a little story with you all.  Freshman year, the class of 2012 was taken on a field trip to New Hampshire.  It was a rainy day, but luckily for us, the rain did not disturb the activities.  We were sheltered by the huge trees that surrounded us.  Each advisory was led off to complete different activities.  My advisory did tightrope walking.  Basically, It was several tightropes tied between trees.  These ropes were so tight that even an elephant could stand on it and it wouldn’t tremble.

So, students gathered around in pairs as we waited to be harnessed in and hoisted 20 feet into the air to walk the rope.  Our main objective was to walk from one end to the other.  I remember while walking, I slipped off the rope.  As I was dangling from the harness, the supervisor gave me two options:  the first was to securely let me down, and the second was for me to climb back up the rope.  Mind you, we were surrounded by massive trees and if I swung too far I would end up like George of the jungle and it surely will be too late to be watching out for the trees.  So, I weighed both options but I chose the latter which was to re-climb the tightrope.  On my first attempt, I swung a little too far.  On my other attempts, my advisory at the time, the Shirley Chisholm advisory, began to cheer me on saying, “Yes! You can do it.  Come on, you almost had it”.  Even with their encouragement, I felt like telling the supervisor to let me down.  I didn’t because I realized that giving up wasn’t the best option and I also didn’t want to let my advisory down.  So, I was determined to climb back on.  After several attempts, I was finally able to get back on the tightrope.  I walked gently, aiming for the finish line.  Yes, I made it to the finish line.  I was extremely happy and proud of what I’d accomplished.

I’m telling you this story because it reminds me of us, the class of 2012.

A hundred plus of us started this adventure freshman year, but only a few of us have remained.  There were times in our high school careers when we fell off that rope; others gave up, but we didn’t.  Just like when I fell off that rope, I was engulfed with fear.  All that was going through my mind was “give up, give up, give up, just give up.”  But I didn’t.  And neither did you.

Even when your mind told you that dropping out or transferring out was the easiest way, when people told you that you wouldn’t make it, when the circumstance seemed impossible and when you tried to convince yourself that it will all go away when you quit, you didn’t listen.  You persevered and kept on going.  Through hard work, determination, and the support of others, we made it to the finish line of our high school careers.

As we head to our various universities and colleges, remember that we are not alone.

Class of 2012, look around you.  We’re here today because these people believed in us, encouraged us, and kept on cheering for us.  Sometimes it may seem that you’re alone, but always remember that there are many who believe in you and that is why they are here to congratulate you on this day.

In life, many will start a race with you, not all of them will finish with you.  During that race, there will be tons of trials and tribulations.  There will even be times when you feel like giving up.  But don’t give up.  Persevere!!

Look back on this day.  Look at the joy you’ve brought to the people around you.  And remember, with perseverance we can finish the race ahead of us.

Thank you.

As co-captain of her cheer squad, Antoniqua Roberson takes her leadership roles very seriously.  She's modeled academic excellence and worked to develop cheer study halls to ensure the academic eligibility of her team.  She will be attending Occidental College in the fall.  Below is her speech as the 2012 Salutatorian:

Good evening, family and friends, faculty and staff, members of the Board of Trustees, members of the graduating class of 2012, and lastly, my advisory, the Frederick Douglass Advisory.

Growing up, I always knew that I was going to go to college.  I didn’t always know where I wanted to go, or what I wanted to be for that matter, but I was certain that I was going to go and that I would be the first in my family to do so.

As a small child, my great-grandmother would often sing a gospel hymn called “This Little Light of Mine,” where the words went ‘This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.  Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.’

I could remember being so small, and sitting on her lap while gazing into her big, brown eyes as she sang the song to me.  It was something about the words the captured my attention and made me feel as if I had a “little light” within me.  The lyrics were very inspirational, and I soon found myself singing the sweet song while alone at home.

Through all the obstacles and struggles I have faced in life, it was my belief in my light that kept me going.  Many of us have had difficulties in our lives, where we wanted to give up.  When family tried to push you to keep going, you sometimes resisted and had to learn from your own mistakes.  These mistakes helped you learn the importance of advice from those older and wiser than you, though you often did not want to admit it.

As a young student, I could remember my family telling me that education was important, and that if I wanted to go far in life I had to take my studies seriously and apply myself to all of my classes.  The passion, the drive, the importance I felt when I stepped into a classroom were instilled in me through the values and beliefs my great-grandmother and family had taught me at such a young age.  I focused my light on my education knowing it would only shine if I applied the skills I learned in class to dilemmas I faced in the forum of my community.

As many of us, I do not think that I would have come this far if it were not for my family.  Like a tree, I am planted into success, where the roots of this tree are my family.  Each branch that extends from the base of my tree represents an opportunity or privilege that is offered to me.  Just as this tree could not have grown without its roots first, I too could not have reached my highest success without my family.

When I look back on my memories shared with my great-grandmother, I know why she sang that beautiful hymn to me.  It was her way of bringing forth the drive I have in me now.  She knew that my light would some day shine, and that even when dark times entered my life, I was guided and protected by my own light.

This theme has persisted throughout my life, and as I reflect on my high school education, I think about how City on a Hill has helped us all find our lights and let them shine.  It’s the way our teachers believed in us and how our classmates pushed us when schoolwork became difficult; we are a family.

When referencing City on a Hill, most people think of the famous line, “We shall be as a City upon a Hill…the eyes of all people are upon us.”  However, the verse that I think of is a lesser-known passage from the bible, which truly connects with the idea of a shining light within each of us:

“You are the light of the world.  A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.  Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16).

Now that my great-grandmother has passed on, the song that she sang to me is even more powerful and inspirational to me.  My great-grandmother saw a light within me when I was too young to see it in myself, and she saw it as I grew when I was too blind to let it shine; I know she would be proud of my accomplishments, and I also know as I continue to persevere and work around my obstacles, rather than being defeated by them, I will achieve my own success as I reach my highest potential.

College is where our light is shining next and beckoning us forward, and with love and support we receive from our families and classmates, we too will let this “little light” shine.

Thank you.

Danny Hernandez was selected as the Citizen Scholar of 2012 for the way he exemplifies the "citizenship" pillar of City on a  Hill's mission.  Danny studies Muay Thai, an intense combat sport similar to kick-boxing.  While not focusing on the rigorous training, Danny also volunteers with Tenacity, an after school program that teaches low income students how to play tennis.  He will be attending UMass Boston in the fall.  Below is his 2012 graduation speech:

Hello family, friends, staff, members of the board of trustees, and of course the graduating class of 2012.  My name is Danny Hernandez, City on a Hill class of 2012 and Umass Boston Class of 2016, and I am honored and surprised that I was selected to be the citizen scholar of 2012.

When Ms. Alves came into my chemistry class and told me to come to the front office, my heart dropped like a roller coaster, my palms began to get clammy and every step I took shot a tingling feeling up my spine.  I was terrified, and when I saw the stern look on Ms. Brown’s face, I knew I was in for it.  I felt like I had been sent to the icy fortress of the ninth layer of hell; I was racking my brain thinking of every possible thing I could have done to get sent down there.  To my surprise, I was told that I had been selected by the senior committee as the student who best represents citizenship and scholarship in the class of 2012.

Now don’t be mistaken – being chosen does not automatically make me the best-behaved student, and I’m clearly not the valedictorian.  To be honest I did not really know why I was selected, but when I started thinking about my values, and the values of City on a Hill, it made sense.  Leadership, respect and the importance of education are three qualities that I believe I bring to the role of citizen scholar, but I can’t take all the credit.

Leadership lies in all of us.  I learned how to be a leader with out even realizing it.  One of my oldest friends and biggest role models, Juan Malave, set me on my path.  One day as we went on one of our long drives, he asked about my life at school, at home, and my plans for the future.  After I would ramble on for several minutes he stopped me and said these words that I will follow for the rest of my life, “ Do you, bro.   Don’t feel the need to follow an established path; make your own way and follow your morals and dreams.  You’re a good kid, and I‘m proud of you”.  Those words stuck in my head, and have been my motivation to make my own path and follow it.  It was those words that got me to this moment today, and I know they will bring me far in life.

This brings me to respect, and our families are the leading factors in how we learn about respect.  During summer vacations, as I was growing up, I would go to my grandmother’s house while my mom went to work.  My Uncle Victor and Grandmother would watch over me and my younger sister, and man I remember doing a lot of things as a young kid that got me scolded.  My uncle would constantly get on my case about me being disrespectful, and my grandmother would explain to me why my behavior was wrong, and my uncle would watch me like a hawk until he was sure my behavior changed.  It drove me nuts at the time, but now I know I owe a lot to them, and the rest of my family for teaching me how to act, and to respect others no matter who they are.

When it comes to the importance of education, I have to credit my teachers for instilling that value in me.  They push us to always do well, and to try our hardest.  So many teachers I have had drove me to see the importance of education.  I never used to think of myself as an intellectual, but when my tutor last year commented on my expansive knowledge on a wide variety of subjects, I started to see myself differently in class, and tapped into my potential.  I want to thank every last one my teachers for playing a role in helping me discover my ability and pushing me to get this far.  All of you have taught me many valuable lessons and shared with me important experiences that I will take far in my life.

Class of 2012, I am not the only student here who demonstrates leadership, shows respect, and cares about his education.  We all have these attributes as a class together, because we all have role models and mentors who have shown us what leadership is, family that teaches us important lessons in life, and teachers that have shown us how important it is for us to take education seriously.  As we are all here today, it is clear that we as a class took all of these seriously and used these attributes to help us make it through these very challenging four years.  We all embody citizenship, and we have made the City on a Hill mission of graduating responsible citizens possible for our class. 

Thank you friends, family, faculty and staff, and especially the graduating class of 2012.  It has been fun, and I hope we all see each other in the future.

  

"No one can become a master teacher in isolation"

A desire I inherited from my grandmother Jessie is a love of plants—gardening, growing flowers, and saving dying houseplants.  Every spring, I set myself to filling flower boxes and clay pots on my front and back porches. When choosing flowers to grow for the season, I do consider color combinations and trying new plants I’ve never grown before, but when shopping in the greenhouse I head right for the plants that require full sunlight—six hours or more per day.  I don’t just make this choice based on the conditions of my porches; in fact, I actually place my plants in certain configurations so that I can successfully grow those flowers that thrive in full sunlight.  The plants that love full sunlight are the most beautiful and long lasting.
 
So it is with teaching--those who flourish in full sunlight are heartier. One of the pillars of City on a Hill is public accountability.  We invite and welcome visitors to see what we do. As teachers, it is expected that observers may visit us at any time. In a job that can often be isolating, it makes a difference to a teacher to have an open door. Like a stuffy house on a hot summer day, opening the classroom door can let in some fresh air. Openness allows a teacher to think about what the class looks like to an observer, and the very presence of an observer helps a teacher reflect on his or her own classroom management, routines, and instruction.
 
At City on a Hill, we also push each other to become better educators by observing our fellow teachers.  Each year, our teachers observe and are observed by their colleagues three times.  Last year, COAH teachers spent 160 hours observing each other.  That’s 160 hours of teaching in the light. After the observation, the two teachers meet with one another in pairs to discuss the class and the observed teacher asks for feedback within the context of his or her individual professional development goals. Since I’m counting, that’s 160 conversations about improving instruction every year. Such openness is not common in traditional district schools, I can assure you.  In far too many district schools there is a culture of privacy, closed doors, and maintaining the status quo.  City on a Hill has strived to break that down--to let in the light.
 
As the director of City on a Hill’s teacher certification program, I begin with the new teaching fellows in the dog days of August by going over the basic tenets of our school’s teaching philosophy. The tenet that sticks with me is the most is “No one can become a master teacher in isolation.” A school that does not design itself with this in mind cannot be successful, and a teacher who hides behind the darkness and privacy of a closed door will not flourish. After years, there may be growth, but the teacher will never fully bloom.
 
As educators strive with the increasingly difficult task of raising our nation’s children to the highest levels of achievement, we must let in the light. The most successful schools will be the ones that cultivate a faculty of master teachers that teach in bright light, open for all to see and discuss. Like my porch where I have to rearrange the furniture and placement of pots to allow sun-dependent flowers to thrive, so too must schools structure their professional development, schedule, and school culture to allow for teachers to observe and be observed. City on a Hill works hard to let in the light and develop a faculty that thrives in such an environment.

 If you would like to see how it can work, visit us and tell us what you think.  Be the light that we need to thrive. Come take a look at what we’re growing this year.


Ben Conrick is an English teacher and the Director of Teacher Development at City on a Hill.  Having taught at City on a Hill since 2004, he also supervises City on a Hill's Urban Teaching Fellowship and Peer Observation Program.  With 15 years in education, he holds a BA from Fredonia State University and an MA from the University at Albany.

An Event to Remember

It was spring semester of my senior year at Tufts University. I was getting bored of Somerville and Cambridge and itching to graduate, so I decided to look for an internship to keep me preoccupied. When I began the internship hunt, I had no idea what I was looking for.  I did know two things: 1) I’m passionate about education. 2) I wanted to be at a school.

And after a morning of searching, I found it – a development internship at City on a Hill Charter Public High School in Roxbury. Having been so secluded to one side of the Charles River, I had never heard of either the school or Roxbury, but I took a look around their website, did my research, and fell in love. I had finally found a school that had the aspects that I believed a good school should have: High Expectations, Citizenship, Leadership, and Accountability.

I applied immediately, and soon after, I was the new Development Intern. My main role was to assist in the planning and execution of the 2011 Gala, the annual fundraiser. However, being at the school only three times a week as well as in our fun-sized Development office never really gave the opportunity to get to know the students, teachers, or tutors, but it didn’t matter. I always looked forward to going to CoaH - not because I’m emphatic about development and event planning - but because there is this aura of support and dedication that lingers through the school’s halls that made it a pleasure to be there.

This sense of community was everywhere. I could hear it on the other side of the walls of our little office, where Mr. Dawson engaged his students on discussions about slavery and Mr. Johnson led experiments. I saw it as I passed the forum, where students work diligently with their tutors; I saw it at Town Meeting, where the entire school engages in a debate or celebrates each other’s successes.  In all aspects and in all departments, it became very clear to me that every staff member is dedicated to the students, and all of the students are intent on achieving goals and exceeding expectations.

I don’t know if there’s a recipe for such a powerful and positive experience within a school or how one even goes about creating that. Perhaps it’s because the school is so small (only 280 students) and everyone knows each other’s name, or perhaps it’s because the school building is also small that everyone is forced to be close together!  Either way, there’s no doubt that the CoaH culture embodies diligence and devotion combined with endless support and care.

After being immersed in the CoaH culture, I was motivated and determined to raise as much money as possible during our preparation for Gala. In my mind, every auction item secured and every trip to City Hall to obtain a charity wine license (that’s another blog entry in itself!) was a step closer to raising the resources and money the school needs to continue providing a great education to the students.  

Finally the night of Gala arrived, and it was extraordinary. Energy and excitement overflowed the event hall, and everything was running swimmingly!

…Were you expecting something to go horribly wrong and a funny anecdote to come out of it? To be perfectly honest, I was concerned about that happening the night of Gala also, but at worst, the event ran a little over.  Now, you may be wondering how we pulled off an awesome event without a hitch.

At City on a Hill, the staff constantly goes out of their way for each other, for the students, and for the school as a whole, and that was very apparent the night of Gala. Yes, the development team planned the event and executed it, but the entire staff helped pull it together. Teachers worked the check-in table; tutors decorated; and the students looked sharp, represented the school well, and blew our guests away with their talents and successes. People left inspired. 

As the event came to an end, I stood in the empty event space cleaning up centerpieces and felt an overwhelming sense of awe and gratitude. I sometimes fail to remember that a school is composed of more than just teachers and students. In fact, that night City on a Hill was everyone: staff members, students, their families, supporters, donors, volunteers. It’s quite a thrill to be part of something you believe in and then share and even celebrate that passion with hundreds of other people in one room, in one night. I will always be so grateful that I had the opportunity to be part of and contribute to such an amazing school.

A week later my internship ended.  With a goodbye card in one hand and a City on a Hill umbrella in the other, I walked away from the school to get on the Orange Line back to Tufts for the last time. As I approached the T, I called my sister telling her how much I already missed the school, and with the warmth of the sun beaming down on my face, I smiled and knew that I would never forget the people or the experience I had at CoaH. 


Angel Veza is now a Development Assistant at City on a Hill.  She continues to work on the annual gala, but also works on grant writing, student recruitment, and community engagement while at the same time working with students in Music Club and spending time in the classroom as a teacher's aide.

China

I traveled to China last summer on a scholarship to exchange best teaching practices with Chinese school teachers.  My team visited schools in Beijing, Xian and Shanghai.  The very first thing that one learns is that every student wants to speak to you in English. By the end of this year, China is predicted to become the largest English speaking country in the world.  All school children take classes in English, but are desperate to practice their speaking skills with a native speaker.  

The second discovery I made was that school children are school children wherever you go in this world.  I shadowed a few male students for the day, and at one point, nature came calling.  In English, I asked the boys to take me to the bathroom.  My three high school guides were more than happy to escort me to the men’s room.  Schools in urban China are mostly seven or eight stories high, so I was not surprised by the long walk and travel between floors.  They brought me to this room that did not look like a men’s room, but who was I to question a cultural difference.  They pointed to the door and told me to go in and I would have some privacy.  I entered the room, and, to my absolute shock, found myself standing in the principal’s office with the principal sitting behind his desk wondering who had just walked into his private space.  Before I could explain myself, I could hear the laughter fade into the stairwells as the boys ran off.  The principal was a proficient English speaker and I did my best to explain that I was lost and apologized for entering his office.  I am not sure if he believed me, but I kindly asked him where the men’s room was.

I think there may be some folklore circulating in our country that Chinese students go to school for twelve hours per day, 365 days a year.  This is simply not true.  Their school day is on average 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, but with a two-hour midday lunch break where many go home for lunch and family chores.  The summer break is around four to five weeks long where the students have enrichment actives, free time and do some studying for exams (Senior year is different because they take the equivalent of the S.A.T in the summer for entrance into university).  The national government does oversee all education and most placements into schools are based on the national exams at the end of every school year.  In all, an American would not be shocked spending a day in a Chinese school.  A student takes all the same basic classes as an American school child.  However, an educator would notice right away is the “drill” technique that is the predominant methodology in the classroom.

We were invited to share our practice of group work and how to engage the student to formulate their own questions.  For years, the system of teacher asking an objective question, student answering and so on, has been the way students prepare for national exams.  Education has recently been undergoing a reform and the Chinese are ready to learn ways to help their students to become more creative and analytical.  In one class, I was teaching a group about pre-Colombian Native American culture.  The students wanted to know the answers before I even posed the questions.  They were not familiar with a teacher asking open-ended questions. When I asked, “What do you think?”  I got blank stares that silently said to me, there is no solution to this question, what does this teacher want me to answer?  By the end of the class, I realized that I had to really push the student to evaluate what I was asking and attempt to formulate a thought that may or may not be correct; or to accept that there was no single correct answer.  By the end of my visit, I witnessed a school system with little to no discipline issues, students excited to learn and kids plotting the next practical joke the would play on me.

Here at City on a Hill, we have been designing our curriculum with a focus on incorporating analytical and evaluative questions for the student to wrestle with.  We want to foster independent learners where asking the questions are as important as knowing the answers.  Our students learn from each other and have the freedom to question the teacher.  What City on a Hill teachers are doing every day is creating a model of teaching and learning that a nation with a population nearing 2 billion is eager to implement in their system of education. 

Patrick Foley is in his sixth year teaching at City on a Hill.  He is the Lead History teacher and mentors both teaching fellows and the CoaHCORPS along with teaching World History. He holds a Masters of Teaching from Simmons, a Masters of Theology and a B.A. from St. John's Seminary and was awarded a Doctorate of Divinity.  He is in his 17th year teaching in the Boston area.

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

My son, Asante Sandiford, had a difficult last two years of middle school.  He had always had such a calm temperament and loved school so I was very surprised when I started receiving phone calls from administration putting me on notice of his behavioral issues.  I attributed some of this behavior to the hormonal changes of a growing teenager and some to the fact that his dad had been recently diagnosed with cancer.  My son constantly came home and complained of not liking school and his teachers.  Again, I attributed this to him becoming a teenager and decided to keep him in this school. After all, it was one of the top ranked middle schools in Boston, my son was in their advance work program and even one of our Presidents had visited and given the school accolades! After visiting to speak with a teacher with whom Asante was having a problem and a member of the administration, I was appalled.  This teacher was very antagonistic and the administrator chose to roll her neck and eyes while speaking to me!  I left the school that day knowing the choice I made regarding the institution where my son would be educated for the next four years was more crucial than ever.  Not only was I raising a young black man that was entering some of the most challenging years of his life, I was facing raising him alone.  His education was so important to keeping him on the right track in life and one fatal mistake could cost my son.  I had made the decision that my son would not continue in traditional district schools.  If he did not want to attend Boston Latin Academy (my high school alma mater) or one of the other examination schools, then I knew private school was the only option.  It was at this time Asante’s dad starting researching charter schools and came back with information he had found on a wonderful charter school named City on a Hill.  I was impressed by the testing scores, the uniform policy and the small school setting which guaranteed my son one-on-one time, if needed.  His dad had also known some parents of other students at the school and after having them rave about the academics, structure and discipline of the school my son was entered into the lottery and received a place at the school. My son was actually excited to start high school as were his dad and I.

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

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

The love that my son has for school is back.  City on a Hill offers a demanding curriculum that makes students work and Asante is invested in doing the work.  There is such an expectation of greatness and success at City on a Hill that they have helped instill in my son.  Freshman year was almost considered a disappointment by him because he did 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 once he found out he had to wear uniforms every day has now embraced wearing uniforms to school and loves dressing professionally for presentations and other events at the school.  Asante plays basketball at City on a Hill and has excelled.  Onaje Woodbine is a coach, mentor and positive influence for my son and the other young men on the team. It is great for the boys to see an educated man of color balance education and sports. The focus is always education first and Coach Woodbine has become a partner of mine in Asante’s basketball development.  The resources and time he gives to me, my son and the team are invaluable. Thanks to 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 a juvenile detention home or should have been arrested already.  Now that he does not have his dad, he is destined to fail.  City on a Hill is a well rounded school that is totally invested in my son doing well and I 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 educational success.

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

Giving Back

 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

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

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

I realize I have now joined the chorus of educators who continuously refer to the gratification in their work. When I started tutoring at City on a Hill, I couldn’t wait to find out what this gratification actually felt like. What does that ambiguous feeling of fulfillment truly mean? Would I feel it? Would it make the challenging work worth it?

I explained to my 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. The secret may be different for every educator, but as a first year tutor, I find gratification in knowing that as much as I can possibly teach my students, I will continually be surprised by what I learn from them.

Every tutorial class is different from the one before, and each brings fresh challenges requiring creativity and patience. I am getting to know my students’ unique personalities and dispositions and I am figuring out how to plan our classes to accommodate those. My students are teaching me how to motivate them each individually, how to 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 to embrace with an open mind.

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

And so I explained to my family that while I am sure there are plenty of other rewarding jobs, I have found a community that embraces and encourages our ability as students and educators to continually grow and improve. As an educator at City on a Hill, I am systematically a part of the continual reform and improvement of the education we provide – a reflection of just how much every member of our school learns everyday.

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

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

In Memory

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

In October, when I walked into Mt. Olive Kingdom Builders Church to celebrate Sean’s life after his sudden and premature passing, I was not taken aback by the number of people in attendance – the church teemed, people stacked outside the stone doorways craning their necks to join the service.  What struck me was the dominant number of City on a Hill graduates present from the classes of ‘02, ‘03, and ’04.  They sat together in tight pods throughout the congregation, shoulders pressed.  Ms. Pratt, Ms. Accime, two present students, and I attended the memorial.

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

Sean earned a full ride to the University of Vermont; he transferred to Bridgewater State his sophomore year to be closer to home and play basketball.  Like many of City on a Hill’s graduates, the biggest obstacle to college completion for Sean was tuition.  Though Sean was still working to finish his degree, he embodied a central pillar of City on a Hill’s mission: he consistently served his community.  Every summer, he worked for the YMCA helping with a camp, which developed into after-school mentorship and tutorial.  Weekdays and weekends he worked at different Y branches and for Boston Public after school programs mentoring and coaching.   Like his smile, everyone spoke of Sean’s altruism and of being touched by the cheer of this thoughtful and present young man who gently cared for grade school boys and girls as if they were his younger brothers and sisters. 

Waiting to pay our respects, we planned to hold a Town Meeting later that week and dedicate it to Sean.  Former classmates would come and fill the back of City on a Hill’s new auditorium.  Darrus Sands would speak of his memories of Sean, and describe 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 a Hill would follow in Sean’s footsteps and dedicate their lives to service.  We would hold a moment of silence, like moments of silence we had held many times before.  Only this time for one of our own.   

The line of mourners slowly reached the front of the church.  As I turned from paying my respects at the foot of the alter, I caught the eyes of the City on a Hill alumni and Central Y staff throughout the congregation and, for a moment, Mt. Olive Kingdom Builders Church was transformed back into Town Meeting in the Teen Center Auditorium on Huntington Ave ten years ago.  A Town Meeting consisting of thoughtful silence, or raucous celebration, or eloquent verbal parry, 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

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

…Actually, no, I wasn’t. None of those books, none of those papers, and none of my student teaching experiences had prepared me for a constantly-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-minute blocks; and an administration that was so hands-off that unless a student was puking 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 the power to suspend. Within the first week, there was a huge fight involving ripped out earrings, broken glass, a metal stapler, blood, and a concussion in the room next door. Unfortunately, that was only the beginning of the violence that 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 that teaching in this school is a lot like riding a terrifying roller coaster...in the dark.

When you walk in every morning, you have no idea whether it will be a good day or a bad day. You work hard to make it a good day. You plan like mad, you get to school at 6:00am to prepare, you try to be ready for anything. But then you go and screw it up. You make a few mistakes. Small, but crucial. The day begins to unravel. The kids feel it. You feel it. You try not to show it, but the tension in your voice is too obvious to hide. Your frustration builds. Their frustration builds. You lose what you'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 teach two-hour blocks...so you still have 100 minutes to go.

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

Kathleen Cushman says, “Good teaching requires the courage to look honestly at what is and imagine what it could be.” When I was struggling through that first year in Boston Public—a time I commonly refer to as ‘the winter of my life’—I looked at how poorly the school was run, how unsafe my students felt, and how alone I felt, and I imagined a school that served the same population but did it well. So I started looking, and I found City on a Hill. Here was a school that took the kids who lived next door to 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 or the most behind students; it simply isn’t true—I can tell you, they serve the exact same 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 this school. I definitely work with a fantastic group of people. I feel supported in so many ways (which can't be further from how I felt a year ago at my old school).  The exact moment that I realized this: My planning partner (who is also the Principal—all of the administrators teach!) and I were looking over my classroom contract from last year (a five-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 in place that cover them. Everyone is on board; I am no longer an island unto myself. Hoorah!!

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

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

City on a Hill students are in school for a long day.  They arrive at or before 7:45am and most don’t leave until 4:30pm.  Those who participate in after school clubs or sports stay as late as 5:30 or 6pm.  For some, that’s a 10-hour day before homework – longer than many people spend at their full-time jobs.  They also have an extended week.  Students have Saturday school one Saturday per month, where freshmen and sophomores take practice MCAS exams, juniors take practice SAT tests, and the seniors taking AP courses come in to do work in those classes.  And if longer school days and longer school weeks are not enough, CoaH students also have a longer school year than their district counterparts.  All incoming freshmen attend a two-week long Freshman Academy in August, and starting in September with the start of the traditional school year, City on a Hill students are in school for 190 days, compared to 180 days for their friends in district schools.

We must also not forget that for all the extra time City on a Hill students spend in school CoaH faculty and staff members spend an equal amount of time, if not more, helping students succeed as they navigate through CoaH’s rigorous academic curriculum in preparation for college.  The dedicated staff at City on a Hill work countless hours outside of the school day, week, and year.  They work with students before and after school when they need extra help outside of class.  They meet with parents and guardians to form a united and supportive front as their students prepare for college.  They coach sports teams and advise clubs to ensure that their kids have access to the same well-rounded high 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 the evenings 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 we have here.  One might think that after all the time put in on a regular basis, students and staff would cherish the time to themselves when a free weekend presents itself.  So, when the American Diabetes Association offered City on a Hill the opportunity to show its support for another great cause by participating in its annual Walk for Diabetes, I was amazed at the response.  This past Saturday, I showed up at the Boston Common, looking for the City on a Hill check-in table.  It wasn’t hard to find, as I quickly spotted the throngs of familiar smiling faces – some of which had been there since 8:30am – waiting eagerly for the walk to start.  While the mob of CoaH students and staff walked around the Common with thousands of other walkers from all over the city, I hung back at the check-in table, just in case any latecomers were looking for the group.  Sure enough, students and staff kept coming, some running to catch up with the rest of the group to participate in the walk, others to simply hang out and show their support for the ADA and for the school that they already dedicate so much time to.

Christine Bullard came to City on a Hill in 2009 and is the school’s Assistant Director of Development & Community Relations.  She has a 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

At City on a Hill Charter Public School, there are not separate classes 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 do these things, or they will not graduate.  We never lower the standards for any of 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.

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

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

If that’s what it felt like for a “smart kid,” what must it have felt like for the student who just...couldn’t? Who couldn’t handle the “hard” classes, who knew at age 15 that he was not bound for college.  I’m deeply ashamed to say:  I have no idea.  I wasn’t friends with any of them.

City on a Hill does not segregate its students through tracking.  There is one rigorous English 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, you cannot go onto sophomore English, and you cannot become a sophomore.  Some students finish it on their first try, some need two or three, but all of our graduates have passed all four English classes.  The same is true for other subjects.  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 you successful you are in your courses.  To those of us who were indoctrinated into the value system of tracking, this can seem at first excessively harsh.  But City on a Hill is quick to remind everyone that no students “fail” – the only grades are A, B, C and “Not Yet Passing.”  You are not a failure if you do not pass English I, you just need another try before you are ready to pass.

As these subtle language changes demonstrate, a lot of teaching is self-esteem management.  For too long, too many teachers have thought that if students were encouraged, then they could succeed.  In my high school, this resulted in a lot of students in the “easy classes” who were robbed of an education and given platitudes in exchange.  At City on a Hill, we reverse the logic:  if students succeed, then they will be encouraged.  Their teachers will provide the encouragement initially, but the students will eventually learn to encourage and motivate themselves.

Every student at City on a Hill has a tutor, and while part of our job is to make sure they succeed, an even more important part is to make sure they know they can succeed.  One of my students, who did not pass geometry last year and is a sophomore again because of it, stopped me in the hall this week to tell me good news. 

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

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

In my high school experience, I can honestly say I never 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 any A.  I gave her a high-five and asked her if she thought she could get it to a B in time for report cards. 

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

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

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

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


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