New Haven Independent

Mayo’s appearance Thursday morning coincided with a plan to expand on the experiment taking place in the Beecher classroom and create an all-boys public school in New Haven.

Tavon Vereen, a fifth-grader in Ferguson’s all-boy classroom, said switching from Davis Street 21st Century Magnet School, which does not have same-sex classes, has helped him get focused on his schoolwork. Vereen, who said he was struggling in school just last year, now has his name at the top of a list of students who have reached their academic goals. In his case, he has improved his grades in English.

“Girls can get you in to trouble,” Vereen said. “In a boys class you can accomplish more.”

Jermaine Boykin, who went to Timothy Dwight School last year, said he likes that students are rewarded for good behavior with leadership positions, taking care of the K-4 graders at the bus stop, for example. But it is easier to get in trouble at Beecher than at Dwight, Boykin said.

In his appearance as guest teacher Thursday, Mayo stressed the importance of practice, hard work, and discipline.

“You have to behave yourself, don’t you?” Mayo asked the students. “Otherwise, they’ll kick you out of what?”

“High school,” they answered in unison. =

Students greeted Mayo by reading short essays on what they want to be when they grow up, what obstacles they will have to overcome, and how they plan on achieving their goals. All of the students who spoke said they plan on going to college, including the aspiring athletes, who said they want to play ball while they study for a career.

“You didn’t always need a high school education,” Mayo told the class. “There used to be a lot of factories. At the time, you could just finish high school, then get a job working at one of those factories. If you worked a little overtime, you could get yourself a house, get yourself a family, raise some children. But things have changed. Technology has changed a lot of things. People who own factories are interested in cheap labor now, and those jobs are moving overseas, so you can’t get away with a high school education anymore, you’ve got to go to college. Don’t let anyone fool you.”

Chaz Brown, one of four boys in the class to make honor roll this year, said he wants to go to college, then culinary school to become a chef.

“I’m disappointed nobody said they want to be a teacher,” Mayo said, smiling. “We need more teachers, guys like you who are going to inspire other boys to go to college. We are going to need a new superintendent.”