New Haven Independent

The charter school, New Haven’s highest-achieving public school, had students show staff around their own neighborhoods Monday.

The idea is to learn more about the lives of these fifth-through-eighth graders, what their daily non-school reality is like. The tours were led by Amistad students themselves and other neighborhood residents.

This reporter tagged along with the eighth-grade team of about half a dozen teachers and counselors, joined by the school’s operations manager and the dean of students.

Vaughn Collins, an Amistad teacher who grew up in New Haven (pictured on the left with fellow teacher and New Haven native Seth Poole), said things have really changed since his days at Hillhouse High School, when kids from different parts of town settled beefs by playing basketball. Asked if he wasn’t seeing through rose-colored memories, he stuck to his story and elaborated. Click here to listen.

The group met up with Ward 22 Alderman Greg Morehead (pictured), who spoke about the neighborhood and, what he’s already accomplished and what he hopes to achieve in the future. In the former category he mentioned a rally for universal health care, promoting senior rights, stop the violence youth tours, neighborhood clean-ups, and, especially, Open Mic nights for aspiring musicians at Wexler Grant School. He spoke outside the school, his back to the Q House — a community anchor for decades that has been shuttered for the past several years “due to poor management,” he said. He wants to bring in an arts and technology center there to give youth a positive outlet that could also train them for future employment. Click here to listen his thoughts.

Demetria DuBose (pictured at the top of the story with teacher Karen Kirch) also gave a tour to faculty last year, emphasizing the dangers and other negative aspects of life for kids in the neighborhood. Click here to listen.

This time she emphasized the positive, pointing out a health center and two churches in the neighborhood. She said she likes her school, though it is more work, both in class time and homework, because it prepares students for high school and college.

Click here for Vaughn Collins’ take on the school’s success and here
for the impact of parents’ participation.

As this reporter biked back to work, she passed the seventh-grade Amistad team touring Newhallville. Jeff House, who just moved here from Boston, where he was teaching at another charter school, said the neighborhood tours are a great idea. “Otherwise, we might just be familiar with the school and nothing else,” he said.