But not for the class of 2020.

The coronavirus killed that dream for high schoolers across the country. And the seniors of Bayfront Charter High School are mourning all the memories lost.

“After 12 years of hard work, I almost made it to the finish line,” said Damarys Felix, a senior at Bayfront Charter High School. “But no, it took a different turn to where there’s no promise that I will be able to experience walking on the stage to receive my diploma.”

Graduating from high school is meaningful to many families, but for Felix’s family it’s more special, she described it as the “American Dream.”  

“Being able to accomplish their goal, giving my siblings and I a better future,” said Felix. “It can be kind of discouraging to carry a positive mentality and then not being able to have that moment to celebrate my accomplishment.”

Ezra Martinez, 18, said the senior traditions are important.

 “It’s just something all seniors do, it’s part of your life,” said Martinez. “Mostly everyone goes through it, so it really wouldn’t be fair if we didn’t.”

Graduation was the last high school memory he’d been looking forward to.

“It hurts to think that,‘Wow I probably really won’t be able to walk on the stage and get my name called out,’” said Martinez. 

Adriana Ezpinoza, 18, believed she would be returning to school shortly after the lockdown. She regrets not saying goodbye to her friends.

“I miss hugging them and joking around with them,” said Espinoza. “I didn’t really get to say goodbye properly thinking I was going to return to school.”

Anthony Garcia, 18, also did not believe the school closures will last. He said these last minute changes have affected him emotionally.  

“We’re all used to seeing each other daily and having that change very drastically is kind of hard for us,” said Gacia. “It makes me emotional because I don’t get to experience it like everybody else did.”

Sara Lim, 18, is part of the school’s graduation committee. Along with other students and teachers they discussed possibilities to make sure they have a ceremony. 

“They’re expecting to celebrate us eventually once this is over and it’s safe,” said Lim. “But as of right now, we’re trying to find ways for us to be celebrated following the social distancing rules.”  

Looking forward to attending graduation and prom was helping students through this pandemic, she said. These seniors were supposed to have prom on April 25th.

“I was really considering just wearing my dress at home and like being sad in it,” said Espinoza. 

Although Espinoza did not wear her dress, Felix did. Her sisters took photos of her in different dresses. They later walked upstairs to the rooftop and surprised her with a small prom.

“I kind of cried you know because it’s such a memorable day that you expect it to actually happen and be around your friends,” said Felix. “But having my sisters and my family do it for me was very special.” 

Grad night, which was a trip to Disneyland, was canceled too. “I was really looking forward to spending the night at Disney with my friends, it just sounded like a really great experience with them before we left high school,” said Ezpinoza.

But these seniors are still at the start of their lives.

“Hold on for the ride, because it doesn’t end here for sure,” said Garcia. “There’s still a lot more ahead of us.”

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Over the past three years, participation numbers in high school football have been on a steady decline. Besides the pressure of classes and extracurriculars, students have to deal with the harsh reality of concussions.

“This sport is not meant for human bodies. It’s barbaric, but people like it so not much we can do,” said Dapo Balogun of Newark, New Jersey.

According to a National Federation of High School Associations’ athletic participation survey concussions are the number one reason why participation numbers have dropped. Parents are concerned about the growing research on Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) and head trauma injuries that can leave damaging effects on the body.

A concussion is a traumatic brain injury that is caused by a violent force to the head or neck area. Concussions usually affect motor and memory skills, but the effects of the brain injury are temporary. Not diagnosing a concussion can lead to other serious brain effects in the long term and can lead to chronic traumatic encephalopathy, better known as CTE.

According to the  National Federation of State High School Associations, 1,057,407 participated in 11 man football in 2016. In 2017, the number dropped to 1,036,842, a two percent decline from the previous. In 2016, 14,099 high schools sponsored 11 man football in 2017 the number dropped to 14,059, a 20 school decrease from the previous year. The numbers have declined steadily over the years.

“The number one reason for these numbers declining is the rising talks of brain injuries and concussions,” said Bob Carrich, Senior Athletic Director at Bergen Catholic High School. “These findings on brain injuries are making parents more concerned about the realities of playing contact football.”

Bergen Catholic is one of the elite high school football programs in New Jersey. Although they don’t cut players, participation numbers at the high school declined slightly. Carrich also offered low enrollment at the high school as another reason for participation numbers decreasing in the sport.

The NJSIAA (New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association), set out new rules in February to limit the amount of time there is for full padded contact practices. In 2018, high schools were allowed 90 minutes of player-on-player contact sessions a week. Moving forward into 2019, high schools will only be allowed 15 minutes of player-on-player contact for the week. These rules were set in place to limit the number of concussions and head injuries sustained during practice, that can affect athletes during the games.

Kenneth Isadare is a junior league football coach from Orange, New Jersey  has noticed the concern with parents regarding concussions and head injuries. His coaching staff has made it imperative to put regulations on player-to-player contact situations at practice. They’ve no longer allowed live tackling sessions and only let their kids practice in full equipment, one day out of the week.

“Trying to keep these kids safe starts with us, ” said Isadare. “We notice the participation numbers going down, but we can fix that by putting these kids in the safest of scenarios as possible.”

Although several preventive measures have been put in place to limit the number of concussions, some parents feel that the violent nature of the sport will still have parents hesitant in allowing their kids to play high school football.

“It’s an overall dangerous game,” said Ernestina Cancam of Bloomfield, New Jersey. “Even if they put restrictions on the game, the players will still experience the after-effects of brain injuries when they are done playing.”

When the New Jersey high school football season resumes in August, players will be under the strictest contact rules in the country. The emphasis on limiting head and neck injuries and player safety has been a major topic of discussion for high school athletic committees. Kevin Carty Jr, who was the president of the New Jersey Football Coaches Association’s executive board believes the regulations should boost up participation rates statewide.

“We want to keep our kids safe and we want people to know this is happening. By making it a mandate statewide, it can ease the fears of a lot of parents,” he said.

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Reporting by Bowen Li, Justin Ratcherford, Monay Robinson Justin Hicks, Amy Zahn, Lisa John Rogers, Polina Meshkova, Keziah Tutu, Lauren Garry and Farnoush Amiri.

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It’s just after noon on Friday at Franklin Delano Roosevelt High School, in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. Twenty seven students swarmed into their stuffy, 11th grade social studies class.

This was their last social studies class before the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks that changed their city and their world. Michael Scherer, 38, their teacher, planned to teach his annual 9/11 class as he had been doing for the past five years.

“Raise your hand if you heard the word virtue before? What does it mean?” he asked the class.

He defined virtue as “doing what is right for the common good and expecting nothing in return.”

Scherer started a discussion about whether people do good deeds out of their natural kindness or for payback. He asked the students for their thoughts and the response was spilt down the middle.

“The point of today’s lesson is to kind of prove that wrong,” he said of those who believed payback was a reason to do good. Scherer had a very personal story to share about virtue and doing good for nothing in return.

Scherer’s father-in-law, Vincent J. Albanese, a veteran firefighter, was among thousands of heroic first responders, who rushed to the World Trade Center and helped to rescue trapped workers after the two planes crashed into the towers. For several months after the attack, he supported clean up efforts at ground zero.

But the toxic dust made Albanese sick, Scherer said. In 2010, he died of bladder cancer. He was 63.

“I watched him pretty much die,” he said.

Scherer isn’t the only teacher who emphasizes 9/11 education at the school. All the social studies teachers at FDR high school are required to teach 9/11 in their curriculum.

Michael Scherer, 38, social studies teacher of Franklin Delano Roosevelt High School. He has been teaching 9/11 to high school students for five years. Photo by Julie Liao.

In fact, the first comprehensive 9/11 education plan for teenagers in New York City was released by a nonprofit group in 2009. Two years later, cooperating with the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, the Department of Education of NYC provided online teaching materials for students from kindergarten to high school. Through stories, videos and interactive activities, the students would learn about the attacks in four parts, “community and conflicts”, “historical impact”, “heroes and services” and “memory and memorialization”.

But since it is not mandatory, not all schools teach it.

FDR high school administrators believe it is an important part of history and should not be ignored.

“We teach them those events and also some of the historical context in which they occurred to raise awareness about not only global terrorism,but about the resiliency of the American people after those events occurred,” said Christine Imbemba, the assistant principal of this school as well as a social studies teacher.

But 45 minutes is not enough to study 9/11. Although both Imbemba and Scherer said they are more than willing to spend the whole school day teaching 9/11, they have to comply with the school’s curriculum schedule.

After the discussion, Scherer had his students watch the documentary, “The Man in the Red Bandanna.” It is the story of Welles Crowther, 24-year-old equities trader working on the 104th floor of the World Trade Center during the attack. Somehow he found an escape route and led three trips up and down the stairs, even carrying survivors. His body was found in the rubble six moths later.

“… like what if that was me, what if that was my son, what if that was my brother,” said David Ismailati, 16, a student about the documentary. The teen believes terrorism is still a big threat.

Ismailati said he may do an oral history as his 9/11 homework assignment. His father was working about ten blocks away during the attack.

“He had to walk all the way from around the World Trade Center back to Brooklyn because there was no subway,’’ he said. “He came back covered in debris completely.”

Despite the limited time and resources, Scherer said he believes his students will understand his theme of selfless virtue and 9/11.

“I know it was just like a small message, but I think it might resonate,” he said.

The post Teaching 9/11 appeared first on Pavement Pieces.

The narrow stairway led to the gym, one of the city’s premier boxing training facilities. A wide range of people visit the gym located off Madison Avenue and 26th St. in Manhattan, including some of the nation’s top prospects. From young to old, raw to polished, all boxers are taught to protect their head, but perhaps having a head worth protecting is what’s important.

“I had to quit high school, couldn’t even get a GED,” said Jose Lopez, a former boxer. “It’s too much, it becomes your life. Tests, exams, it’s draining, takes away from your boxing.”

Lopez, 24, is a trainer at Mendez. The Mexican native, who grew up boxing in California, explained the intense dedication it takes to seriously pursue a career in the sport. Young boxers get up early to workout, follow strict eating regiments, do not partake in nightlife, and some, as Lopez did, drop out of school. Despite living in the United States for most of his life, Lopez does not speak English well, and considered himself fortunate to be employed.

“Boxing is my life, it’s all I got. I’m lucky I have a job,” said Lopez, who now resides in Washington Heights. “Most boxers are poor, so they try to make money, that’s why turning pro is an option. But it doesn’t always workout.”

One boxer keen on turning pro is 16-year-old Josue Vargas. Vargas is about 5 feet 7 inches tall, thin but cut, with remnants of facial hair on his upper lip. His dad is a trainer at Mendez, and the duo just got back from Reno, NV, where Josue earned silver at the USA Youth National Championships, fighting at 141 pounds. Vargas goes to high school in the Bronx, but cannot promise that he will earn a diploma.

Jouse Vargas showing off the gloves after a second place finish at this year’s USA Youth National Championships (Photo Credit: Ben Shapiro)

“A high school diploma is important to have, because you never know if you can make it in boxing. But when you’re a talented fighter, there’s a whole different story,” said Vargas. “To be honest, school right now has been tough for me, I’m too focused on boxing. I got a better chance with boxing than school, and I’m not really doing that well in school right now,” he admitted.

Amateur boxers must be 18 to become professional in New York City, and Vargas plans on making the leap as soon as he is of age. His next few seasons will determine whether he has what it takes to sustain a professional career, but not all boxers are so fortunate to even have the opportunity to try their hand in the pros. It’s for this reason that one of Mendez’s long time trainers, Elliot Nass, refuses to train young boxers that are not enrolled in high school.

Trainer Elliot “The Technician” Nass working with a young boxer (Photo Credit: Ben Shapiro)

“I train kids that are 15,16. I don’t give a crap how good they fight. If they don’t have homework, I’m not going to train you, go home,” said Nass, who’s been involved in boxing for 34 years. “Yeah, no way, there’s no excuse. If you’re poor, at least you know you can go to school.”

John Nazriev is one of Nass’s prized fighters and graduated high school in his native country of Tajikistan. Nazriev, 24, completed three years of college before moving to the United States, but has been unable to complete his degree while in America. Boxing, among other issues, has slowed down the fighter’s academic interests.

“I was going to come here to transfer my schooling, but unfortunately that couldn’t happen. Once I started boxing, everything became gym and work, and no time for anything else,” said Nazriev, who is the amateur purebred champion at 152 pounds. “I would like to, but when I get the opportunity. Right now, it’s kind of tough.”

The post Young boxers fight to stay in school appeared first on Pavement Pieces.

Charmaine Delotch, 18, center, laughs with her track teammates at practice in March 2011. Paul Robeson High School in Brooklyn is one of 23 city schools set to phase-out this fall, which will slash funding for after school sports. Photo by Rachel Ohm

The Paul Robeson High School girl’s track team placed sixth in the city championships this season and sent two girls to states.

But after New York City’s Panel on Education Policy voted to phase-out Paul Robeson, blocking new student enrollment at the school last month, the track team’s chance for future success might be cut short.

The phase-out will apply to 23 other city schools this fall—and slashing resources, allocated based on student enrollment, could threaten sports teams and other afterschool activities.

According to the Department of Education educational impact statement on the proposed phase-out, “Robeson would continue offering student athletics and other extracurricular programs options, but the number and range of programs offered may gradually diminish due to declining student enrollment as the school phases out.”

Horace Sutherland, a track coach at Paul Robeson for 21 years, said that without incoming freshmen, the team has little room for growth.

“If you are not able to recruit any freshmen, the team starts to fall apart without the numbers to support it,” he said.

The decision to close Paul Robeson was first introduced by the Panel in 2009; but because of a lawsuit brought forth by the NAACP and the teacher’s union, the school has remained open.

Still, there are only 30 students in Paul Robeson’s upcoming freshmen class, which is much smaller than this year’s graduating class of about 100 students.

The Public School Athletic Association rules dictate that a team must have at least 12 people on the roster to participate in competition. There are 13 girls on the Paul Robeson track team this year but six of them are seniors.

Of those six, five have been recruited by colleges and three were offered scholarships.

“I cannot recall a student who joined the team and who did not go on to college,” said Sutherland. “We have had a lot of students; hundreds of them have gotten track scholarships.”

With the future of sports teams compromised, many students at phase-out high schools feel they are losing a valuable resource.

Yet former New York City Schools Chancellor Joel Klein said the phase-out process is the best alternative to keeping a failing school open.

“There are kids there in the middle of an education and to try to relocate them is an enormous challenge,” he said. “Second of all, its very hard to start a new, effective school. Its hard to build a new and different culture.”

One possible solution is combining phase-out school teams with teams at new schools. Right now, there are two schools –The Academy of Health Sciences and a new specialized school called Pathways in Technology—looking to move into the Paul Robeson building.

While a co-location could keep Paul Robeson’s track team alive, it can only do so much for school spirit.

“It’s going to be pretty tough if [Paul Robeson] phases out because I would like to see my graduating class and what they’re up to and have a reunion with them,” said Shernika Paul, 17, a senior at the school and track team member. “I guess that wont be happening. I would also like to come back and share my stories with future students at Paul Robeson but that’s not going to be happening.”

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