TCS 2016 Student Exchange Publication

est. 2003

THE

NORTH RI D G E

REPORTER

with

MAY 19, 2016

BRYANT HIGH SCHOOL

special edition

CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL

LEFT Central mual TOP RIGHT Bryant mural BOTTOM RIGHT Central JROTC mural Photos by Fatema Dhondia

PUZZLING THE PIECES TOGETHER

Principals discuss views on rezoning Rezoning is a topic that has been covered by professional news citywide, but because Northridge is the only city school with a student newspaper, rezoning coverage by student media has lacked perspective.

Through the exchange, Northridge reporters have realized that there are more pieces to the puzzle as principals from Central and Bryant High School have different feelings about the Board’s plan to rezone.

Linda Harper, principal at Bryant, a school physically the same size as Northridge but less populated, said that rezoning will solve the overcrowding problem at Northridge, a school of over 1300 students compared to Bryant’s 875.

“If [rezoning is] for the purpose of leveling out the numbers… it eliminates the pressure off the kids in [Northridge] and it kind of evens the numbers out across all of the high schools,” Harper said.

For the students who will be coming from Northridge to Bryant, Harper said she will welcome them with open arms.

“I am welcoming the students that are coming over from Northridge; we’ll become one, one school. We’ll continue doing what we’ve done and doing our very best,” she said. “...I will treat the Northridge students as my students because they will

become my students… I don’t foresee any “I think the kids are resilient. I think the problems.” kids will be fine if the grown-ups welcome The same goes for the Central students, them and love them and support them...

Harper said.

Kids adapt to the strangest things. “ “We have a lot of students from CenHarper said she wants the new students tral that attend Bryant… and we don’t call to recognize that they are now part of the them anything but our students. They are “Stampede,” but she doesn’t want to “force” our students, they’re not ‘Central kids’ or a sense of unity on them. whatever labels people give them,” she said.

“We don’t want a division… we don’t Rezoning, in Harpwant two high er’s view, will only schools in one buildmake the schools ing,” she said. “... stronger.

We’re all one. We’re “I know that when not Jags, we’re not you come in the buildFalcons, we’re all DR. LINDA HARPER ing, no matter how Stampede.”

BRYANT HIGH SCHOOL you feel, you have to be To make the tranPRINCIPAL treated with a level of sition easier, Harprespect,” she said. “We er said she wants to are family now.” have a ceremony for Harper said she bethe new students to lieves that students will not find issue with say goodbye to their old schools and welrezoning; instead, the adults will be the less come their new school. She had an idea, adaptable ones. for example, for the Northridge students “I think the grownups don’t get that [stu- to fold up their old “paraphernalia,” putting dents from different schools] already hang their Jaguar T-shirts aside for the year. out together, already know each other... It’s “We are going to make them feel that not like ‘those kids’ and ‘these kids’ - they’re they are at home here with the same levjust coming to the same building. I think el of pride they had at their other high it’ll just make us much stronger,” she said. school,” she said.

“A lot of talented, smart kids are coming Harper said she has high hopes for the from Northridge, and we have a lot of tal- future - but this is only Bryant’s piece of ented, smart kids here. And we can only get the rezoning puzzle. better at what we do.”

Central’s Principal Clarence Sutton sug-

“

We are family now.

“

FATEMA DHONDIA NORTHRIDGE

gested that the plan should only affect 8th graders who will be entering high school next year.

“I think the [rezoning] is too fast, too soon,” Sutton said.

And, for the principal who has worked tirelessly to implement a series of college readiness and peer mentorship programs, including the school’s prized IB program, at his alma mater, Sutton said he wants the climate at Central to remain the same.

“I like Central, I really do; we are going to try not to change [the vibe of the school]... we have a good thing goin’ on,” he said.

However, Sutton said that he would do anything to make the new students comfortable in his school.

“We are going to do whatever we can to make every kid comfortable who comes to Central High School,” he said. “...I want my students happy.”

While rezoning is bringing change, some argue whether that change will be negative or positive. After traveling to Central and Bryant, two more pieces of the rezoning puzzle have been brought to light.

However, it is still not complete. Every student in the Tuscaloosa City Schools system is a piece of this puzzle; everybody has their own story, their own concerns and their own perspectives. And it is necessary for all opinions of those affected to be voiced.

AT A GLANCE

The background of the exchange PAGE 2 Shedding light on the misconceptions of Central PAGE 3 Central senior recieves almost $3 million in scholarships PAGE 5 Bryant senior commits to Harvard PAGE 6

EXCHANGE Exchange students Destiny Hodges and Fatema Dhondia and their mentors Jaylyn Fraizer, Laboris Perry observe Ms. Tenesia Smith’s Algebra 1B. Smith’s class uses chromebooks to complete PLATO coursework. For more on the student exchange visit northridgereporter.wordpress.com.

Photo by Fatema Dhondia

2

STILL OVERCOMING: EXCHANGE PROJECT PASSES ON TO NEXT GENERATION

The background of the ‘student swap,’ and what it means to us JAMES NIILER NORTHRIDGE HIGH SCHOOL Tuscaloosa’s ‘Student Swap’ has occurred for its second consecutive year, and having been one of the original creators of this project, I cannot express enough how much satisfaction and joy my friends and I feel that this exchange, which has prevailed against incredible odds, is slowly but surely bringing unity and reconciliation to the schools in our city.

Friends, family and regular readers of The Northridge Reporter will recall how during the 2014-15 academic year, my friends Camri Mason, senior; Rebecca Griesbach, senior; and myself fought for a student exchange to occur between the three high schools in the Tuscaloosa City system. Nikole Hannah-Jones, a professional journalist who had investigated the racial and socioeconomic disparities in the school system, inspired us, and we decided, like her, to do some investigative journalism of our own.

Our mission was not to condemn, but to inform; not to create discord and bitterness, but unity and peace; not to reaffirm demeaning stereotypes that sow distrust, but rather to create a new way of thinking about our schools that would reconcile us, regardless of our differences in race, class or politics.

Despite compromises that had

EXPECTATIONS

OVERCROWDED STuCK uP uNWELCOMING

VERY DIVERSE FRIENDLY ATTENTIVE SuPPORTIVE

“GHETTO” RuDE

RuDE STuDENTS

ISOLATED

uNITED COLORFuL BIG FAMILY

REALITY to be made and the lack of media attention, our exchange did occur, bringing positivity and hope to students who had previously been dismissed by the broad smear of stereotype. And then—thanks to the leadership of our own Destiny Hodges, the willing and active participation of students from all schools and the assistance of

DISCONNECTED SIMILAR TO CENTRAL

VERY DIVERSE ENCOuRAGING POLITE Graphic by Fatema Dhondia and Destiny Hodges

school system administrators— the exchange has occurred again.

A new generation of leaders has been raised up in our city. They aren’t particularly old, but they are passionate and confident— passionate that the blindness of prejudice and animosity between our schools can be overcome, and confident that they have

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Special thanks to Mrs. Earnestine Tucker, Mr. Terry Roller, Ms. Lesley Bruinton, Dr. Avis Williams, Dr. Robert Coates, Mr. Lee Garrison, Dr. Clarence Sutton, Dr. Linda Harper, Mr. Kyle Ferguson, Mrs. Rhonda Lane, Mr. Tyrone Jones, Mrs. Joy Snoddy and Mr. Michael Otero for their inspiration, advice, and guidance in helping to make our dream become a reality.

Also, thank you to the student mentors at Bryant, Central, and Northridge High Schools: Alayciana Smith, Jaylyn Fraizer, Laboris Perry, Addie Akins, Cedric Brown, and Thomas Mullins for their willingness to see the project succeed and the wonderful hospitality they showed to guests. Thank you also to Seth Cunningham, who graciously oversaw the video production aspect of the project.

the means to do so. And as our schools prepare to undergo historic changes, these student leaders will be at the forefront of whatever occurs, ready to expose wrongs, right injustices and bring harmony to our city.

As my friends and I prepare to graduate, we pass the torch of leadership in this enterprise

on to this next generation. May they be fearless, ready to tackle the burdens of the past, but filled with hope as they seek to create a better future for our schools and our community.

Niiler, senior, is Editor-in-Chief of The Northridge Reporter and was a participant in the 2015 exchange.

Thank you also to all of our friends, peers, parents and those who encouraged us and took interest in our project.

And last but not least, a huge thank-you goes to our original inspiration for this project, Mrs. Nikole Hannah-Jones.

STUDENT EXCHANGE PARTICIPANTS Northridge

Destiny Hodges, Fatema Dhondia

Central

Shay Cosby, Naj’zhae Handy, Jayla Frazier, Alisha Caves

Bryant

Another big thank-you goes to the unsung heroes of this proj- Felica Hamilton, Casey Bonner, Kennedy Walton ect: the counselors who prepared our schedules, the bus drivers For more stories, photos of the 2016 student exchange, visit us who drove us each morning, and the teachers and administraonline at www.northridgereporter.wordpress.com tors who taught us at our host schools and showed us around.

We couldn’t have done this without you!

3

KIDS ARE KIDS:

Central student thinks s c h o o l s a re s i m i l a r

SHAY COSBY CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL

“Kids are kids.” This was a common phrase stated by the principals and some teachers at Bryant and Northridge High School in regards to the differences between all three high schools, and I couldn’t agree more.

Once I stepped foot in Bryant and Northridge, I realized that it was just like Central. Whether at Central, Bryant, or Northridge, you will still see students walking and laughing along with one another. It did not matter if they came from the same middle school or if they had just met in ninth grade; no one was excluded.

Based on this observation, the rezoning that has been set in place will have no effect on the social relationships of the students.

Also, those friends that were left back in middle school are just a phone call away.

Not only were the students the same, but the teachers were too. At every school, there

were always those teachers who reminded you of a teacher at your own school.

They have a close bond with the students and have made themselves available outside of the classroom to tend to students.

In my opinion, the teachers at all three schools are hired specifically to connect and push their students to success.

The behaviors of the students and teachers may be the same, but it does not stop the rivalry. During certain sports, you can find seats packed with fans in either blue and black, red and white, or navy blue and gold.

Friendships between schools do not stop students from cheering for their school to win. The rivalry extends as far as academically also. Students strive for high grades and test scores and compare themselves to the students at the other schools.

But, luckily, these rivalries do not cause tension off the field and out of the classrooms.

BRYANT Students walk through the courtyard to get to lunch.

Photo by Destiny Hodges

ALL SCHOOLS ARE CREATED EQUAL:

Caves sheds light on misconceptions of Central

description. Several people in the community have chosen to let false rumors and wrongful opinions skew their judgement of Central.

I didn’t want to go to Central.

I also can’t help but mention Central beI tried everything within my power to transfer to Northridge the second semester ing labeled as a “failing school.” The word of my eighth grade year at Magnet Middle. “failing” holds such a negative connotation, I even tried to put in a letter of hardship, as the word means “to fall short of success expressing that the April 27 tornado affect- or achievement in something expected, ated me emotionally and that it would help tempted, desired, or approved.”

However, I’d like everyone to consider if I wasn’t separated from my friends, a majority of which were going to Northridge. the criteria for being on the failing schools When it was denied, I was devastated; I list as described by the Alabama Accounthad no choice but to attend Central in the ability Act. First of all, placement on this list is based fall.

Like many of you, I had a lot of bad im- on data that is taken from the past six years, ages of Central in my head, that it was “a which means data from students who have ghetto school” full of thugs and violence. already graduated is still being considered.

These images were based off of rumors and According to Central’s principal Dr. Clarthe students I saw walking to Central as ence Sutton in his article published in the I rode to school every day. But as I reflect Tuscaloosa News, “Recently, the law was on these memories, I realize I was only an amended to consider yearly test scores… outsider looking in, just like many of you For the two previous years, Central did not score in the bottom 6 percent of schools in are now.

Many of you haven’t even stepped one Alabama.”

The test scores Sutton is referring to are foot inside of Central, but yet you already taken from the ACT Aspire, which is taken have a picture of it in your mind. by sophomores.

Think about this: I can attest that would you trust a Photo by Destiny Hodges the range of knowl- CENTRAL Ms. Tenesia Smith’s Algebra 1B class uses chromebooks to complete PLATO blind man to figure edge I possessed in coursework. out what’s wrong my sophomore year increases in the state. Central was also the ceptions” in this article. My years at Central with your car’s enis very miniscule first school in the city and county to estab- have been some of the best years of my life; gine? Would you compared to what lish a dual enrollment program at Shelton I made new friends, got to know some awetake his opinion I learned in my State Community College and still are of- some teachers, and I feel as if I have been into consideration junior and senior fering these classes at no cost to the student. truly prepared for college and the world bewhen trying to year in the IB pro- 10-12 grade students have earned over 220 yond. Dr. Sutton, as well as the faculty and decide if a certain ALISHA CAVES, gram. Plus, this has hours of college credit this year, and because staff at Central, truly care about each and outfit looks good on SENIOR been the first year of the dual enrollment program, I have every student, and will do whatever they can you? Probably not. that the Aspire earned 24 hours of college credit, essentially to make sure that everyone is on track.

So, how do extest was taken by entering college as a sophomore. pect to truly know However, there are still several students students; the test what happens at When I went to Northridge during this who do not take advantage of the many Central if you have never visited the school sophomores were taking five years before journalism exchange and interviewed Prin- opportunities Central has to offer. These was the ACT PLAN, which has now been cipal Kyle Ferguson, one statement really students are usually the ones who say that for yourself ?

Granted, some of you may have friends replaced by the Aspire test. stood out to me: “I don’t care where you go, “Central is just a ghetto school” or that “the The Accountability Act doesn’t take kids are kids… part of one of the goals of this teachers don’t care about what I do.” or family members that attend or have attended Central, but based on the type of into consideration improvements that the journalism exchange is to really shed some To those students, I say: don’t enforce student they are and what they chose to school has made. From 2014 to 2015, Cen- positive light about all of the schools… to the stereotype; the actions of Central speak participate in while at Central, they may tral’s graduation rate rose from 66 percent kind of squash some misperceptions.” louder than your words. or may not be completely accurate in their to 82 percent which was one of the highest I hope that I have “squashed some misperALISHA CAVES CENTRAL

“

The actions of Central speak louder than your words.

“

ONE 4NorthridgeDAY to Central • Central to Bryant • Bryant to Northridge

Photo by Destiny Hodges

Naj’zhae Handy’s perspective Part One: Bryant NAJ’ZHAE HANDY CENTRAL

BUS RIDE I was completely nervous the entire bus ride to Bryant. I heard rumors about the school and was nervous and partially excited to see what it was really like. I knew I’d have to interview students and maybe take a picture with them. I knew the school was more diverse than Central; I just didn’t know there was an almost equal mix of students. I started to look through the questions given to me to ask students, teachers and the principal, and I decided I really wanted to know what the differences and similarities between Bryant and Central were. I highlighted questions, and I knew from the start I’d do a reflection because I knew my opinion would change after I’d been inside the school myself.

MEETING ARIEL When we Central students finally arrived at Bryant, I couldn’t believe how big it was compared to Central - not that it was supposed to be smaller. As we stepped off the bus and entered the building, I noticed that the lobby and the locked doors that separate the entrance area from the hallway were just like the ones at Central. The only difference was that the architecture was minimally different than Central’s, and it was spatially bigger than Central’s office/ lobby area. Then the students that were to be our guides showed up, greeted us and hugged ones they knew. We separated to go with the different students that would be our guides. My guide’s name was Ariel Johnson, who was very kind; she said that she was ready to answer any questions we had and she would take us to some classrooms to interview students.

START OF THE TOUR The school had a great mural in the hallway, right past the office of an AfricanAmerican graduate surveying his options before college and possibly his route to

success. I also noticed as we walked along the hallways that there were thousands of college banners and college preparedness posters and banners everywhere. We ended up going to Johnson classroom and then walking around to get some interviews. We walked to many different classrooms and eventually gathered a group of students and even got a few interviews from teachers.

Once we had enough students we made our way to the library, which was very similar to Central’s library. It had the computers and bookshelves in the same places, as well as the tables for group discussions or studying. When we finally found a room to conduct the interviews, we all crowded in, took seats around a medium sized round table, introduced ourselves and started asking the students questions.

QUESTIONING Once I had started asking questions about how the students felt about Central, I felt kind of upset. Then I realized the students didn’t really know much about Central and based their opinions on what they’ve heard from others. One of the students said that Central was a horrible school, that we fight all the time and have bad teachers. When I asked her why she thought that, she told me that’s what she heard. We also asked the students how they would feel if they had to go to Central due to rezoning, and they said they’d be sad, mad, and wouldn’t learn anything. I was shocked at this because Central has the IB program and teachers that try to help their students, and I felt like kids will be kids.

When my classmates made this statement, other students around the table agreed.

One student even said that Bryant isn’t seen in the most positive light either, but their principal Dr. Harper, as well as their teachers, are doing the best they can to help their school be the best it can. I feel like Dr. Sutton and teachers at Central do the same. We came to the agreement that the students make mistakes at all schools. They sometimes fight over silly things, and it isn’t

just Central that has physical altercations.

NO REAL PERSPECTIVE Once the meeting was over, we all went into the hallway and took a group picture.

I was relieved that I figured out that the students didn’t really have a true perspective of Central but kind of upset that instead of saying what they knew, they went off of rumors. I was shocked they believed the rumors because in my eyes, no school is entirely perfect. Teachers and some students said they had no real perspective of Central because they had never been there or they didn’t want to believe the rumors, due to the fact that they really didn’t know what went on in the school. I couldn’t agree more with the teachers when they told us that Central, like Bryant, did the best they could for their students.

CAFETERIA After the meetings, we went to eat in the cafeteria, which was very similar to Central’s because it showed the courtyard from the lunchroom. The courtyard was right outside the lunchroom, but at Central, there’s a hallway separating the lunchroom from the courtyard. When we walked in, some people stared and then some came up and gave a few of us hugs. It reminded me of the way students at Central act.

Everyone sits with their friends. The inside of the lunchroom was very big, and had TVs just like at Central. We grabbed some food from the lunch line and went to find a seat. I noticed that the food tasted and looked just like the food served at Central.

The whole setup of the cafeteria was the same but on opposite sides compared to Central.

CLASSES PLUS A MEETING WITH DR. HARPER We went to two more classes: AP Math and Sociology. Afterwards, we found and grouped with our classmates before it was time to go. We sat in the back of the classroom and observed the lesson until we

were called out to go. When finally met Dr. Harper, she was very welcoming and reminded me of our principal. We asked her about how well she thought the students of different races mixed. I was surprised that she said they mix well, not that they couldn’t, but because it’s so diverse. All along I had thought the fights at the school were related to race, or someone standing up for someone of the opposite race with a person of the same race. Clearly I was wrong. We also covered how the students separate themselves in the lunchroom not necessarily based on race. They separate based on friendship, and I’ve heard from many students that no one is unwelcome everyone just sits with their friends.

After the interview, we gathered our belongings and went to Johnson’s fourth period. We met up and walked into the classroom, heading straight to back to find a seat. Johnson’s teacher was very exuberant and played timed trivia games to get the students interested and prepare them for their test. I listened and observed because I wanted to know what they were going over. Pretty soon we got our belongings together so we could leave. We left the classroom and said our goodbyes to Johnson. We left the room, ventured down many hallways, and walked through the courtyard until we reached the lobby area.

Once we saw our bus outside, we climbed on and started talking to the driver as we made our way back to Central.

I talked to my classmates and we discussed our thoughts about Bryant prior to being there, and we talked about how our perspectives changed. I enjoyed the tour/visit, and I was glad to know that the school wasn’t like the rumors I’d heard.

Bryant, other than the mix of races and small architectural differences, is very much like Central. My opinion changed because at first I thought the students would try and mock or brag about something related to sports or be rude to us, but they simply acted as if we were one of them.

STRIVING TO BE THE BEST

DAY ONE

5

Filer accumulates almost $3 million in scholarships DESTINY HODGES NORTHRIDGE Mari Filer, senior at Central High School, has accumulated almost three million dollars in scholarships.

Filer said she began applying to colleges on Aug. 1 of last year.

“I basically just first started applying to my top five schools, and then after that I started applying to like other schools that I was kind of interested in,” Filer said. “Most of the schools that I did apply to didn’t have an application fee, so it didn’t run up a lot of money.”

Her top five schools were the University of Florida, Mississippi State, LSU, Florida A&M and the University of Tennessee. “[I’m majoring in] biology. I want to become a cardiologist, and I’m going [in] the pre-med field,” she said.

Filer said she received her scholarships because of her GPA and ACT score.

“What colleges look at are your GPA and your ACT score. I had a 30 on the ACT and my GPA right now is a 4.49, so I think that I got the most money because of those two assets. Your ACT and GPA are what really qualify you for the most scholarships and the most scholarship money,” she said.

Filer said it is really important to do your best starting your freshman year until senior year.

“I really want to stress the importance of taking the ACT, scoring your best, as well as concentrating on your grades at school.

All the way starting from ninth grade through twelfth grade… You kind of get a fresh start in high school, so I really want to stress the importance of doing your best from start to finish,” Filer said. “A lot of students… come in as ninth graders and they kind of like play around, and they don’t take their work as serious, and when they get in eleventh grade and twelfth grade, [they realize] that it’s really hard to bring your GPA up, but it’s not hard for your GPA to drop. Just do your best work from the beginning and continue to do so as you go from the next grade to the next grade.

Then you should have your best GPA and be able to study for the ACT, and take it as many times as you can, and you should score your best.”

Filer said procrastinating holds you back.

“One thing I want to say is, ‘Don’t procrastinate.’ If you know you have a test coming up or you know that you have an assignment due, try to go ahead and get it done in advance. Don’t wait to the last minute, because last-minute results aren’t ever as good as work that you’ve taken your

time on. I wanna say just do your best work.

Senior Tyra Hollis, Filer’s friend, said Study hard all the way from the start to the she’s proud of Filer. finish,” she said “I think it’s very good that people can see Filer also said that it is important not to that Central is not just something where… start slacking. we have the ‘dumb’ kids or whatever. We “For seniors, don’t slack off your senior have someone, and not just Mari, but all year because I know they say colleges only of us have contributed to over 5 million look at ninth through eleventh grade, but dollars of scholarships, but Mari took the the scholarships that I receive require me to initiative to go out and apply for all those remain a 3.0 GPA through graduation, and colleges. That’s something great,” Hollis if I receive the scholarship in November, said. but my grades drop below a 3.0 before I Hollis said Filer had the drive to be graduate, then I don’t have that scholarship successful. anymore,” Filer said.

“I remember when we first started Filer said the IB program has helped her applying, we all started out ahead. We “tremendously.” were just like, “The IB ‘I’m gonna apply p r o g r a m for all of these has been a colleges,’ and tremendous you know some amount of help. of us kind of fell The classes are off. We found very rigorous, the college we and they’re the wanted to go to, hardest classes or we really just that I’ve ever didn’t feel like taken in my we wanted to life. I take dual do it anymore. enrollment with You know— Shelton, and senoritis—but I they are much know Mari went harder than the through it,” she Shelton classes said. “She wanted that we take,” to get out there she said. “They and put her name MARI FILER really help us out there as much become college-ready because they’re like as she could, so I think it’s great, and if I college preparatory classes just like AP had the drive to do that, I would, but like I classes, but I’ve taken AP classes as well said, senoritis.” and I can say that they are a step above Filer said her parents have had an impact AP classes. They don’t zoom in on certain on who she is today. topics; they give you a more well-rounded “My parents are very proud of me, and learning experience of the different topics they’ve instilled a lot of the qualities of and stuff.” myself. They’ve stressed the importance According to Filer, building relationships of education and doing my best since I with students and teachers has gotten her was little girl, and they are a big part of to where she is today. my success. Homework always came first “I’m an IB student and I know for a fact before TV, video games or any other leisure that my IB classes are really like a family. activities. Although I was quite a bit selfWe help each other. We have different motivated in my desire to always do my study groups. I know if I’m up at like 11:30 best in school, I believe they were a big part or 12 o’clock studying for my test, I know of that desire and they have always been a that if I call my IB classmate, that they’re great support system, helping to make sure up as well. I know that I can depend on that I stay on track and don’t sell myself them for help in any aspect. Whether it short,” she said. “They also stressed the be educational, personal - anything. The importance of scoring well on college entry teachers are really there. They’re a great exams like the ACT, and I’ve been enrolled help. We can come to them about anything. in several different ACT prep courses.”

Whether it be educational or personal, they “My desire to learn, succeed and to do always help us try to be the best that we my best in education as well as in every can be. They try to push us farther than we other aspect in my life has been grounded know that we can go.” in me since Day One from my wonderful parents. Without them and God, none of this would have been possible.”

Filer said she is following her father’s footsteps, as she is the valedictorian of Central’s 2016 senior class.

“It’s an honor to follow in my father’s footsteps. He is one of the most intelligent and hardworking people that I know,” she said. “For me to become valedictorian after these four long years just feels like a lot of hard work is finally paying off.”

For students who don’t have a strong support system, Filer said you can always turn to teachers.

“Even [if people] don’t have that support system at home, I know there’s plenty of teachers at our school who are willing to be there for them, willing to be that person that they can rely on, that they can go talk to about things and somebody that’s gonna be there and push them to do their best,” she said. “Even if they don’t have it at

Photos by Destiny Hodges

GOALS Mari Filer’s scholarships put on display outside the counselor’s office. She recieved scholarships from 39 universities with a total of $2,853,276. home, we have those types of relationships here at Central with our teachers, or not even teachers - even other administrative people.”

Filer said study habits aids her success.

“I go over my notes. I have my notes from all of my classes. We have six core classes that we take, and so I go over my notes. I look at the different curriculum and things that are gonna be on the test and the exam, and I basically just incorporate all of that together in my studying habits,” Filer said. “As far as sleep, you have to make a decision whether do you want to get a good grade or do you want to get a good night’s sleep. You’re gonna always have other times to sleep when your work is done. I don’t get a lot of sleep. Every night even if I don’t have homework, there’s things that I can study for. Like if I don’t have homework, I can still get out my IB biology book or my IB language book and prepare for the exam… Every night there’s something that I could be doing besides sleeping. [I get] maybe five hours of sleep if that, if I don’t have something really big to do.”

Filer said it is better to learn the material than to try to temporarily memorize things.

“Memorization helps a lot, but it’s better if you try to learn what you’re studying because when you memorize stuff, you’re bound to forget it, but if you learn it and understand it, then it sticks around a little longer,” she said.

Filer said she has decided to attend the perfect school for her, Florida A&M University.

“After touring FAMU, they had me.

They really sold the school and they had me hooked by the end of the tour,” she said. “[It was a] beautiful campus full of loving people that actually care about you and your well-being. I am more than excited to be attending FAMU in the fall!”

Filer received a full ride to Florida A&M, a stipend of $500 a month, and a laptop. She will be following the medical scholars’ track of biology.

6 DAY TWO

Northridge to Bryant • Central to Northridge

Naj’zhae Handy’s perspective Part Two: Northridge NAJ’ZHAE HANDY CENTRAL As we boarded the bus on the second day of the student exchange program, I realized that I was actually going to tour Northridge High School. I’d heard many things about this school and even knew some people that were rezoned to go to school there. I really didn’t know what to expect other than that the school was very diverse. I asked the other Central exchange students what they knew about Northridge, and they said that mostly Caucasian students attended this school. I sat in my seat trying to guess how many students the school could possibly have, what they’d be like, what would be the student race ratio and what it would look like compared to Central.

When we arrived at the school, I marveled its size and grew anxious to see the inside. As we entered its lobby and office area, I realized it resembled Central’s, especially the doors that were locked and lead into the hallways. We walked further into the office and waited for the students that would be our guides. Everyone of us, four in all, received a guide. My guide’s name was Thomas Mullins. After we left the office, our Central group split up, and the guides took us separate ways. I flooded him with questions up until we reached his first class. I asked him what he thought of the school, if he liked his classes and if he felt that his school was overall helping him on his track to success.

He answered them all, and then I interviewed his teacher, Ms. Mallie Humber and took a seat to go over my interviews. She was very kind to me and told me that the students were doing assignments online, and if I needed something or wanted to ask a student for an interview that I could. She truly showed me how welcoming she was and reminded me of my teachers. She an-

swered all my questions and added that she felt that Central’s administration worked hard to make sure their students succeed, just like Northridge’s.

The classrooms were smaller than Central’s, but that didn’t interfere with the classes at all. I noticed there were college students teaching lessons too. One was teaching in Mullins’ second class. I did my best to listen and even got an interview with his teacher, who gave me a great and detailed overview of the school spirit, student behavior/race ratio, as well as his perspectives on certain things. After the interview, I sat back down to gather my notes and listened to more of the lesson up until it was time to go to lunch. I was nervous because Mullins told me he ate in the library due the fact that he was a library assistant. I told him I’d have to meet with the other Central students for lunch, then he agreed to come and eat with us.

After what seemed like a long time of walking, we finally arrived at the lunchroom, and that’s when I realized I knew a lot of the students and how I take TCT classes with many of them. Next, Mullins and I met up with the other Central students, grabbed lunch from the line and went to find a table with enough space for all of us. I noticed how the students were spread out based on race and how some tables had mixed races. [I’d heard that the students] separated themselves naturally , and it was just friends sitting with friendsnothing more or less.

After we’d eaten we heard the principal, Mr. Kyle Ferguson, yelling at a group of students to get them to be quiet and it made me a little nervous to ask him for an interview, especially since he looked upset, but it reminded me of my principal, Dr. Sutton, and also that kids are kids. Sometimes they need discipline to calm them down, in a positive way. When he walked

near the table, I tried my best to get his attention without making a fool of myself in the loud cafeteria. Once I got his attention, I asked him if my group could interview him, and he agreed.

We’d gathered our belongings, threw away our trash, and followed him to his office, which again was very similar to our principal’s office. We began throwing questions at him, and then he spoke for a while, answering every question we wanted to ask without us even asking them. He even asked us questions and proved that we all have families that push us to do our best, and if a student didn’t have that, then the teachers and staff did their best to help the students succeed in their school work and push them to be the best they could. When he said that, it reminded me of how our administrators push us to be the best we can.

Soon after we finished our interview, we were led back to our student guides.

Once I was reunited with Mullins, we made our way to the library. He introduced me to some guys that were library assistants, and I asked them for a group interview, which they quickly agreed to. During the interview, I began to understand that they had no real perspective of Central.

Part of me was happy because they told me they hadn’t heard anything bad about Central; I dug deeper and found out that they thought that the school was overall satisfactory. Also apart from it being an allblack school, the students said they were sure that the teachers and staff at Central did the best they could for their students, just like at Northridge. After the interview, we branched off again with our student guides, and Mullins showed me where I could sit until the period was over.

I sat at a table with one person from Central, and we talked about what kind of story we’d write. I knew that I’d do a personal reflection because my opinion/

perspectives had changed. I thought the school was mostly white, but it was the other way around -the school was very diverse. When the period was finally over, I followed Thomas to his fourth period class.

We filed in, and I took a seat in the back of the room, observing the setting. There was yet again a college student at a small desk near the teacher’s. She didn’t teach the lesson but made several comments and joined in throughout the lesson. It reminded me of when we used to have to student teachers come and give lessons or assist the teacher in a lesson on a given topic. The teacher was giving a lesson/giving notes for a history test. When it was finally time for me to leave, I walked through the rows and felt all eyes on me as I tried to say my goodbyes, apologizing for interrupting, and she then introduced herself and said her goodbyes.

As I walked out the door, I noticed my guide’s friend was following and offering to walk me to the front. We discussed how my opinion of the school had changed. I told him I thought the school would be full of preppy white kids; there’s nothing wrong with being white or a student being all into their education, by the way. However, I was wrong; the school had a huge mix of students all who were friendly, welcoming, and mingled with students of different ethnicities.

When I reached the front, I sat in the lobby a while then texted my friend, a student from Central, to see where she was.

She told me she was already on the bus so I went outside and boarded the bus. We talked about the visit as a whole and how we already knew what we’d put in our stories.

After everyone boarded the bus, we made our way back to Central. I was overall relieved that I finally knew what Northridge was like.

Bryant senior commits to Harvard Danica Gutierrez, a senior at Bryant High School, received the Gates Millennium Scholarship and got accepted to Harvard Gutierrez had to choose between several good universities, but she chose Harvard because that’s where she thought she belonged.

“When I visited the school, I really liked the academic and social environment there.

I felt very comfortable walking around

campus,” Gutierrez said.

Gutierrez decided during the summer of her junior year that she wanted to apply to Harvard.

“I just wanted to go through the whole process for the experience, so I was like ‘what the heck’ and went for it,” Gutierrez said.

According to their website, Harvard looks for a lot of things in the applicant; growth and potential in the applicant, their interest and activities, their character and personality, and what they can contribute to Harvard.

“The application process was pretty long.

The admission decision finally came in at the end of April,” Gutierrez said.

“I found out on Apr. 31 that I got accepted.

They sent

me an email to check the website, and that’s how I found out and my parents and friends were really glad for me that I got accepted,” she said.

Gutierrez got financial aid and a scholarship for Harvard and said she is excited to start Harvard in the fall of 2016.

“I’m excited to learn new things and meet new people in Harvard,” Gutierrez said.

Not only is Gutierrez excited to meet new people, she is also excited for the internships Harvard has to offer, although she hasn’t decided what kind of internship she is going to choose. However, going to Harvard means she has to leave Alabama and go to Massachusetts, and she will definitely miss some things.

“I will really miss the sweet tea and the southern people’s warmth,” Gutierrez said.

Gutierrez is close to graduating from Bryant; she was a big part of the school.

“I’m president of the National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta, Art Honor Society, and English

Honor Society,” Gutierrez said.

Gutierrez said that she will remember the people who believed in her and those that encouraged her to keep trying. But first comes graduation, and for that she is very excited.

“I look forward to throwing my cap up and saying that we made it,” Gutierrez said.

Photos by Fatema Dhondia

FATEMA DHONDIA STAFF WRITER

7

Mind Changers motivates students to be successful DESTINY HODGES NEWS EDITOR

Mind Changers is a non profit community outreach program that mentors in the Tuscaloosa city schools.

Rodney Pelt, CEO of Mind Changers, said he founded the program because he saw a need for intervention and mentoring.

“When I retired from the military and I came back home, I saw there was a need for intervention and mentoring in the community because the young men had strayed so far from when I grew up,” Pelt said. “The idea was born, and we started mentoring at Westlawn and it just grew from there. It grew from 30 kids to about 1200 kids at 13 schools.”

Pelt said he is there for students personally and for their education.

“I’m here for students because I’m here every day. I talk to students on a personal level. We talk to students about their education. We try to inspire them, we try to motivate them to graduate, and to be great in everything they do,” he said. “My idea of mentoring is just being there for someone, listening to someone, being an advocate for them, and also giving them constructional criticism when it needs to be done.”

Pelt said students come to him with all sorts of problems.

“From home life, situations at home, situations with dating, classroom stuff, grade stuff, its whole gambit of situations they come to us with. We’re ready to help them and facilitate whatever need that they have.”

Reginald Clack, head of Mind Changers at Central High School, said social media is probably the most common problem he encounters.

“With Central High School, we deal with

a lot of social media drama. We also deal with a lot of ‘he say, she say’ drama, which is typical for some high school students,” Clack said. “I think that social media just kinda makes it very, very, ferocious, and it creates a whole other epidemic that can be avoided if kids just kinda chose to do verbal face to face interactions, but majority of the time we don’t. We’re keypad warriors.”

Clack said he thinks social media is the most common because of its accessibility.

“I think [social media is] easy to access, and once you hit enter, it’s out there at the disposal of society. Once you hit enter, it’s not just here in Tuscaloosa anymore. It can trickle and go viral to the UK, to the west coast, the east coast,” he said. “It just really kinda depends on who actually sees it and whose hands it comes across because kids nowadays, they’re the technology era, and they are definitely utilizing it.”

Clack said when it comes to student issues, they set up interventions.

“We normally set up an intervention during a free period or lunch period.

Sometimes we don’t have that much time.

We call the students down and we ask them, ‘Hey, what’s the issue,’ ‘how can we resolve this.’ We always look to resolve and if we don’t find [a resolution], we always set up a second meeting. Sometimes that may add a parent. Sometimes that may add an administrator,” he said.

Clack said they are advocates and outlets for the students.

“At the end of the day, we always look to be an advocate for the child. We’re not here to be the teachers’ friends. We’re not here to pacify the teacher. We’re here to let the student know that hey you do have a outlet. You’re not on your own, and you do have a voice,” he said. “You have rights as a student, and we uphold those, but if you

Photo by Destiny Hodges

are in the wrong, we are here to remind you that you are free to make whatever choices that you want, but you are not free from the consequences that come along with them.”

Clack said sometimes other students are used to mediate situations.

“They have the opportunity to do a lot of role playing where we’ll have a student come up and we’ll talk about a particular situation that has already previously occurred here at the school, and we just ask them hey how can you change the situation, or what could you have done better if you were in the situation.”

Pelt said he’s starting a peer mentoring group.

“Next year when we get back, we’ll have some eleventh- and twelfth-graders that’ll be able to mentor ninth-graders, and we’re also going to take them over to Eastwood to mentor with sixth through eighth grade,” Pelt said.

Pelt said in peer mentoring they will discuss how to act in certain situations.

“We’re gonna have a curriculum, and

they’re gonna be able to talk about thinking before they act and making wise choices and better decisions. Things like that. It’s not going to be too detailed with the peer mentors because we know they are still children, still students. So they’ll be able to mentor them about stuff in the classroom, how to act in the classroom, and how to act at home, keeping your grades up, and stuff like that,” he said.

Pelt said they are located at most of the Tuscaloosa City Schools, and is hoping to expand the program to Northridge. “[We’re located at] Central Elementary, Martin Luther King Elementary, Oakdale Elementary, Alberta Elementary, University Place Elementary, Skyland Elementary, Rock Quarry Middle School, Southview Middle School, Eastwood Middle School, Westlawn Middle School, and Bryant and Central High Schools. We also have the SPAN program that’s out in Holt and partnerships with the YMCA,” he said. “It’s open to all students from 8 to 3:30.”

Dhondia enjoys time at Bryant and Central When I first heard about the student exchange, I was very excited to see the other schools. I was interested in what they looked like. I didn’t know the whole purpose of the exchange, but the other members of the The Northridge Reporter staff explained it to me.

I was excited to help plan the exchange, especially when we went to the school board to tell them about the exchange. We met the other exchange students once it came closer to the exchange date; we ate pizza together and learned more about each other.

On Monday, Apr. 25, it was finally time to go on the exchange. The first day, Destiny Hodges and I went to Central High School. Once we arrived, our mentors who would show us around the school that day greeted us.

My first reaction was that Central is smaller than Northridge. The school had big stickers of students on the walls, and had things painted on them too. I thought it was a nice idea to make the school more colorful.

During the day, we met new people while our mentors were showing us around.

I noticed how everyone in Central saw each other as family, and that was something I was amazed by. The teachers treated their students as family and helped them as family.

There is a program there called Mind a lot and was really happy I got to see that Changers, in which students help each school. other with their problems and find ways to On Apr. 26, we went to Bryant High solve them. I think that is something every School. When I arrived at Bryant, I was school needs because sometimes kids need shocked by how similar it was to Northridge. someone to talk to who will actually listen. The school was a mirror of Northridge, so Kids also have closer bonds with each other that meant that the lunchroom was on the than with teachers, too. other side of the building and so was the The IB program was also very interest- gym. It was confusing at first because I ing. You can compare the IB program to was so used to Northridge. Sometimes we AP classes; however the IB program’s level would walk the wrong way, but thanks to is a little bit highour mentor we did er than AP and not do that very ofit expects more ten. from students.

The courtyard was You also get more the exact same as credit for it than the one we have at regular honors Northridge, however. and AP classes. In In the middle of the Central, IB stucourtyard there is a dents have their big painting of the FATEMA DHONDIA, own teachers and mascot of the school FRESHMAN hallway.

They on the ground. In even have a classBryant the lunchroom where they room also had TV’s can sit and work. for the students During lunch break, we went to the hanging on the wall. lunchroom. It was small compared to Bryant was, like Central, very colorful.

Northridge’s, but it didn’t lack anything. Throughout the school, there were flags The lunchroom was full of laughing and and paintings on the wall, which sadly is talking people, and it even had a TV, which something we don’t see at Northridge. was a shock to me.

There was also a special ceremony for the By the end of the day, I was really sad I seniors. In that ceremony, the seniors told had to leave Central. It was the total oppo- everyone where they would continue their site of what I expected it to be, after what studies or where they would start working. people had told me about it. I also learned I loved seeing the excitement from the oth-

“

I see the schools in a very different way, and I can say the truth about Bryant and Central...

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FATEMA DHONDIA NORTHRIDGE HIGH SCHOOL

er students and teachers in the school for the seniors.

Because of the ceremony, we did not have a lot of time to look a lot around the school, but that did not mean that I didn’t see that Bryant, just like Central, it is not as different from Northridge as we think.

During my time at Bryant, I found out Bryant was going to turn in a fine arts school, so that the students of the fine art middle school could go to Bryant instead to the fine art school in Birmingham.

The school also provided dance lessons and is going to build a dance studio for the lessons soon. I really liked the idea of giving dance lessons so that everyone can have an art form they like.

Overall the exchange was a wonderful experience, and I’m happy to say that I got to do it in my freshman year. Both Central and Bryant are as amazing as Northridge.

The schools were full of amazing and kind people. I’m so happy that I could be a part of the exchange. Not only did I get to see the other schools, I also learned during much of my time at the schools.

Having been on the exchange, I see the schools in a very different way, and I can say the truth about Bryant and Central: they are not as bad as some people think.

I’m pretty sure that I wouldn’t be able to do this if I still lived in the Netherlands.

This is one of the best things I could be a part of this school year, and if I had a chance to go on the exchange again, I wouldn’t think twice.

When I first heard about the student exchange, I was a freshman. I had no clue what it was or why my classmates seemed so thrilled to attend the other city schools.

I moved to Tuscaloosa the summer before my freshman year, and although I had been in Tuscaloosa a numerous amount of times, I was not sure about the schools. My stepmother went to the ‘Mega Central’, so the image of Central that I got from her was that the school was a huge united family made up of people from all over the city. I knew that the ‘Mega Central’ no longer existed, considering that I would be going to Northridge high school.

What I heard from other people was that the school was 99.9 percent African American, it was a failing school, and that the students were “ghetto.” Of course I was not certain that those allegations were true.

I had never even been inside of the school until I participated in the exchange. I had met some people from Central through track, and from what I witnessed, they did not appear to be “ghetto.”

The misconceptions of Central are merely rumors. When I started touring Central, I quickly noticed how colorful the school was and how they strived to encourage students to further their education and to be the best they could be. What I discovered on the exchange is that Central might not be as diverse as it used to be, but it is still a loving and united place. Central is one big happy family.

The teachers genuinely care for and about the students. I have never seen such a strong support system. Most schools say they have advocates for students, but the truth is that students do not feel comfortable talking to everyone about

DESTINY HODGES NORTHIDGE HIGH SCHOOL

their issues. At Central, this is not the case.

Students feel comfortable talking to their teachers and administration about their everyday problems. It is very clear that everyone is there for each other. They are not there to tear each other down, and they definitely prove all of the rumors wrong.

Central is a lovely place to be with great people who will treat you with the same love and respect as anyone else. It’s so good to see that a school that has so many negative things said about it can still thrive.

The Central Falcons fly high.

CENTRAL Hodges documents her experience while on the studnet exchange at Central high shool.

Central, united family, community and school

RUMORS ARE RUMORS

8 NORTH RI D G E

REPORTER

BRYANT HIGH SCHOOL CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL

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APRIL 25-26, 2016