A valued presence

After learning about and visiting Little Rock Central High School and Simmons High School we've been analyzing what it means to be a "good school." 

There is the obvious necessity of teachers that can teach and proper materials and resources to put to use. But I've also decided that a good school should be an environment in which the students feel that their presence is valued and they are comfortable around their peers and teachers. Dr. Sybil Jordan-Hampton, not a member of the Little Rock Nine but the first African-American to complete three years at Central, was able to complete her education, but at no point during her time there did she feel comfortable. When she spoke to us she told us that she knew she had to do this for her race, but it was obviously going to take away from her high school experience. Even though she was in a school with the right materials, she was not able to get the most out of high school like her white classmates. Meanwhile at Simmons the kids had an extreme sense of community, but many of them lacked the drive to help push them through high school and onto college. A quality education is a two-sided operation, the first side being the institution and it's teachers, while the other is the students themselves.

Aerin Abrams

12^th grade, The Park School