Day in the Life

From early morning until late afternoon, students and teachers envelop themselves in an educational process that cannot be confined to the time between bells, or compartmentalized into rigid subject headings, or be segregated by age or grade. It is an experience that builds connections between areas of knowledge, between students and teachers, between the school and the family, and between those communities and the world beyond.

The school day begins from nearly the moment a student arrives. As teachers discuss student evaluations, some students are conversing about the new exhibit of student work in the school's art gallery. Several high school students are gathered around the couches in the hallway, immersed in a discussion on how to solve a problem for their upcoming physics seminar.

Across the hallway, a group of middle school students is wrapping up a final rehearsal for a theater production. It draws on their reading of "Anne Frank, Diary of a Young Girl," and real-life stories of people in Hoboken who lived through World War II. Students will perform the production for senior citizens at a nearby housing project. Props were fashioned with help from local artists.

Younger Students
In the grade 1-2 classroom, students are learning how to conduct and transcribe interviews, working collaboratively whenever possible, with those more accomplished helping those needing some assistance. Later, the students decide to explore what they learned about the human body in science class by interviewing doctors and nurses at St. Mary Hospital. Earlier they collected stories from family members and friends on the theme of "Our Amazing Bodies," and documented their own experiences with sickness and promoting good health.

Middle School Students
Students in grade 7-8 are reading books written last year by high school students who participated in a literature seminar. They will analyze the stories and compare them with children's classics. Several students plan to submit their work to a national writing contest. To assist them, students met with high school authors as well as artists and people in the community who work in publishing. When they are finished, the students will tour other schools in Hoboken to read and discuss their work.

High School Students
In a biology seminar, students are learning about the ecosystem by working with professors at Steven's Institute of Technology who are conducting a research project in the Hudson River. Some have collected data for the professor in charge, and some have documented the research through interviews and visits to the research setting. Today, the students have formed a committee that will organize a town forum for researchers, others in the school system, and people in the community to discuss the ecological implications of the project.

As the day draws to a close, students remain to participate in art and music workshops offered by members of the community. Others go off to participate in sports and other activities open to them in other schools in Hoboken. In the library, a group of teachers, parents, students and community members meet to discuss the status of the school's accountability project. In an adjoining computer lab, parents and community members are participating in a basic computer skills workshop. In the auditorium, students are getting in a final rehearsal for the drama club's performance later in the evening.