Blanca Vazquez, September 17, 2007
Ms. Vazquez is a long-time activist focusing on issues in the Puerto Rican/Latino community, and in areas of race and policing. Born in Puerto Rico and raised in New York City, she holds a B.A. in Psychology from the City College of New York, a Master of Education from Richmond College, and an M.S. in Journalism from Columbia University. She is the founding editor of CENTRO, Journal of the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College, CUNY. Since the fall of 2000, Ms. Vazquez has worked on the Viewing Race Project (http://www.viewingrace.org), a curated collection of films and videos that promotes dialogue on issues of race and ethnicity in US life. NVR recently compiled “After 9.11: Videos that Promote Knowledge, Understanding and Tolerance,” a collection geared for use by nonprofit and community organizations to address crucial issues the nation faces in the wake of the Sept. 11th attacks.

Terrence Roberts, October 29, 2007
At the age of fifteen, Terrence Roberts, along with eight other black teenagers, faced daily harassment to integrate Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957. These courageous students became known to the nation as the Little Rock Nine. A graduate of California State University at Los Angeles (BA), and UCLA (MSW), Dr. Roberts obtained his Ph.D. in psychology from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois. He is now a professor in the Master's in Psychology Program at Antioch University. A much sought after speaker, Dr. Roberts also heads a management consultant group dedicated to improving human relations in the workplace. Since 1998 he has been the official desegregation consultant for the Little Rock, Arkansas School District, and provides similar services to school districts around the nation.

Linda Biehl, Mzikhona “Easy” Nofemela and Ntobeko Peni, February 6, 2008

Soledad O'Brien, March 7, 2008
Ms. O'Brien, an anchor and special correspondent for CNN: Special Investigations Unit, will be principal for a day.

Caroline Hunter, March 17, 2008
Ms. Hunter is a former Polaroid employee and member of the Fund for a Free South Africa who lead an effort to get Polaroid to divest from South Africa during aparthied.

David Burstein, April 7, 2008
David Burstein, an alumni of Facing History and Ourselves in his high school and a student at Haverford College, founded "18 in '08" to encourage young people to vote in the November elections.

It is already winter of our third year here at FHS. I am writing to you just as the first semester student portfolio presentations are wrapping up, giving me the opportunity to reflect on the hard work that the FHS faculty are doing to support the amazing achievements of our students. As you will see from the articles and student work in this newsletter, our staff is dedicated to giving the FHS students rich educational experiences that help apply what they have learned to their everyday lives. It is a challenging, yet thoroughly exciting, endeavor that inspires us daily.

One of the many wonderful aspects of the culture at the Facing History School is how welcoming and appreciative the faculty are of the many volunteers, interns, tutors, etc who come to work in their classrooms. Whether they are America Reads tutors from NYU, interns/student teachers from the various Schools of Education in the city, or volunteers through Facing History and Ourselves, every “outside” person has made and can continue to make a significant contribution to the quality of the school experience for both students and faculty. And in return, it is a joy to realize that any offer of assistance, that paying attention to individual needs of students, that the simple question, “May I help?” is so appreciated by faculty.

In our 9th grade Experiencing Literature class we read August Wilson’s play Fences. After completing the play, students wrote eulogies for the main character, Troy Maxson. We were a bit hesitant initially to ask students to take such a non-traditional writing assignment and truly attempt to engage themselves in the process. However, the students produced incredible results and their efforts were observed during the step-by- step process, as well as in their final products. The culminating event was an in-class funeral for Troy, during which students presented their eulogies.

As a former school Principal, I have always believed that the most significant attribute of any school is that its students feel known as individuals. Nothing can be more distressing for a student in the school than to feel a sense of anonymity. But when the Principal greets students each day by name and with an engaging question or comment; when teachers, either in or outside of their classrooms recognize and engage the individual interests, talents, hopes and learning styles of their students; when every student feels there is at least one trusted adult in the school community to whom she can turn to voice a concern; such anonymity is dissolved and hence, it is these elements that are the best barometers of the health of the school community.

Two months ago, I made my first visit to the Facing History School as part of the annual Facing History and Ourselves Board retreat.

In a recent Photography II class at Facing History High School, the students were debating the ethical and technical challenges inherent in documenting the disparity between rich and poor in New York City. Using vocabulary words from the Facing History and Ourselves curriculum as a starting point, the students created storyboard drawings of images that they would like to photograph for their Photo Essay assignment.

Daniel F. and Jenny S. prepare the equipment

Justina D., Suspense

If you were to list which ancient civilizations are most commonly studied in New York City history classes, your list would most likely include some combination of Mesopotamia, Egypt, China, India, Greece and Rome. And well it should; these civilizations hold the keys to deciphering the origins of many of the world’s current religions, governments, languages and technology. But how do we open this ancient world to the minds of our students? How do we explain to adolescents the importance of a civilization that no longer exists? How do we help students make this history their own? This semester, we found our answers buried just below the surface of New York City’s skyscrapers and restaurants.

The humanities department at the Facing History School began its study of ancient civilizations with an in depth look at life in the school’s local neighborhood – Hell’s Kitchen, NYC.

I can’t believe that the year is already done! In our second year of operation, the staff and students of FHS have accomplished and grown so much, and it was all packed into an incredibly short amount of time. We are well on our way to getting the school ready for the start of year 3 in September, but I want to take this opportunity to reflect on the successes of last year first.

With spring in the air, the Facing History School’s advisory groups focused on Healthy Relationships. Students in the ninth grade learned about healthy vs. unhealthy relationships, while students in the 10th grade focused on gender roles, stereotypes and homophobia.

Our second annual step up trip to Washington D.C. in early June was another memorable experience for both students and teachers. Ninth grade students who were promoted to tenth grade earned the trip, and thirty chose to attend. Students were able to both experience the history of our country visiting the nation’s capital and also visit college campuses to get a glimpse of what their future can bring.

The group on the Mall in Washington.

FHS’s commitment to social justice can be seen on a daily basis in our mission, the convictions of our staff and much of our curriculum. The conversations in our classrooms and among faculty routinely look at the intersections of power with race, religion, gender and immigration status. However, we as a school had not united to formally highlight our commitment to work against homophobia and heterosexism until this semester. Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning Awareness Day (GLBTQ Day) on March 22nd, was organized to coincide with a new unit for 10th grade advisory which focuses on homophobia. The social work team worked with teachers and outside organizations to create a day that included a panel discussion for the whole community in the morning, followed by two hour-long workshops in the afternoon. The goal of the day was two-fold: to begin chipping away at the homophobia in our community, and to expose GLBTQ youth to individuals and organizations that might help them to feel hopeful and connected to others.

“The last two days we had AWESOME discussions about the themes of the novel we are reading and here are some of the things the students came up with. When we talked about the characters prioritizing the community and how that's what we've been telling the students since they started school here, Johanna said, ‘but you didn't say it like THAT. We didn't read this book before.’”