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PEACE & LIGHT
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| Photo: Jessie Gladin-Kramer |
Biking Against Budget Cuts
“This is a metaphor for a lot of kids going unsupported through the system,” says Amanda Gladin-Kramer, A07, of her solo bike ride across North Carolina last fall. The ride, covering 476 miles—which is how many millions of dollars had vanished from the state’s 2011–12 budget for public education—not only raised awareness of children’s needs; it also raised about five grand, according to Gladin-Kramer, a student at the University of North Carolina School of Law. The money was split among three state nonprofits, including Smart Start, an early childhood education program whose funding had been slashed.
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Class of 2026
All twenty of my students want to go to Tufts. Sure, they’re only seven years old right now, but at Achievement First Apollo Elementary, in Brooklyn, New York, we believe it’s never too early to recruit future Jumbos. Achievement First is a network of charter schools that work relentlessly to ensure that every student will succeed in college and life, regardless of socioeconomic background.
We stress the importance of college from an early age. As a result, all of our classrooms are named after the teacher’s alma mater. My classroom, Tufts, is living up to the high standard that people associate with the real-life institution. The students in Tufts are excelling in all subjects, and nearly eighty percent of them are at or above grade level in reading and math.I weave stories about Tufts into lessons, but I don’t want to reveal too much too quickly. For now, “going to Tufts” mostly means free concerts, all-you-can-eat buffets at Dewick and Carmichael, and the freedom to stay up all night playing video games. I figure there’s still plenty of time to fill them in about the long nights of studying at Tisch and the weird smells that come out of Hodgdon. They may only be in second grade, but the class of 2026 is already preparing to keep the light on the Hill burning bright.
—NOAH HELLMAN, A09