Northside Life

When one is asked what time in their life they would choose to revisit, their time in high school always comes to mind. It is safe to say that when us, seniors, develop into grown adults, we will wish to relive our high school years and encourage our children to enjoy theirs. However, we tend to overlook the history of how our high schools came to be. When were they founded? Who were the original staff members and principal? Where are the kids who first graduated now? Northside has had its fair share of trials and tribulations throughout the years whether it was financial, organizational, or governance challenges. Nevertheless, it has prevailed to become the school we all know and love today.

Northside Charter High School was founded in 2009 and granted a charter from the Board of Regents of the State of New York. Mr. Torres, Northside's last staff member since the day of its first school year, was able to share how Northside's earlier days looked. “The biggest hurdle we had to get over was actually getting students to enroll in the school… we first started the school off with 70 students if I’m not mistaken.” Up until 2012, Northside terminated its contract with Believe Network and was given a second charter term by NYSED. They continued this contract until 2017 and renewed it until 2022. After all these constant changes and contracts the school has endured, it’s clear that it has been a struggle for Northside to uphold its reputation. However, this did not stop them from establishing their main goal as a school: to prepare students for their futures such as college and a comprehensive/rigorous liberal arts program. Mr Torres states, “Right now now the initiative is to make sure we revamp the college preparation program at the school and to make sure that any student that graduates from Northside is successful.” Even after all these years the initiative stayed the same yet the growth has definitely improved.

Northside has taken advantage of these past few years to grow as an academic institution to inspire students who attend. Our newest principal, Dr. Louise Grotenhuis, is deeply committed to support teachers and elevate teacher practice in order to help students reach their goals for college. She states, “I’m so impressed at everyones resiliency. As a silver lining person, there is always something to be gained and learned..” When Dr. Grotenhuis first arrived at Northside, she worked alongside former principal Ms. Bero as the assistant principal. Her experience with Ms. Bero gave her the tools necessary to take on this new challenge. “Ms. Bero was such an urgent firecracker… everything about her signaled that every minute counts.” Covid-19 has definitely shown Dr. Grotenhuis the work ethic our teaching staff has along with our students who have prevailed even through the toughest of times. So while the pandemic has caused major setbacks for our school, we have not shown any signs of slowing down.

Even after all the difficult years Northside has been through, it has become clear that in order for all of us to continue with our success, we must proceed to move forward and push through. Northside’s journey is inspirational and only the beginning compared to what it may become in the future. It’s only a matter of time before they expand their impact on the community for students as they did since day one.

It has become clear to many people that life during a pandemic is rather difficult due to its constant setbacks. Students experience this first hand as they struggle to learn how they would in a classroom. However, teachers have faced the same amount of struggles and possibly even more during this pandemic. Senior Jeffrey Oyuela states, “Without the incentive to talk that physical learning brought us, there is next-to-none collaboration.” Virtual learning gives teachers the hard task to provide the education we need to prepare us for the future and yet, a simple zoom call is not enough for teachers to interact with students on a personal level. People do not realize it, but teachers may have one of the most important jobs in the world. One can only imagine the toll a pandemic could have on an educator whether it is positive or negative.

Teachers at Northside make a great effort to greet their students with positivity everyday. It has become a daily routine as students log onto their advisory meetings every morning. Ms. Liz, our Mindfulness and Theater Arts teacher, explains the struggles of her daily routine as a teacher during the Covid-19 pandemic. “Now that I’m at home with my 12 year old, I’m a teacher and a mom. There is a lot of lesson planning to do during the day as well as preparing for the technical stuff such as the lesson slides and zoom meetings.”

Now that most teachers are teaching at home, they tend to come across issues they must solve other than their responsibility as a teacher. Nevertheless, despite numerous downsides of teaching at home (spotty wifi, crying toddlers, nagging teens), there are some benefits to this adapted work/lifestyle. Ms. Liz states, “A benefit of working at home is spending a lot of time with my cat. I’ve grown to fall in love with my home in a different way and I am really proud of what I have been able to do here.” While Covid-19 did limit us to many future opportunities, it made us realize the things in our life we don't regularly notice whether it is your well organized home or a pet to keep you company.

Ms. Gonzalez was also able to outline the struggles of virtual learning by explaining how her personal life interferes with her job. “I am a very time oriented person. My whole life is built around a schedule but when you’re home especially with young children, everything is unpredictable.” However, similar to Ms. Liz, there were many positives that came out of the pandemic. “I am able to stay at home and raise my child. It’s very difficult for mothers to leave a young baby with someone else. It’s very expensive.” So while many would point out the negatives with virtual learning, whether it is a student or teacher, it has become essential to work around our struggles in order to succeed.

Many teachers like Ms. Liz have attempted to make the most out of this pandemic. It has become essential for teachers to take advantage of the time they have at home to finish grading projects, tests, etc. Yet these are not the only struggles teachers have to face on a day-to-day basis. Students have been finding it difficult to connect with their teachers as they would in a classroom. Instead of scheduling a meeting during lunch, students would have to schedule a zoom meeting with their teachers during office hours. Ms. Liz explains how she has tried to create a connection with her students where she states, “I think it has made us feel more human with each other because of the fact that I can see your room and you can see my couch. I feel like I’ve had to be willing to take bigger risks and put myself out there even more with kids.” Unfortunately, teachers have been forced to work with what they have and make the most out of these zoom meetings. The constant feeling of uncertainty has allowed us to feel more connected and realize that teachers aren’t just there to teach, they are there to help us students grow as individuals. So while most would take this for granted, that is a value that should be cherished as we take these next few steps into the future.

Covid 19, or the coronavirus, is a disease that has changed and impacted the entire world according to the World Health Organization. There are many requirements now for going places, for doing certain things, and for getting stuff done. Some of these requirements include wearing a mask and staying a certain distance apart from one another. One group of people that have been specifically affected by this are students. The way students live their lives and do school has completely changed and no one’s sure as to when things will be back to “normal”.

Ever since Covid-19 began in the US, school has not been the same for many students. Most schools immediately went into virtual classrooms and people believed that this would be easy and would end soon. Turns out, it didn’t. Most schools now are still virtual but some have re-opened. Students who now know the virtual learning experience have been affected in different ways. . Some struggle, some deal with some hardships at home and much more. Many people may like virtual learning, but it has impacted every student in one way or another.

But what about the kids who actually go to school? What happens in those schools? Is it even safe to reopen? Well The importance isn’t just about reopening schools, moreso it’s about how schools take steps to reopen. Let’s start with the basics: people going to school. Schools will open based on the number of cases. If people are getting infected at a fast rate, most schools will stay closed. If the numbers look safe enough to reopen a school, then that school may open up. If a school was to reopen, they usually decide how many people are allowed to be in the building at once. This is to help reduce the spread and make sure that people don’t need to worry too much about someone carrying the virus. The less people in a school building, the lower the chances of the virus spreading much faster. It is usually a requirement to have a certain number of people in a building at once. The less people, the better. An example here is with a school in Maspeth, Queens. They had reopened, but sadly due to people testing positive for the virus, it had to be closed immediately. This was to prevent the virus from spreading faster.

Now, let’s look more into the school. You’re inside the building, now what? Well, you’ve most likely heard about it- social distancing. When in school, and in public too, it is a requirement to keep a certain distance between each other, even in classrooms. This is also a method used to help reduce the spread of the virus and keep people safe. The distance between each other is usually six feet, but sometimes it may increase to take more precautions. When inside of a building as well, it is required to wear a mask. A mask is to help reduce the spread as well. Masks usually help stop the virus from spreading airborne and infecting others. Usually in society as well, it is required to wear a mask. But as part of staying safe in school, you will be required to wear one. We’ve now mentioned wearing a mask and social distancing, anything else? Of course! Being sanitary in general. You touch and pick up many germs everyday, it’s best to wash your hands often or at least use hand sanitizer. This also helps reduce the spread and helps keep people much safer. Things like washing your hands for a certain amount of time and not touching certain surfaces help to also reduce the spread. The things mentioned previously are usually the most basic yet important steps needed to ensure that people stay safe during this time.

These safety measures mentioned are usually the precautions that most people must do when inside of a building. But there are also some things that must be done, particularly by the staff or teachers at the school. Some of these things are figuring out a plan if students were to come back, cleaning up areas that students will be in and taking precautions. In schools, more surfaces need to be cleaned in order to get rid of any germs and help reduce the spread. It's part of being sanitary and most places require this, not just schools.

What if someone went to school and tested positive for the virus? If this occurs, that school with a case of Covid 19 is required to close and the students and staff who were there must quarantine for a certain amount of time, this time is usually around fourteen days according to the CDC. . Students safety is very important and during this time, it is best to take responsibility and precautions. If there are requirements in a certain setting, follow them in order to ensure that you keep yourself safe but more importantly, to keep others safe.

Below is an Interview with Executive Director, Dr. Brown:

Since the pandemic started, has there been any actions taken in order to keep the school environment safe?

“Since the end of March last year, the custodial staff has gone through each class and each room in the building and has sterilized them. As of this year, they come through with gear that is meant to disinfect things and these things, like sprays, are used all over the place and things get wiped down, the doors, and the things people touch. There are now signs and these signs are used for things like guiding people up and down stairs, and there is coordination between principals from the other schools.”

Some schools are currently open and some are closed, based on everything going on, how would you decide if Northside should stay closed or possibly reopen?

“We listen to the authorities, and thank god the state of New York listens to the scientists, we follow their mandates. We were given the option to decide to have in school learning, where only some kids can be in the building and some at home, and they switch off as time goes by. We just decided to go remote as the alternative. Public schools still remain closed and because of this and the things going on, we didn’t want to keep going in and out of school and right now it pays off. “

If students did return to Northside, what would be the requirements to ensure a safe environment for everyone?

“Although education is our priority, we can’t educate you unless you’re safe, right? Safety is important. We listen to the authorities. One, is it safe? Is our environment safe? If the answer is yes, then from here we figure out our precautions, and what are they? Using masks, keeping distances, cleaning and sanitizing, the usual.”

The health and safety of students, and everyone in general, matters a lot during this time. Make sure to do what is needed and follow the expectations to keep the environment safe for you and everyone around you.