Murmurs through the classroom, “Slide?”  “Did he say Slide got shot?”  “Oh it was Slide who got shot.”  Many of the kids knew “Slide” evidently; none knew he was shot, except Andrew, who had proclaimed that Slide had been shot.  What prompted the statement and murmurings through the class was Devon Day, English and Writing teacher at Wilson High School, saying that a Wilson student had been shot a week or so previously and did anyone know who the student was.  After much head shaking and looking around wondering who may have been shot, Andrew let them know who it was, “Slide”.  Had Andrew or Day given “Slide’s” real name most of the kids in the bungalow classroom probably would not have known who he was; once his street name was mentioned, they almost all knew him.

I was sitting in Devon Day’s freshman Literacy Workshop class at 8:00 on Friday morning.  There were about twenty kids in the class.  I learned that most were Hispanic and almost half had spent time in the Truancy Center of Long Beach Unified School District.  One girl wore a sweatshirt with the image of a young teenager and the dates “10-15-91 – 11-26-06”, apparently another child struck down in our city memorialized on a shirt.  One student spent most of the class snapping my photo as I addressed his classmates.  While early in the morning, every student was engaged and participatory - I could sense they enjoyed this class, this room and what they were learning.

Devon Day came to my attention in an article in the Press-Telegram in which Dr. Mauricio Heilbron Jr. had visited one of Day’s classes and some of Day’s students’ journal entries were printed in the paper.  Heilbron, or “Doctor Mo”, had written an incredibly moving essay late one evening after trying to save an 11-year old boy that had been shot in the chest.  Heilbron’s well-read piece in the Press Telegram began with the result, “I just finished sewing up a dead boy.”  Reading this column in the Press-Telegram, Day asked Doctor Mo to come address her students, many of whom knew Jose Luis Garcia Bailey, the 11 year old shot and killed in Long Beach.

Reading Day’s students’ journal entries moved me tremendously.  Here, I thought, are the words and voices our community needs to read and hear.  How can I help elevate their thoughts and views of our city, their world, to others who may not every have the chance?  I contacted Day and after several conversations and emails we worked out a plan to use the Long Beach Post, and for now my little corner of the internet here on My Front Porch, to post her students’ work for you to read. 

One of Day’s predecessors in the Language Arts Program at Wilson High School is more well known than Day may ever be—which is fine with Day.  In the 1990’s a young, energetic teacher came to Wilson High School and began working with students who were on the edge of failing out of school; students who were having problems in all classes; students who were behind the curve in reading and writing.  Slowly this teacher began using other young adult and teen-age writings to bring her classes together and get them to write about their own experiences.  Using “The Diary of Anne Frank” as the start of her teaching, Erin Gruwell became famous as her class’s journals became published and they became known as the Freedom Writers; fame elevated even further with the production of a major motion picture starring Hillary Swank as Gruwell.  When “Freedom Writers” hit the movie theaters many locally were appalled and angry over the depiction of Wilson High School as a gang infested inner city school; some blaming Gruwell as if she were the director and producer.  Many were, and still are, equally upset with Gruwell as they feel she used her students to elevate herself to fame and fortune; many of those upset are still teaching on the Wilson campus. This has been a difficult situation for Day, whose main interest is to find strategies that work to help at-risk students feel part of their school.  Because she is a member of Gruwell’s Freedom Writers Teacher’s Institute, some feel she will follow Gruwell’s path out of the classroom—having met Day, I know nothing could be further from the truth.  Gruwell established the Freedom Writer’s Foundation to help teachers across America and Canada learn from her and each other how to reach out and teach to disadvantaged students, students who have been passed along but barely grasp how to read and write; students who are at great risk of becoming the wrong statistics in their local communities.  The Freedom Writers Institute has provided 150 teachers with resources for engaging the students who might otherwise choose the streets over school.  These tools help teachers help students stay in school and find their place in that school through writing. 

Through the Freedom Writers Teacher’s Institute, Day has established a connection with a teacher at Musselman High School in Inwood, West Virginia.  The two teachers, Day in Long Beach and Chad Spencer in West Virginia, began a pen pal program between their students.  With each letter the students see what similarities they share despite living in two very different environments; as well as the differences in their daily lives.  As the pen pal relationships grew stronger so did the desire to meet face to face.  Day’s students have come up with a project proposal to visit their pen pals in West Virginia next Fall.  The proposal estimates approximately $40-50,000 will be needed to send forty students and chaperones to West Virginia, provide food and lodging as well as supplies so they may record their experiences.

In the coming weeks you will have the opportunity to meet Devon Day’s amazing students.   Sitting in their classroom and engaging in conversation with them last week was a great experience; one I hope can be shared with you through their writings.  As you read their experiences and connect with them I will ask that you find a way to help them with their trip to West Virginia.  A fund has been established with the Long Beach Education Foundation for the trip and in future posts more information will be provided of how you can donate.

With this we kick off our series for the "Long Beach Writers," as they have dubbed themselves.  I want to thank Devon Day and all her students for participating and sharing their views with the Long Beach Post readers and our community.  Every Friday, a new post will be put on My Front Porch from one of the Long Beach Writers at Wilson High School; we may have some guest-posts from teen-agers at Musselman High School in Inman, West Virginia.  Every Friday you will the opportunity to learn from students in our community, students considered “at-risk”, students whose voices we need to hear if we are to build a better community for all children.

To protect the students, their names have been changed for this Post.  For their contributions to later postings it will be up to each student to use their real name or a pseudonym for their contributions and stories.

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