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Jean Lewis, grandmother of two Harvard students and one former student:
The school was an out-of-control place. The students would get out of school and shed their clothes on front lawns and fight like it was Vietnam. It wasn’t safe in and it wasn’t safe out. One time four kids jumped my grandson in the bathroom and he was down on the floor and they were kicking him.
Still, when I heard about the new school, my feelings were mixed. I attended the meeting (about the turnaround) and when I heard the vision of what was to come, I began to get excited. I thought, ‘This is going to be a good thing, but the proof is in the pudding.’ On the very first day, I shared with a neighbor across the street, I said, ‘Ssshhh, do you hear that?’ She said, “No, I don’t hear anything.” I said, ‘Exactly.’ That was one thing that really impressed me. The environment became a safe haven.
When my grandson was in eighth grade at Harvard the first year of the turnaround, two of his teachers were instrumental in introducing him to the ETA Theater. He aspires to be an actor and dancer. ETA does a full scholarship for him. They grabbed him and he has appeared in mainstage plays and matinees. Now he’s rewriting the play “The Wiz” for Harvard.
This has been one of the best things that could have taken place in this community. The stores partner with us and shut their doors to kids at 8:45 a.m. because they’re supposed to be in school. We’ve come together. These are our children. |
