Return to FREIRE: AN INSIDE LOOK
*Most of this interview has been paraphrased.
Who are the students? What do they want from their schooling? Their lives?
The students come from all over the city. Many of them want to do well and attend college. Their reasons for attending Freire vary from not wanting to go to their neighborhood school to liking the nonviolence policy to their parents wanting them to. They are “really cool kids.”
From Freire’s Parent and Student Handbook: “Freire Charter School is a 100% non-violent community. Any student who does something violent (even if they do something violent while defending themselves) must be recommended for expulsion from the school.” (p. 6)
(See http://freirecharterschool.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Parent-Student-Handbook-2013-2014.pdf for more information)
What is it like to teach at Freire? What are the teachers like there?
Freire “respects you as your own teacher” with a supportive administration. If a parent has an issue, then the administration will back up the teacher. However, most of the parents are supportive of the school and its teachers. Teachers are encouraged to do peer observations, and they continue to grow because of the constant feedback that they get from the administration and other teachers.
How would you describe the neighborhood surrounding Freire?
There are a lot of local businesses around Freire, including local coffee shops and food trucks. The 10th-12th graders are allowed to go out and get lunch if they want. Most of them do buy their lunches from the markets and food trucks nearby. Some of the businesses do not like the big crowds of kids because they sometimes hover around in front of their stores.
Who are the students? What do they want from their schooling? Their lives?
The students come from all over the city. Many of them want to do well and attend college. Their reasons for attending Freire vary from not wanting to go to their neighborhood school to liking the nonviolence policy to their parents wanting them to. They are “really cool kids.”
From Freire’s Parent and Student Handbook: “Freire Charter School is a 100% non-violent community. Any student who does something violent (even if they do something violent while defending themselves) must be recommended for expulsion from the school.” (p. 6)
(See http://freirecharterschool.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Parent-Student-Handbook-2013-2014.pdf for more information)
What is it like to teach at Freire? What are the teachers like there?
Freire “respects you as your own teacher” with a supportive administration. If a parent has an issue, then the administration will back up the teacher. However, most of the parents are supportive of the school and its teachers. Teachers are encouraged to do peer observations, and they continue to grow because of the constant feedback that they get from the administration and other teachers.
How would you describe the neighborhood surrounding Freire?
There are a lot of local businesses around Freire, including local coffee shops and food trucks. The 10th-12th graders are allowed to go out and get lunch if they want. Most of them do buy their lunches from the markets and food trucks nearby. Some of the businesses do not like the big crowds of kids because they sometimes hover around in front of their stores.
There are some school staff that monitor the sidewalks close by to make sure that the students are not blocking walkways and entranceways too much. It seems that the small stores that the kids mostly go to appreciate the business, but the larger/sit-down restaurants (teacher mentioned a Japanese sushi restaurant) do not like the students as much. When asked more about why else the businesses may not be as welcoming of the students, the teacher did say it is also because they are big groups of black kids. She wishes that it was different but that unfortunately the world is still like that.
For fire drills, the school evacuates to Rittenhouse Square. For their big annual gathering event “Take Back the City,” the school meets at the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia on 21st and Chestnut.
(To read about the 2014 “Take Back the City” event: http://thenotebook.org/blog/147101/lesson-empathy-freire-charter-students-take-back-city)
What is the school-wide culture like?
There are not really specifics to the school culture at Freire. In general, it is a “positive” culture. An emphasis on hard work is present with 30% of a student’s grade being based on effort. Since 75% is the minimum passing grade, students may not pass a class purely because of low effort. Culture seems to exist on more of a grade level, particularly for the 9th graders. They have to wear a uniform (Freire shirts), so everyone knows that they are in the 9th grade. With good individual behavior and performance, they gradually do not have to wear the uniform anymore.
For teachers, the dress code is flexible with some teachers wearing business casual attire and others wearing jeans. The teacher herself wears mostly business casual and dresses down on Fridays. Individual classroom cultures also exist. A common practice for 9th grade math classes is for the students to have a daily quiz at the beginning of class as their warmup.
For disagreements amongst students or between students and teachers, Freire has formal peer mediation. Both teachers and students can recommend each other to attend sessions, where a trained person, usually a Freire student, facilitates the conversation to help the involved parties reach or work towards a compromise/resolution.
For fire drills, the school evacuates to Rittenhouse Square. For their big annual gathering event “Take Back the City,” the school meets at the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia on 21st and Chestnut.
(To read about the 2014 “Take Back the City” event: http://thenotebook.org/blog/147101/lesson-empathy-freire-charter-students-take-back-city)
What is the school-wide culture like?
There are not really specifics to the school culture at Freire. In general, it is a “positive” culture. An emphasis on hard work is present with 30% of a student’s grade being based on effort. Since 75% is the minimum passing grade, students may not pass a class purely because of low effort. Culture seems to exist on more of a grade level, particularly for the 9th graders. They have to wear a uniform (Freire shirts), so everyone knows that they are in the 9th grade. With good individual behavior and performance, they gradually do not have to wear the uniform anymore.
For teachers, the dress code is flexible with some teachers wearing business casual attire and others wearing jeans. The teacher herself wears mostly business casual and dresses down on Fridays. Individual classroom cultures also exist. A common practice for 9th grade math classes is for the students to have a daily quiz at the beginning of class as their warmup.
For disagreements amongst students or between students and teachers, Freire has formal peer mediation. Both teachers and students can recommend each other to attend sessions, where a trained person, usually a Freire student, facilitates the conversation to help the involved parties reach or work towards a compromise/resolution.
What extracurricular/afterschool activities does Freire have?
- Sports: softball, baseball, soccer, cross country, basketball, cheerleading
- Students Run Philly- had some students run in and complete the Philadelphia Marathon (http://www.studentsrunphilly.org/)
- A capella choir, fashion club (puts on an amazing fashion show at the end of the year)
- Had theater two years ago, no band/orchestra (middle school has some students working with Philly POPS- http://www.phillypops.com/)
- Math, writing, and science centers for tutoring and a skill center
Can you tell me more about the different centers?
The skill center covers character education and organization and study skills. The students are not the biggest fans of it and call it the “jail center.”
The math center is a tutoring center that the students can come to after school. Teachers can make it mandatory for students to go for help. The tutors are trained Freire students, and there is usually 2-3 adult staff present to monitor and also tutor. Students can come in for test correction help. 9th graders receive partial credit back for test corrections, and students in other grades are able to retake their tests.
- Sports: softball, baseball, soccer, cross country, basketball, cheerleading
- Students Run Philly- had some students run in and complete the Philadelphia Marathon (http://www.studentsrunphilly.org/)
- A capella choir, fashion club (puts on an amazing fashion show at the end of the year)
- Had theater two years ago, no band/orchestra (middle school has some students working with Philly POPS- http://www.phillypops.com/)
- Math, writing, and science centers for tutoring and a skill center
Can you tell me more about the different centers?
The skill center covers character education and organization and study skills. The students are not the biggest fans of it and call it the “jail center.”
The math center is a tutoring center that the students can come to after school. Teachers can make it mandatory for students to go for help. The tutors are trained Freire students, and there is usually 2-3 adult staff present to monitor and also tutor. Students can come in for test correction help. 9th graders receive partial credit back for test corrections, and students in other grades are able to retake their tests.
Return to FREIRE: AN INSIDE LOOK
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