We’re Learning Here
New Mission High School
Serving more than six hundred students in grades 7-12, New Mission High School shares the former Hyde Park HS building with BCLA. Norma Colón, New Mission’s secretary for the past 18 years, welcomed me to the school on a warm November day.
I stop to look at eighth grade “I Am” poems, human body system posters outside the health class, and a small Day of the Dead “ofrenda” to honor people who have died. The hallways also advertise candidates for student government positions and after school activities. ABA Paraprofessional Sabrina Diaz has started a Journalism club to bring student voices to the school’s monthly newsletter. She is new to NMHS and says she has felt appreciated since Day 1: “What really attracted me is the homey feeling, a staff that is very supportive and connected and open to new ideas.”
René Reyes animatedly gives directions to his world history class, where ninth grade students are learning about different religions. The assignment of the day has them working in small groups to address the essential question: “By comparing the lives and teachings of Jesus and the Buddha, should they be remembered as more similar or dissimilar?”
In Rita Flynn‘s class, 8th graders are reading I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, while Myles McNamara‘s seniors tackle A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini. Several classes are working on understanding “claim, evidence, and reasoning” as they analyze text or even, in Felicia Valentine-Perry‘s ninth grade algebra class, solutions to math problems!
The population of New Mission HS has more than doubled since its founding as a small pilot school in Mission Hill, although its vision and values remain the same. Core experiences include project-based portfolios, AP coursework for every student, and advisories to provide guidance in identifying and reaching individual goals. Andreea Panaitescu, an engineering and physics teacher who is new to the school, says she is impressed by New Mission’s tight-knit community and the effectiveness of its outreach to families.
Enjoy the photos and voices of New Mission HS students, and please invite me to visit YOUR school!
Amika Kemmler-Ernst, Ed.D.
amika45@gmail.com
~ Niyani Jefferson-Osborne, Grade 9
~ Danielle DuBois, ABA Paraprofessional, Grade 9
~ Timothy Jones, Grade 12
~ Vaariq Brade, Grade 8
~ Luisana Villalona, Grade 10