Loving Teachers & Loving Schools Inspiring Classroom & School Practices

The High School Kinship of Cristal and Queen By Sara Rimer | The New York Times, June 24, 2007 Cristal, Queen and Ms. Smith The odds had never been in favor of Cristal Pimentel and Queen Bond graduating from high school. In the past they would have been dismissed by their schools as just two more teens heading nowhere. Sara Rimer reports in the NY Times how these two urban heroines graduated this past June from the High School of International Business and Finance - a smaller high school carved out of the dysfunctional mammoth George Washington High School in Manhattan. Motivated by their incredible friendship and their will to make something of themselves, they grasped the lifeline of educational opportunity offered by their caring teachers and a more personal high school. Not to be overlooked in this success story is the impact of the loving and supportive role played by Ms. (Carol) Smith, Queen’s English teacher and assistant principal of humanities at their school. Carol Smith was their emotional sounding board in addition to providing the two with resources and educational opportunities sensitively matched to meet their individual needs. thanks2teacher: CAROL SMITH  http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/24/nyregion/24grads.html?ex=1340337600&en=c490a2e7426da1a7&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss