Category Archives: Students

For a year now, the fifth graders have been best friends. They live 12 houses from each other on a busy, Norwalk, Conn., street. Marbella, born to a Columbian mother and Panamanian father, is outspoken, fearless, a natural leader. Hydea, an African-American who lives with her grandmother, is shy, tall, unsure of herself. Neither is a strong student or skilled reader. But they struggle for different reasons. Marbella’s priority is being social. She’s not particularly interested in working hard in school. She’ll fulfill an assignment, but seldom provide more than the bare minimum required. Hydea tries hard, yet lacks confidence. She’s the type of student who begs anonymity, who would never raise her hand in class, even if she knew the correct answer. Both would benefit from the help of Mrs. Schaefer, the school’s literacy specialist. But because of time constraints – a result of the pressure she feels to lift school reading scores on the state standardized test tied to No Child Left Behind – she can work with just one. Though the girls don’t know it, they are locked in a contest for Mrs. Schaefer’s attention. The one not chosen could be in danger of falling even further behind.

Like Mr. Morey, Mr. Hay graduated high school having no firm grasp on what career to pursue. Like Hydea, he was preternaturally shy. To no one’s surprise, he chose the nearest college, Fitchburg State, ten miles from his home. He majored in education because Fitchburg was known as a fine teachers college. He chose elementary school because it was the easiest path to land a teaching position. And yet, haphazard as it seemed, he had pursued the perfect career for himself. Almost immediately, he fell in love with his job. Shy among peers, he blossomed around children. For 18 years he taught fifth and sixth graders in and around his hometown. Eventually, he became a principal. When he arrived at Brookside in 2003, he found a troubled and divided building. Academically, it ranked last among Norwalk’s 12 elementary schools. Schisms had riven the faculty. It didn’t help that the building was undergoing a major reconstruction. Mr. Hay proved the calming force that reset Brookside on a positive track. But would he be able to lift it enough to pass?