El Paisano

Issue date: 3/13/09 Section: Lifestyles

Media Credit: Salomon Baeza/El Paisano Director of Operations Brenda Rivera and Co-Founder/Executive Director Ted Wyatt Hamory of the New City School.

Despite the recent economic down turns, the demand for dedicated and skilled teacher's remains. In fact the job hunting website careerbuilders.com has recently chosen education as its number one recession proof profession.

According to surveys performed by the National Center for Education Statistics within the next eight years at least 2.8 million teachers must join the existing 3.2 million teachers to handle the rise of enrollment and teacher retirement.

Thanks to programs like Rio Hondo's own Project Teach, new blood will be pumped into a system many may consider as flawed and failing. However the rigid standards of the public school system have given rise to an alternative, the charter school. While essentially a public school because of it's funding and the guidelines it must follow charter schools can pursue an alternative in education not usually allowed in regular public schools.

One example of this alternative is The New City School located in downtown Long Beach. Founded nearly a decade ago by Ted Wyatt Hamory and Stephanie Lee, two public school teachers, along with Brookes Marindin a local parent, New City has seen exponential growth and expansion.

New City's success has much to do with their modern approach to teaching which involves a dual-language - English and Spanish - immersion, community and arts-focused curriculum.

Which the faculty say help to open the kids up to a newer way of thinking and developing secondary views to their environment.

Originally founded as a Kindergarten to Eighth grade school thanks to grants like the Charter Growth Fund, New City has expanded their student population to include its first year of high school freshman. The grant has also allowed expansion of the campus itself from the original New City's campuses known as New City - Pine and New City - Long Beach Boulevard, the school has recently purchased and begun construction on a new site to house their growing high school population.

At their three campuses you will find smiling faces and children well versed in their studies all referring to their teachers by first name. According to Director of Operations Brenda Rivera, this helps the students to build a real connection with their teachers as well as showing a mutual respect for both teacher and student.

Continued...

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