Features

Avi Cantor

Staff Writer

Imagine a mid-October day last year. A mob of students scuffles through the small doors of the SLA Center City campus. They have a wide variety of expressions on their faces:

Tired: a backpack lazily sagging off of their shoulders as the top of their eyelids droop down with minimal space between upper and lower eyelid.

Irritated: a private phone call made more public than it has to be is paired nicely with a 24 ounce Dunkin Donuts iced coffee. The coffee doesn’t fit the frigid 40-degree day in any way.

Satisfied: bits of cream cheese or bread crumbs clinging to the corners of their lips as the rose color in their cheeks spreads toward their ears.

In the midst of it all stands Co-Principal Aaron Gerwer, greeting everyone with a smile on his face. He shakes the hands of some, fistbumps others; interacts with all.

These kinds of interactions with the student body were a hallmark of Principal Gerwer’s presence at the school and created a familial environment that made students feel comfortable and safe.

However, these interactions unfortunately only lasted for so long. Mr. Gerwer decided to move on from SLA to join the String Theory High School staff as the principal.

But instead of being mad at him for leaving, many students are happy for him and wish him good luck. One of these students is Senior Zahira Tucker. Tucker had a very close relationship with the former principal.

“If I wasn’t in Mr. Gerwer’s office at least once a week, then I don’t know what I would’ve done,” she stated. “With everything that was going on [in my life], Mr. Gerwer knew a lot about me and he definitely helped me get through a lot.”

The two became very close in between freshman and sophomore year when Tucker was having personal issues and wanted to find someone to talk to. She usually talked to school counselor Zoe Siswick about these issues but found that she wasn’t in school on a day that she needed someone to vent to.

She decided to approach Mr. Gerwer and the two went into his office to talk. Tucker felt really comfortable around him and found that he was “helpful” and “a very observant person”.

Tucker and Mr. Gerwer’s relationship only grew from there and eventually, Tucker would ask for a college letter of recommendation from him, even after word spread that he was leaving.

Even though Tucker was crushed by Gerwer’s decision to leave, she still hoped the best for him and will “miss him just strolling through the hallways”. This casual, but caring attitude is something that members of his new school are starting to experience first hand.

Students at String Theory are enjoying the energy and vibrant personality that Mr. Gerwer brings to their school. Senior Lamar Thomas was initially skeptical of Gerwer but now accepts him into the String Theory community.

“He’s pretty cool,” Thomas explained. “He lets us be free in the hallways and stuff but gets on us if we’re playing around too much. I think he’s gonna be a good principle for us.”

Despite Mr. Gerwer’s departure, members of the SLA community like Zahira Tucker understand what kind of impact he had on our community and wish him the best at his new job.

Photo Courtesy of http://philaschoolpartnership.org

Lauren Nicolella

Staff Writer

Frantically finishing essays, attending open houses, and reading statistics given in a booklet are some of the staples of the overwhelming high school application process. Families prepare to attend SLA so they can get a feel of the atmosphere and learning environment.

By the time they are accepted to SLA, prospective students understand that the school is different. But what are their impressions before freshman year? What ideas — both true and false — are floating around Philadelphia? That’s where Program Coordinator Jeremy Spry comes in.

In order to personalize their connection to prospective students, high schools gauge interest by visiting middle schools. Most of the staff members go out to schools to present information about the school, but Spry is typically the person who explains all things SLA. However, SLA can only do so much to inform prospective applicants about the school.

Based on interviews with current 8th and 9th graders, students’ perceptions depend on what their middle school is like. Teachers, counselors, and fellow students tend to inform others of what they hear, especially when it comes to interest in a high school.  

Science Leadership Academy is already a part of the minority, being a smaller project-based school with a large community, and it is one of the few high schools in Philadelphia to require an interview.

Current freshman Guy Bayan came from Stratford Friends School, which is located in  Newtown Square, PA. Given that Stratford Friends is about half the size of SLA, Bayan had to acclimate himself to a school that is much larger and more diverse than he was used to.

“I already knew that SLA was very racially diverse. Also, it was close to my home and because it is a science-oriented, project-based high school, it spiked my interest,” said Bayan.

He expanded further on what interested him, and how that influenced his decision.

“Some of the positive things I heard were SLA’s ninety-something college acceptance rate,” Bayan explained.

The active artist was pleasantly surprised by the teaching style of the SLA staff. He enjoys the way every teacher is able to engage everyone in the class, especially English teacher–among other things–Matt Kay. However, not everything he heard about SLA was flattering.

“The negatives I heard is that students did drugs,” Bayan stated.

He heard about this while attending camp, amongst the talk of Philly high schools.

Although the opinions of students who have already gone through the process were important, it was crucial to get the stance of a current prospective student.

Eighth-grader Lilly Squillaciotti is currently in the process of applying to high schools and has been considering SLA as one of her choices. She attends William M. Meredith Elementary School. Her teachers and counselors provided her with some basic knowledge about SLA.

“I’ve heard it’s a really great school if you’re creative and work well with others, but I’ve also heard it’s in an inconvenient spot and harder to get into,” Squillaciotti explained.

Squillaciotti also mentioned that Meredith tells the students that Center City is the better campus, but did not elaborate further beyond the expectations and criteria she’s heard about.  

Another student who ended up deciding on SLA Center City was freshman Yohanna Heyer. Heyer attended Masterman Middle School and described how it was a different scene compared to her old one.

“[SLA] felt more welcoming and relaxed than my previous [school],” she explained. “But I also heard it was easy. That stays true for certain things, but benchmarks do take up a lot of work.”

It’s always important to seek out your own opinions and ideas about somewhere, because it may turn out to be something completely unexpected. There are a lot of students who did not expect to attend SLA, figured out that it was one of the best choices they could have made for themselves.

Sukainah Hasan  

Staff Writer

It’s a regular day in SLA. Everyone is going to class. Wanda goes to her seat, grabs her hairbrush, and starts to brush her hair.

Going into a new school can always be a nervous feeling. For example, when you’re a freshman, you don’t know what to expect. Every year, SLA welcomes someone new in each grade. Junior Wanda Cobb is one of the newest additions to the SLA community.

Before SLA

Wanda Cobb was born and raised in West Philadelphia. Growing up, Wanda was a foster child, going back and forth to different foster homes until Wanda’s aunt received full custody of Cobb and her sister. At the beginning of 2018, Wanda’s aunt passed away, and Cobb had to live with her older sister. Now that Cobb’s aunt is gone, Cobb has to get everything she wants on her own.

Before transferring to SLA, Wanda attended Motivation High School in West Philadelphia. According to college simply, Motivation’s overall rating is a 5 out of 10 and is the 294th Pennsylvania high school rank. SLA’s overall rating is an 8 out of 10 and is the 90th Pennsylvania high school rank.

“When I applied to Motivation, I had to really work hard to get in,” Wanda explained.

Once she was there, however, Wanda didn’t get the impression that Motivation was helping her with what she wanted in life. She had a cousin at SLA who got her interested in the school.

“When I heard about SLA, it seemed that I would have more opportunities as a student since I’m going to college soon,” Wanda explained.

“When I first applied to SLA, I thought I didn’t have enough potential to get in, because I knew that I  had to work hard to get in, especially if I wanted to get accepted so late in my high school years,” Wanda said.

Adjusting to SLA

When Cobb first walked into her first-period class, it put a smile right on her face.

“Everyone was clapping, and welcoming me to SLA,” Wanda explained.

Even though SLA so far is good for Wanda, she realized that there are differences between SLA and Motivation. For example, at Motivation, you have to wear a uniform, while in SLA there isn’t a uniform policy.

“I like that there isn’t no uniform policy at SLA because wearing a uniform doesn’t allow you to express yourself.”

Another difference between SLA and Motivation is learning techniques. SLA’s method of learning is moving to different classes at different times.

“When I was in Motivation, I didn’t really move around to my different classes, so I like that SLA does that.” She also appreciates that SLA has a more diverse student body, whereas Motivation was overwhelmingly African-American.

In the future, Cobb wants to pursue a nursing career. With this being her goal, Cobb knows that she must work hard in school so that she can go to the best college to equal with success. Since Wanda has a cousin that goes to SLA, Wanda decided that the best thing for her future was to apply to SLA.

Impressions from Others

One of her supporters will be her advisor, Victor Hernandez.

When Wanda first came to SLA, Mr. Hernandez was very excited.

“When I first met Wanda, I thought she was very friendly, and honest about her opinions,” Mr. Hernandez said.

One of the main things that Wanda is trying to focus on is getting as many opportunities as she can so that she can be successful in her nursing career.

“Something that I think Wanda will gain from SLA is experiencing things she’s never encountered before, and meeting new people,” Mr. Hernandez explained.

Even though it is 2 months into the school year, Wanda is still trying to get used to her new schedule, but she enjoys being in SLA. As for the brushing her hair, Cobb says it’s a habit.