I attended Head Start, School Number Thirty-Four, School Number Twenty-Nine, School Number Twelve, Thomas Jefferson, and John Marshall. John Marshall was my favorite school because there were a lot of opportunities there. Though I did not take advantage of a lot of those opportunities, there were teachers there who never gave up on me.  My Global Studies teacher, Mr. Altobelli, knew a lot and gave a lot of positive thought. He always had intelligent ideas to share with me. Whenever he saw me skipping or noticed I wasn't in his class, he would come out and look for me and bring me back to his class. At times I would say, "Why, why does he have to come and look for me?"

When I look back I wish I went to all my classes and paid attention. To this day I wish I could go back to that school.

I would design a school with teachers like Mr. Altobelli. My school would have writing classes and classes where we could make music, classes where we could write about anything and make any kind of beat, classes where we could learn about pursuing music as a career.

            By Markeish

Many nights and days I ask myself can I still make it to age twenty-one because where I live, in Rochester, New York, it's hard to stay alive. Every day someone gets killed or someone gets shot. Mothers pray every time their kids go outside the house or when they are out too late that something has not happened to their kids. It's hard to walk Rochester streets and not end up getting into something or seeing something you never wanted to see. Every day I think of what will help me get to age twenty-one. It's hard to avoid all the negative when you live in a world of that is filled with it. This is when I start to look at school like it's the only thing that can help me.

The school's I attended were Franklin, Madison, Thirty-three and Fifty-Four. These are all the schools that I have attended from my first day of school when I was little. My favorite school was Franklin because there are three floors, and there are a lot of females all over that school. The staff really did not stop us from running the halls. When a teacher sent us back to class, it was like that every time. I looked at Franklin like it was a place to go to have fun, and what I mean by fun is play fighting, running in the halls, and yelling at the staff. Then they put us out of school, and I was happy because I was not in school. My favorite school is different from all the other schools I attended where I couldn't run the halls and I couldn't yell at the staff and not get in trouble.

If I could design a good school, a school that I would like to go to every day, a school where I would feel comfortable and wanted, a school where I could learn new things, it would be a nice, clean school that doesn't have writing on the walls and nothing is broken in the halls. Also this school would have a staff that would help kids, a staff that would be happy to come to work to help us kids. This school would be the kind where when you get up at home and your mom asks you why you are up so early, you could tell her you want to the first one to school. This school would be a place where when its time to go home, you will be like we were just having fun! This school would show kids how an education fits into their lives, how an education is something kids in Rochester really need in life to make it to twenty-one and older.

Schools need to work on making it so that kids who don't have money like others won't get talked about because of what they wear. Staff needs to work on not putting kids down and making it their job to help kids make something of themselves. Schools have to work to become places where kids can say they really learned something.

            By Clarence Cooper

I went to Number Forty-Five School for two years, Number Twenty-Five School for four years, Number Twenty-Two School for five months, and Charlotte High School for four years.

My favorite school was Number Twenty-Five School because I was getting good grades. I could pay attention in this school.

If I could design a good school, it would be clean and big. One class would have bad kids, and those kids would get extra things good to do. The school I would design would show children how to make a living and how to get a good paying job so they could support themselves and their families.

            By Cameron

I went to Number Thirty-Three School, Benjamin Franklin, Number Thirty-Nine School, and

East High. East High was my favorite because the teachers didn't know me as much, and it was hard for me to get into trouble

I started trouble at Franklin. I got kicked out and put in GTI and ITI. I also had terrible grades because of my attendance and suspension.

An ideal school for me would be located on the east side near my house. I would know everybody in this school and wouldn't get into fights. An ideal school is one located on the side of town where kids live. This school would have more than one teacher in a class. There would be low tolerance for skipping, fighting, and bad attendance.

I would like to know a lot of history and science. I love to calculate math. I like to read and spell words I don't know in English.

Do kids who live in the city have to go to a suburban school, like Greece, to get a good education?

            By Tevin

I attended Number Six School; I was there for seven years. I was at Freddie Thomas for seven years also

My favorite school is Number Six School because when I was in that school I had something going for myself.

Number Six School was different from Freddie Thomas because in Number Six School I was young, and it wasn't about Westside Eastside, Blood set, Crib set. There was none of that.

My ideal school would be open seven days a week. You would do work Monday through Friday, but on Saturday and Sunday it would be the hangout for everybody who goes to that school so everybody could just hang out and have fun.

In my ideal school, teachers should not slack because that's not doing their job.  In this school it would not be about the gangs and the baby mama drama and the street beef and all of the bullshit of people going to school for fashion, to show off their new Jordans and their new Rocawear jeans.

Education mean a lot to me you, I know I need an education to survive the game because with out an education what can I be?

            By Jamar

To make things better in Rochester's schools, I would design a school where there is attentiveness to the learning styles of the children. Teachers who understand poverty and who are the same race as the students would staff this school. In this school there would be funds for secondary school children to go on trips that will help them in understanding and increase their learning capabilities.

            By Tony

I attended Number Thirty School, Number Four School, Number Twenty-Nine School and John Marshall High.  My favorite school was Number Four School because it was a school where we all knew each other. It was a place where when we went we went knowing we were going to be safe.  Number Four School was different in a lot of ways. People helped one another. Teachers looked at us as one of their own.  I have not seen another school like this.

My favorite School, Number Four School, would be how I would design a school.  I would design a school where kids know they can get an education, a school that makes kids feel like they are somebody who can have an education and do something in life.

Children go to school for a reason, to see how to reach goals and learn more of what they need to succeed.

            By Marvin

I attended School Number Eight for four years, School Number Forty-Five for two years, School Number Thirty-three for three years, Douglass for four years, and Dr. Freddie Thomas for two years.

My favorite school was School Number Eight. School Number Eight was clean and the teachers there cared about helping out students. I had the best teacher at this school. Her name was Mrs. Seft. Mrs. Seft took me to the movies and out to eat to Bill Gray's.

My ideal school would have a good environment with teachers who make kids feel comfortable about coming to school to learn.

            By Tishawn

I went to School Number Twenty-Two, School Number Thirty-Six, and Jefferson. My education went "bad" because I never went to school because of my reading and writing. They tried to help me, but I never participated.

School Number Twenty-Two was my favorite school because I had lots of friends who could relate to my problems with the same learning issues. This made me feel more comfortable. When I got to Jefferson I

was afraid. School Number Twenty-Two was different because I had more help.

School doesn't end at 3:00. I would design a school that has after school programs. I would design a school where students can relate to each other and to each other's learning issues. I don't think that the number of students in the class matters as much as the type of students in the class.

I'll be honest I was one of the bad kids, interrupting class, throwing things, getting in trouble. I think if I had teachers who had good discipline I wouldn't have been the kid I was. I was getting the schoolwork I needed, but I was a kid who brought street thoughts into school. I think if my environment at home was not what it was maybe I would have been able to learn better. I think after school programs would have kept me busy and helped me to learn to do the things I had to do in school.

            By Mark

It seems to me that most of the teachers in the city school district don't care about any thing but getting through the lesson. They don't care about if you get the lesson or of you understand it, only if they get through it. In my ideal school, teachers would care if you understood the lesson.

Some people get long term suspended for simple things such as writing on desks and skipping classes. Things like this can ruin their lives. In my ideal school, there would be no long-term suspension.

I went to Thomas Jefferson for three years, to Hillside for one month, and to Edison Tech for two years. My favorite school was Edison Tech. The reason for this is because when I first arrived at Edison my freshman year I was overwhelmed with joy and perseverance. It made me feel like whatever I choose to pursue as a career I could accomplish there.

If I could design my own school it would be a lot like Edison Tech. I would have better teachers though and better authority figures. I would test the arriving freshman, not on their academic ability but by what their biggest common interests are. Then from that test I would place them in classes by what they want to learn to make the most of themselves in their careers. There would be five to eight students in each class.

Children go to school to prepare for life, so they can become something in life. This would be the motto for the school I would design. I want children to learn that knowledge is power.

            By Marcus

I think a good school would know that city school kids need things that they can relate to. There would be automotive shop for kids who like working on cars, and a skilled trade class for kids who love to build things and love hands on work, and a technology class for kids who love computer things. If schools had things city school kids could relate to, kids would believe there was something actually there for them to do and learn.

From pre-school to high school, I went to ABC Head start, and then from kindergarten to second grade, I went to Number Nine School. For third grade I went to Number Twenty-Two School, for fourth grade I went to Number 14 School, for fifth grade I traveled back to Number Nine School. I graduated and went to Dr. Freddie Thomas for sixth and seventh grades. For eighth grade I was I went Joseph Villa. Then I was modified to Industry Limited Secure and spent my tenth grade year there. That didn't stop. I did what I was supposed to to get out, and I went to Hart Street to get enrolled back in school. I ended going to Edison School of Engineering and Manufacturing.

I really have two favorite schools. The first is Number Fourteen School because my aunt worked there and everyday at lunch my cousin and I got like 2 or 3 ice creams. I was young, what do you expect for me to believe in vegetables. My second favorite school was Number Nine School, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. School. I liked it there because I learned a lot. All of the kids I was growing up with were in my classes. It was fun to learn with the same kids I played with.

My ideal school would be just like Edison because with each school you have the basics being taught but you are also learning a trade. Education fits into my life because I know without it I would have nothing or be nothing. Some kids go to learn, others just to be cool. I really don't know what flows through others brains, but education to me means learning to build a better for myself.

            By Antwon

I attended Corpus Christi one year, Number Twelve School for three years, Number Twenty-Two School for one year, and Number Four School for three years, Douglass for two years, and East High for four and a half years. My favorite school was Number Four School. I liked this school best because it helped me and I found a teacher who showed interest in me. She made the school better than it was. When I was down she made me feel better. She knew how life was for me, and she helped me feel good about coming to school. She was also a good mentor for me.

My ideal school would have teachers like that. It would have teachers who care how we feel, who try to find out why we are so angry or sad sometimes.

            By Edward

I attended East High School for one and one-half years, School Number Thirty-Three for one year, School Number Fifty for one year, and School Number Thirty-Six for three years. My favorite school was School Number Thirty-Six because we went on a lot of field trips. School Number Thirty-Six was different from the other schools I attended because the educational program cared about us.

If I could design a good school, it would be located in the center or around the city. It would provide the best education possible by making sure every subject has a teacher who not only taught what they studied, but also taught lessons from their lives. School is a part of life for both the pupil and the teacher. I would hire two to three supervisors for every subject to aid the teachers with paperwork, time off, disciplinary issues and classrooms. The school would be made from the best and financially budgeted material. The halls would be separated by class and by subject.

In this school teachers would know the social condition of each and every child enrolled. The school district would know the common goals of each and every child enrolled in it and know the dreams of each child enrolled and encourage them to "run" towards their goals.

School and education fit into my life very loosely. The importance of education dissolved with my house structure, my friends and hobbies, and extracurricular activities. I was long termed from school due to clowning around. I was not contacted until two years after I was long termed, and then I was asked, "Why didn't you come to school last year?" By that time I fell into the bad influences of "teenager hood." Due to the lack of motivation by teachers and kids, I felt useless and stopped attending to my education.

The effects of life in school can be devastating and must be addressed for this generation, my generation, to succeed. Children go to school to learn so much information. Children stop going to school when the information can't be used and is naturally discarded by the brain.

To me education means opportunity, new experiences, and a key to a door that opens the world. The key must be created delicately with discipline, perseverance, cooperation, and the willpower to live a better life than yesterday.

            By Malcolm