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Schools

NRHS Seniors Take on 'The Challenge of Democracy'

Daily News columnist Errol Louis participates in Civics Week panel discussion.

New Rochelle High School seniors Amy Fosina, John Kim, Adam Turkle and Zachary Whitman shared their thoughts on "The Challenge of Democracy" Thursday at the annual Civics Week Symposium sponsored by the New Rochelle Fund for Educational Excellence.

The AP government and AP economics students were chosen to present their essays on the topic, reflecting the district's year-long commemoration of the Lincoln School desegregation case.

A panel of community luminaries, moderated by Westchester County Clerk Timothy C. Idoni, critiqued the essays. New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson; Hon. Kathie Davidson, supervising judge for the 9th Judicial District;  Prof. Alex Eodice of Iona College; community advocate Martha Lopez-Hanratty; and Errol Louis, a columnist for the New York Daily News and frequent CNN contributor, then led a discussion on various aspects of citizenship.

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"The symposium was a unique experience," Fosina said. "I was able to hear a paper that I wrote be discussed and debated not only by my fellow classmates, but by a panel that included our county and city leaders. As a high school student, this is a rare opportunity. I also thoroughly enjoyed reading the other students' essays and hearing the debates about [them]."

After the event, Bramson said he was "enormously impressed" by the quality of the student presentations, questions and comments. "If this is the next generation of leaders, we will be in very good hands," he said.

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Other Civics Week activities included elementary school trips to City Hall and members of local government speaking at the schools.

The NRFEE is a private, non-profit foundation that supports enrichment programs throughout New Rochelle's public schools. Other programs created and supported by the NRFEE include chess instruction in the elementary schools; the Kaplan SAT prep course, which provides every high school student access to affordably priced tutoring for college entrance exams; the annual Literary Festival; the Science Speakers Bureau; theater productions at the high school and middle schools; and the Museum of Arts & Culture, the only Regents-chartered museum in a school in New York State.

 "These programs are not part of the annual school budget, and without the Fund they would not be available to enhance the learning experiences of New Rochelle's students," explained Meri Hilton, chairperson of the NRFEE board of directors.

For more information about the New Rochelle Fund for Educational Excellence visit the website at www.nredfund.org.

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