Welcome to Commie High

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Announcer

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The Michigan Theater and State Theater, bringing films and performing arts to the greater Ann Arbor area. And by contributions to your PBS station from viewers like you. Thank you. (radio static vibrating) -

Narrator

For the past two weeks in Ann Arbor, Michigan, parents, and many children have been waiting in line in sometimes freezing weather. They're hoping to get into the school of their choice, the district's only alternative public high school. NPR's Don Gagne reports. -

Don

More than a dozen brightly colored tents dot the lawn behind the Ann Arbor Public School District administration building. In the parking lot, there are three pop-up campers and assorted minivans. Ever since March 17, this has been home to a dedicated band of district residents, hoping to secure a spot for a child in the coming year's freshman class at Ann Arbor's Community High School. (mellow jazz music) I loved school.

I was always a good student, but when I learned about Community, it was like a whole different ball game for me. I really wanted to be able to explore the world, and that's what Community offered in a way that no other school offered. When I got to Harvard, I was able to function pretty well. And maybe, in part, it was Community that taught me that it's important to challenge yourself in different ways, and it's not just about being different for being different's sake.

That's not our bus. (laughs) -

Interviewer

Is it? I don't know. That is, that's our bus. All right.

I used to ride the bus back and forth to Community every day for the first couple of years that I was going to Community. It was a long bus ride. I'd get up in the morning in the dark, leave the house. (laughs) But I was so excited to go to school that I didn't care.

It didn't matter what the weather was. It didn't matter how cold, didn't matter how dark, I was ready to go to school every day. I have a kiddo and she's in eighth grade, so this is the year when kids decide where they want to go to high school. For a while, she didn't want to apply to Community.

She was afraid that she would get her heart set and because Community's now so popular and it's a lottery, only one in four kids get in and she wasn't sure that she can take the disappointment. But yeah, she's decided she's gonna, she's gonna go in for the lottery. (students chattering) (upbeat band music) This is the best day. Welcome to the first day of school, 2016-17!

(crowd cheering) We are so lucky that we get to have all of our assemblies in this beautiful, beautiful place. St. Andrew's is part of our community, and that's what Community High School is about. It's about learning from your community, giving back to your community, and learning how to be a part of a community.

I am inspired by students, by staff. I look at your passionate teachers who've been working so hard all summer long. So for example, Judith DeWoskin, (crowd cheering) right here. Judith is 73 years old and still comes to school and learns something every day from you guys.

(crowd cheering) (mellow jazz music) (students chattering) I went to Community High, graduated in '76. I didn't go there all four years, but that group was the first graduating class that had been there, many of my classmates from ninth grade to 12th. This is the founding blueprint. This was the group of teachers and administrators, and so on, who designed the school, including the idea of what forums are, why it's called Community, that you earned credit for doing stuff in the community.

Basically it ran the gamut and they, I think they tried to find teachers who were willing to, think outside the box. Some people stuck with very traditional values about the classroom and the structure, and then there was a more vociferous group, of which I was part, that said, "Let's play with this. Let's play with this." So it was a combination of people who were failing at other schools and also geniuses. It kind of went to that spectrum and I was failing, (laughs) but Community High saved my life and I do hold it totally responsible for having a bachelor's degree, a master's degree and everything.

I think a lot of people were challenged by what was going on in the late '60s, early '70s, psychologically, emotionally, culturally, traditionally. Lots of stuff was being thrown up in the air. All of this sort of turmoil led to them trying to settle things down, and they tried to create programs for kids because you had Pioneer High School, this big high school there, they're building Huron, those two schools were the most expensive schools in the country when they were built. These parents, they wanted something different for their kids, some kind of alternative school program.

So then, Bruce MacPherson was brought in as the superintendent because he had started something in Philadelphia called The School Without Walls, and that was a program where kids could get credit for doing work outside the school. And that was like the seed that sprouted into Community High School. Well, I was interested in being in a new type of high school and it was groundbreaking, so I was excited about that. My father was pretty frustrated because they did not have the backing of most everybody.

I mean, if you go back and check the "Ann Arbor News" out, you'll see some things going on and my father used to come home and say, "Hmm." The time that we had our very first meeting at the church across the street, Well, I think one of the articles, or on the news or something, said about the pot smoking in the church in the balcony. So my father definitely had to mention that. I wanted to be exposed to people who were aware and thinking. I wanted to have choice over what I was gonna learn.

Community High was the closest thing to that. So I came in with that understanding, as well, that we were changing education throughout the country. (mellow jazz music) Well, forum is the most important part of the school. If forum is done right, That's where you do a lot of learning and a lot of the learning you do in high school is growing up.

It's nice to have older kids and younger kids together, so the younger kids can learn from the older kids and then have a significant adult that kids are able to talk to. (students chattering) It's like a homeroom on steroids. I think people understand homeroom, but they don't understand that a forum leader goes camping, has sleepovers at her house, feeds kids all the time, keeps food in a closet. I had mice in my closet this year (chuckles) and I had to say the kids, "We can't do this.

The pantry's getting invaded." It's an advocate. It's a social director. We call it a forum mom and a forum dad. -

Student

Okay, what else do we need? Hey, I will buy you any junk food you want. So, I don't know the junk food. You give me the name.

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Student

Put Takis Fuego. What is Takis? (students loudly chattering) Wait a minute! I don't know what a Taki is!

(students laughing) Of course forum was different because that was not really like an academic class. I know we would plan our camping trips and stuff like that, and you know, when people would have problems or something that they needed to deal with, that wasn't so much during the forum class time. That would be like a one-on-one with the teacher, talking about what was going on. (students laughing) Kids, I think you've got it.

You're not gonna starve. No, the money, I didn't tell you because... It's the greatest concept because it gives you your anchor. For me, I think it really did substitute for a family where I wasn't getting that same nourishment or care, I guess, somebody who's genuinely caring about my interests and welfare.

(upbeat rock music) Oy, oy, oy Nick loves forum every day He does a lot of work just to get an A Hey Craig, that's the wrong grade You're lowering his GPA Forum's supposed to be an easy A That grade should be a 10 in space Stop this madness right away They don't learn anything anyways Why didn't I get an A in forum I would go on these camping trips and my aunt would say to me, "Judith, are other teachers doing this?" and I'd say, "Yes, we all do it. We're all going camping," Or, "We're all having activities that involve spending days with and evenings with our students." That makes a huge difference. Whoa Give Nick an "A" In forum (group laughing) This room, I think sometimes it's like 110. It is really hot.

It's like at the end of the day, when you're absolutely dead, you have 26 wired little kids come in the room and they're bouncing and they're starving, and then you do this. I mean, it's kind of nice because in a way we all kind of collapse together. -

Interviewer

Have you been at the school for a couple of years? 30. -

Interviewer

Have you been in this room for a long time? Yes, all that time. This is my room, my room. -

Student

Thank you, Judith! Thanks, Judith. Bye, you're welcome, guys. Bye, Judith.

Any more? He didn't just eat two hot dogs. No way, he definitely ate more than that. Community High had adults who would say, "Oh, I perceive your interests, and let's give you this opportunity." I mean, it's built into the structure of community High, community resource, right?

(mellow jazz music) David Tuck and I were quite close, and he's the one who came to me as dean and said, "We wanna have skateboarding for PE credit. Is it okay?" I said, "Just come back and explain to me how it qualifies, 'cause I don't know anything about skateboarding." And so they took me out in the parking lot and they were whizzing around and jumping on the little cement abutments. And I was like, "I'm down, let's do it." I wasn't a big fan of gym class, so me and my friend Marnin created a community resource class called, Swim, Swam, Swum, where we snuck into swimming pools of hotels around Ann Arbor and recorded our swimming and our heart rate, but also wrote about the experience of trying to sneak into these pools and not get caught. We had a student nursery in the school where kids would bring their babies and leave them there.

Other kids could get community resource credit for learning how to take care of babies, which is really cool. They had to do a certain amount of educational value and the kids had to learn some. I mean, if the CR is being monitored correctly, they have to learn something. But over time, it became a little more structured, and so there were classes like you would see in any high school, but you also had a real option if you wanted to do something different.

I was in charge of Community Resource Department, and teaching speech, and a forum leader, and we had hundreds of CRs. I would have a caseload, sometimes 250 CRs. A lot of kids spent more time out of school than in school and it was based on the Parkway Philadelphia idea that education isn't contained in brick and mortar. -

Narrator

Cue down. Good afternoon and welcome to "Students in the Spotlight." I'm Vicky Henry, and today with me, I have Tracy Osborn, who is a student at Community High School. Hi, Tracy. Hi.

I understand Community High's an alternative high school. What's that mean? It's a lot more freedom than most schools. Like, I don't know, most Ann Arbor schools.

What do you like best about this school? I like the freedom and the teachers. They're really nice, and the students are nice too. Well, we're out of time for today.

I hope you'll tune in tomorrow when I'll be talking to another Community High student. Thanks, Tracy. All right, Leah, do you have your phone? You have everything else you need?

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Leah

Yeah. Okay. So we did check out the application, actually, a few minutes ago and there's nothing to it. It's just like, your kid's name, your name, I think where they're in school right now and that's it.

So, we're going to Community High School for the information session for incoming ninth graders. Because my daughter, Leah, is gonna enter the lottery to see if she gets in. These didn't exist back when I went, so this'll be different. Leah, do you know what to expect?

Has anybody told you? -

Leah

No, everybody just said it was really packed. It was just really packed. So, it's so popular now that they have to have five of these things 'cause there's just so many families to include. Yeah, these are definitely not our era.

This one is. There's Tidra, right? That's my sister. So my husband is Trevor Staples and he hung out on the front porch, if he ever came to school.

Many years later, after I had already been married and divorced and had a child, he and I met again, actually at a Community High reunion, and became friends. And then several years after that, we started dating and eventually got married at Community High School (laughs) on the front porch. We definitely had different experiences at Community High. I have friends that are lifelong friends from my time at Community, but you know, the other day Kelly asked me who my forum leader was, and I just said, "I don't know." I don't remember who my forum leader was.

(laughs) I mean, that's how detached I was from the academic part of Community. (soft music) And that's part of why it's surprising for people that we're together and that we're still together. The other high schools were very strict and rigid, and Community High was a place that was more loose, and maybe something in between there would have been better for me. I wasn't prepared to do school how Community does school, or did school then.

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Woman

How are you? She's totally calm. She's not sweating this. I'm like the wreck.

Already, it seems so much more professional. We were so, not gonna say disorganized, but it didn't feel formal in any way. And so already though, I can feel like it's a little more serious than it was. -

Teacher

We all know that Community High School is a lottery school, which means every year... (students chattering) When I was in eighth grade and starting to figure out if I could go to Community or not, my dad got really sick. He knew about this plan and was supportive of it and then in March of my eighth grade year, he passed away. My mom was completely in favor of it.

So it was an open secret that I lived in Ypsilanti and was going to school in Ann Arbor. And so people, for the most part, just looked the other way. It wasn't until my junior year that it became a problem. What I ended up doing was, I got emancipated by the court and I joined a co-op.

and I moved into a co-op on University of Michigan's campus. At the time, I act like it didn't matter, and maybe it didn't, maybe it only matters now. This is where I used to hang out, where the sort of geeky, political types hung out. Do you want to see the fitness stuff on the first floor?

Like the dance room and the workout room? Do you wanna go see it, mom? We can see the dance room, at least. I never went into the fitness room.

(laughs) (students laughing) -

Hannah

I should not be trusted with blades. That's a true fact about me. -

Teacher

I'm a little bit scared with you handling this, Hannah. Ha ha. (deep bass music) We've got a lot of news because, as you can see, it's the election. So we covered Tim Kaine, Hillary and Bernie.

We're covering incarceration again, which we've done in previous issues, but I think it's like a different take on it, which is cool. Should we open more boxes? (students chattering) (bright music) This is what it looked like. Well, this was actually like the year before I started, 1999.

And this is what it looks like today. This is the best edition they've ever, ever, ever put out, like the best. -

Student

Do you have a "Communicator"? -

Girl

I got one. -

Student

You got one! It's nice to give them something that everybody gets it in the school. So rarely do people get the same information at the same moment in time, and "Communicator" when we distribute, it's one of those moments where everyone... I like walking around the hallway and seeing what they're looking at.

(laughs) Learning how to put together a newspaper and writing for it was an instance where the work was real. And when you think about creating an intellectual culture that students actually value, those are examples of things that are true performances of real work and are being used by other students, and faculty, and so on. And so, when you can create real work that students can engage with, it totally changes how you invest in it and how seriously you take it. (upbeat jazz music) -

Student

Okay, so like we're coming back in like, what? 10-something? -

Boy

We're probably not gonna leave there until 10-ish. -

Student

Okay, so like get back at 11 or something.

It takes awhile. - 10

30 or 11. That makes sense, because we have to roll. Oh yeah. You're going to be so glad that you don't have to repack this there.

So just lift it in as a unit and we'll do the next one next to it. So we're at the North American International Auto Show. It's a charity gala. There's going to be over 13,000 people there tonight, a lot of VIP's and politicians and famous folks.

This is just one of nearly a hundred gigs that we'll do this year, and this is one of the bigger ones for sure. And it all comes out of what was going on in the '70s with Bart Polot, and then later on Mike Grace in the '80s and '90s. The whole idea was to make a small group jazz program. That's all we do here.

That's what separates us from every other school is that that's what we study, and that's all we study. (bright jazz music) (crowd chattering) For all your performance needs. Thank you. Community High Jazz, and you guys are high schoolers?

I walked past and it was just amazing. I was like, "they got The Beach Boys downstairs? Please, they need to be downstairs." There are very few kids at Community that get lost or that's how it should be, that you're known there. And really, that's what you want to achieve in high school, because isolation, disenfranchisement are so easy with adolescence and you're not gonna deny adolescence.

A school that sort of accepted that and rolled with it was gonna be better for kids. (upbeat music) There was always that really marvelous mural of the anti-zebra mascot. It was right next to the office where there's the zebra of many different patterns running against the tide of zebras, who look sort of astounded. The expressions on those zebras' faces in the original mural are really good.

The zebra has a lot more going on than rainbow, right? There's patterns, it's many different patterns. Anything can happen on an anti-zebra. Oh, this is the where the rest of the pictures are.

The feathered hair (laughs) and the '80s blowbacks. So, I'm here in the main office waiting for my parking pass, and then we're gonna go upstairs to Judith's classroom and I'll do a little chat with her forum, tell them about what it was like in the '80s, and what Judith was like when she first started here at Community. I think she's still in the same classroom. (students chattering) Would you all welcome Kelly, and she can have a seat?

(group clapping) You get the seat of honor. So I first came to Community in the ninth grade. That was 1983, and I graduated in 1987, so I graduated 30 years ago. It was filled with people who didn't quite fit in other places, but people don't fit in for all kinds of reasons.

There's all kinds of things that could be making you feel kind of out of sorts, right? -

Interviewer

It takes awhile. - 10

What do you want for Christmas? I want some cotton underwear. -

Interviewer

It takes awhile. - 10

Anything else? Cotton underwear, get a close-up on the cotton underwear. Long johns, get a close-up on the long johns! -

Kelly

It takes awhile. - 10

Like these! (TV static vibrating) (hard rock music) -

Interviewer

It takes awhile. - 10

Why did you decide to come to Community High School? Community was a place where you could fit in, even if you had never fit in before. (students shouting) We had this sense that, if we didn't keep it together, that any minute now they could close the school. This could be the last year.

So we worked really hard to reach out to the community and try to get folks to come here. We were fighting harder at 10 years than we did the first seven or eight. The administrative role became very, very crucial, right then, for posterity, not just balance your budget, take care of discipline, but we were really fighting for longevity and that might be the hardest fight of all. Everybody was afraid.

I mean, we've always been afraid because they had count days, they would count the numbers, that somebody is going to come and shut us down because we're not getting enough students. So I bought a full page ad in "The Observer" and said, "Community High enrollment starts March 31st," or something, "Seats are limited." And people showed up. First year, some people lined up, but they got right in. The second year, the line was too long and then it got crazy.

(upbeat music) I mean, it got crazy because people started realizing that this place is a pretty good deal. We are in the parking lot of the Balas Administration building. My friend and I were talking with our parents about how we really wanted to go to Community and we weren't sure when the line was gonna start or who was gonna start it. And my mom was a single mom working in Jackson at the time, 45 minutes away.

And she knew that if the line started during the middle of the week, she wouldn't be able to get me there in the morning. And so, I was the first one who showed up and a woman got out of the minivan and she said, "Excuse me, are you starting the line?" And I was sort of like, "Yeah, I guess I am." And they called people and they had some sort of elaborate phone tree plan. And within 30 minutes, the lot was full of eager, bright eyed, bushy tailed eighth graders, who were really committed to getting the education that Community would provide. If you're forced to wait in line for weeks on end, you're gonna really love whatever it was that you waited for.

So there must be like a super intensity among the people that waited in those lines. When we were there, some national magazines came in and did some stories or something, maybe "Teen" magazines, or something like that. I personally think it was Kurt Cobain and Nirvana. I mean, they came out right after, then the whole grunge movement hit like hardcore.

It was just, "I want to be alternative just like everybody else." So you go to Community High to be alternative. Like Community was already the alternative, and all of a sudden the alternative became cool. It became the cool school because it became the smart school. Community kids were outperforming the two main high schools.

Parents recognized that the quality of the education was almost rivaling a private school education. It was a very complicated time because it had built up to that, and I didn't like it, to be real honest. I mean the first time the line came, when it lasted all night, it was sort of a festival and that was funny. It had nothing to do with the inconvenience for me, but see, I could see who wasn't going to Community all of these years.

It wasn't a diverse school and that was pointed out to me by other people in the community all the time. I always wanted to figure a more equitable way of doing it, but I couldn't come up with anything other than a lottery. At first, I thought a lottery was a bad idea because then we wouldn't necessarily get the most committed people. But what we were getting from that kind of a line was that it gave a special priority to people who could afford to hire people to stay in line, could fly their grandparents in, or quit work for two weeks, and that's crazy.

(upbeat music) - Even before there was a lottery or a line, you had to be guided there, often, by someone. And so, if you weren't connected in to a network, or a community of others that knew about the place and knew what it represented and what its potential was, you weren't gonna get access to it. They have outreach programs. They try very hard.

It is a fair lottery, absolutely. Ann Arbor is a super rich, super white town, compared to what it used to be. Community has a special, precious place in the community. And frankly, the community is getting more wealthy and Community High School has been getting more wealthy.

So although it's still a lottery, you still just have the people that are able to actually get to Community High School all the time and be involved on that level. So Community had this reputation of being like, this really weird little school, so a lot of the children of African descent were not in that school. I think after I got there more came, but it was still a special group of students. Kids didn't want to leave the mainstream high school.

I had a mission as dean to increase the minority enrollment, period. I didn't care if the state required it, or the district wanted it. I was like, "No, if we're a community, we need to reflect the community." And that was an uphill battle in the Black community because so many Black parents are very, very traditional. That is not a criticism, but it's like, "No, my idea of school is that you need to go to a place that looks like Pioneer." It wasn't much debating with my father.

I called him the Black Archie Bunker. There wasn't much debate. And at the end of the year, my father came and I remember he sat down at the dinner table and he said, "That's it, you're going to Huron next year." Now I was mad. Of course, when you're young, you think, I thought my father was the stupidest person God ever put two shoes on.

I needed the structure, and my father knew it, and to him, structure was safety, and he was right. To me, it was just all good. I had my problems. I had things that I was doing that I wasn't supposed to be doing, but at the same time, man, I was rubbing shoulders with just awesome people.

I find that I learned more about myself and my culture, when I am around people who are different, because that's when I see who I am. It's not good, it's not bad, it's just, it is what it is. But the thing is, is just having this appreciation that there are different people and these different people who live differently are valid. (group clapping) Top of the show.

Places for top of the show. -

Girl

It takes awhile. - 10

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. -

Student

It takes awhile. - 10

And then, do we go quiet from there? Uh, line. -

Girl

It takes awhile. - 10

What do you mean, my purse? What do you mean my purse? Line. And line.

And if I may say so, it is... Line. If he is thinking about finding... We've been doing this all night tonight, so we're gonna skip ahead to the end of this song because we need to get to some other things.

Hey folks, go ahead and positions for the last moment of the song, please. (students chattering) This is too close, (laughs) this is less. This is a little more than, this is a week and a half to opening night. I'm freaking out, but it's a good, healthy freak out right now.

-

Interviewer

It takes awhile. - 10

You got nine days. We got nine days, nine days, yeah. I think out of everything... Oh, by the way, also a baby could come any minute now, That's that's in my life.

My wife is expecting. So, Orin is my co-director. -

Interviewer

It takes awhile. - 10

That won't happen. (laughs) That's not gonna happen, but that's why we hired Orin. We've just got a lot of work to do. As long as we all do it, it's gonna be great.

(bright piano music) But where do they think they are In Moscow In Paris Where do they are America I was born in America. I went to Ann Arbor public schools my whole life, and I was just like a normal American kid, you know? I don't know anything different. So, well, my dad, every two weeks, he goes to immigration.

We would have to like leave the house earlier so my dad can go, drop us to school, and then he would drive to Detroit. When I would call my dad to pick me up from school, he would be back home. But then I called him one day. He wasn't back home.

Are we at Michigan Adventure? This is my family. -

Reporter

It takes awhile. - 10

A local father of four facing possible deportation hours from now. Tonight, a chorus of his supporters grows louder. -

Kimberly

It takes awhile. - 10

Local4's Priya Mann, live at the federal building downtown ahead of tomorrow's deportation hearing. Priya, what can you tell us? Well, Kimberly,

that hearing is scheduled for about 2

00 at the McNamara Federal Building. The family hopes, there's a large crowd here, not protesting, but showing their support for Yousef, a father of four who could now be deported. Reporting live from downtown Detroit, I'm Priya Mann, Local4. And Priya, what an important learning experience for the young journalists at that a school paper.

Do you know whether or not they'll be there in court tomorrow? Well, that's what the family is hoping. That high school is Community High School. That's where the teen goes to, and these kids worked really hard, officials saying they're really proud of these budding journalists.

That first article really started to see that support that you're starting to see from top officials. -

Kimberly

that hearing is scheduled for about 2

Real life learning experience. Okay, Priya, thank you. What are you feeling going up to Tuesday? Scared.

I was nervous. I'm so glad that I told Quinn and Marci first, because it's like, the support I've gotten from them is so much. It's really, really amazing to have a big support system like that. (soft music) Quinn and I are about to head to the federal building in Detroit to be called as witnesses for a deportation hearing for a father of one of our students, and he is a member of our community and we will do whatever it takes to keep him here.

He's an outstanding citizen, incredible family. I'm feeling, I think we're both feeling optimistic, but we're just feeling, you know, I don't know. Hold on. I feel like we wouldn't have all...

We've got 200, 300 letters. We wouldn't have if we hadn't gone public and everything, but I'm still feeling responsible 'cause I know the family. I think the scariest moment was yesterday when channel four was outside their house, feeling like they couldn't go home and that's, I don't know, maybe I helped them be in that situation. But you know, if they win, then dad comes home.

So we're on our way to Yousef Ajin's final merit hearing and there's gonna be a rally outside in support of him. I'm going, in some ways to support, and also to cover it for "The Communicator," which is Community High School's newspaper. This story has been like a minefield of ethical and moral battles that I'm still sort of trying to figure out. There are no stories that are black and white, but there is, in this case, a family that needs a parent.

(crowd chanting) (drums beating) I mean, I've always loved writing. And if this story did anything to me, in terms of like a learning curve, it was that I have the power to make people pay attention. I mean, I think that I've made a lot of people care and that's something that I always want to be able to do in journalism. And so, yeah, I do see it as a career path, I guess, and I don't know, I'm always learning.

So, I guess that's cool. (upbeat drum music) (crowd chanting) -

Teacher

that hearing is scheduled for about 2

Just 'cause some of us have done this for years doesn't mean that everyone knows the process, and just so that we're kind of crystal clear before things begin, John has a box of names. How many names do we have? -

Woman

that hearing is scheduled for about 2

393. Okay. For how many available spots? 132.

John's gonna draw a name. At the same time, Brian will draw a number. John will read the name first because the three of you have the list alphabetical. So depending upon what part of the alphabet, you'll say, "Okay, I found him," and once you find him, then Brian will read out loud what number they have.

And you're gonna write that in the far right column. 102. It's kind of like Vegas, in that what is said in this room stays in this room because these are kids' lives who are being matched to numbers and we are going to post this

on the website tonight at 7

30. Oh, it's here. It says, "Click here to see the results of the 2017/2018 lottery." Whatever it is, it is, right? Whatever it is, we deal with it.

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Trevor

on the website tonight at 7

She was avoiding it. Oh, I thought I heard you sniffling. No mom, you're getting, you're way more nervous than I am. I know.

(laughs) Oh boy. She doesn't feel like she has to get in. She feels like she wants to have the option, so that's good. I'm afraid my heart might be kinda set on it.

And I'm afraid that it might be hard for me if she doesn't get in get. It might even be harder for me if she gets in and then decides she doesn't want to go. I want to try to not take stuff personally. There's part of me that's invested and has a lot of hope that she gets in and that she wants to go.

It's pretty different than it was when we went, but we still hear from kids that they love it, that it's like a dream for them. And I hear from parents of kids who are going there that it's just amazing. It's not in order. Can we do Find?

I don't know, can you? (Kelly gasps) I think you got in. Wait, is that me? Is that me?

(Kelly laughing) -

Trevor

on the website tonight at 7

Number 102. -

Daughter

on the website tonight at 7

Oh mom, you're crying. I can't believe it. You're so lucky. You're so lucky.

(Kelly sniffles) To be hit with this amazing energy from all of our kids is extraordinary, not to mention seeing all the other teachers from the AAPS that have come out to be here, it's been pretty incredible. So I'm the technical director at Community and in the theater program and Betoul's one of my students. She's been a crew member since freshman year and moved into a leadership position. So as of yesterday, she was at school being a leader.

So, she's one of my kids. I'm doing my spot right now. I had one cue so far, I have three more left. It's not that much, but it's going really good.

We just finished intermission. It's about to finish in two minutes and we're gonna go right back in. (whistling music) Where do they think they are In Moscow, in Paris Where do you think you are America The show is historical fiction, with people that probably, definitely existed, but not people that like, you know, that were real Tevye wasn't an actual person, but like there was probably a milkman with five daughters somewhere. There's definitely a person there, not just the character.

Quinn was talking about it a lot where there was a lot of things going on in the country that definitely are, it's very relevant to have a family that's been living there for years just to be kicked out of somewhere, or people that are prejudiced towards some people. Tevye doesn't look like me, really, But you realize, Tevye can be really anybody. It really kind of opens your eyes like, oh wait, 'cause Tevye could be really like, honestly, anybody you could think of. It's just all about the circumstances that he's put through.

-

Protesters

on the website tonight at 7

Freedom for Yousef! Freedom for Yousef! Freedom for Yousef! Freedom for Yousef!

(crowd cheering) I'm so, so, so happy. -

Reporter

on the website tonight at 7

You're the daughter, right? Yeah. -

Female Reporter

on the website tonight at 7

What was it like when you found out? Well, we heard the clapping from inside, and we just knew that he was gonna come home and my mom came out crying and it was just, it was like the best feeling ever. If my dad were to leave, it would change my whole life. My brother's disabled, and it's just the best feeling that he can have his dad home again.

(crowd cheering) That's the one for the whole story. Really? Oh, good, good, good. Thank you, thank you.

He's been granted a waiver and later in my article, I'll explain more what the waiver is. You can also include that the Department Of Justice has no intent on appealing. Does that all make sense? (chuckles) -

Teacher

on the website tonight at 7

Chelsea? -

Chelsea

on the website tonight at 7

Hello. -

Teacher

on the website tonight at 7

Davey is here. Lyndsay? -

Lyndsay

on the website tonight at 7

Here. -

Teacher

on the website tonight at 7

Betoul? -

Betoul

on the website tonight at 7

Here. -

Teacher

on the website tonight at 7

Allison? -

Allison

on the website tonight at 7

Here. -

Teacher

on the website tonight at 7

Ahmad. (students chattering) It's the day after the final show and we usually do strike, which is where we take everything apart and make our theater look like a boring space again. I've always loved CET since my freshman year. It's just like a really great...

(theater commotion banging) It's a real good, it's a really good stress reliever. I think it's really fun. It's like all back to normal. My dad's back at work.

It's all normal. I mean the first couple of days were really weird 'cause people were visiting our house and stuff. I mean, I feel really affected by it 'cause it was like, you know, I never thought that was going to happen to me and then it did. So it kind of changed my whole outlook on the world and that people were helping and stuff.

But no it's just, I guess, all normal again, which is good. (static rumbling) Good job. Now to our roving reporter, Tim, with a live mini cam report at Community High School with a politically concerned high school student, David Morris. Now to you, Tim.

Do you think this letter will accomplish much? Not immediately, but I think in the long run, I think especially since this is a high school, the whole high school of students, and these are the people who are gonna be voting and making the decisions in a few years. This is the future generation. I think that if enough action like this is taken, that the government officials will be forced to listen to it.

If you guys have to leave 'cause

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30, that's fine. Kelly, thank you so much. If anybody who wants to stay, please feel free to stay. -

Kelly

it's 2

Good meeting you all. You have to go? Yeah, I have practice. (students chattering) Isn't your daughter coming here?

My daughter is coming here. Are you excited? I'm so excited. Is she?

Yes, she's really different than me, but I hope she gets you. So that means I have four more years. Is that what you're telling me? Maybe just one, if she can make it into your class next year.

(both laughing) My concern was when it became so popular and the lottery became such an intense thing. You thought we'd just have the top students. Oh my god, never. I was afraid that the students would end up being more kind of a prep school student body.

See, that's another stereotype, and the stereotype was, you're an elitist institution. You only teach the children of academics. We have always had the whole bell curve. But when you saw that it got very popular, that wasn't just because really strong students wanted to be here.

There were parents of really disturbed students who wanted their kids here because they knew we were more loving and they, well, I shouldn't say that, but we are, or maybe we're not, but I think we are. And we're small. It's a loving, sweet, supportive culture. Being in a place where you're not gonna fall through the cracks is really important.

There are kids who really try to fall through the cracks. There are kids who will do anything to fall through the cracks. And so, we're holding on, pulling them out of the cracks. So happy to see you, and you know what?

We'll be in touch. (students chattering) So this is a "Communicator" banquet end of year. We've been doing it for a couple of years, but it's a great time to come together, celebrate. I speak a little bit, seniors speak a little bit and just celebrate the year.

So and the amazing, amazing work that the students have done. There are very few 15-year-olds and 16-year-olds and 17-year-olds who are diving as deep into journalism and telling as serious of stories as these guys are, really timely about immigration, about homelessness, about drug addiction that they, about sexuality. They take on the big issues in deep ways. So what we're gonna do is, we're going to hear from some seniors.

So seniors speeches are always a big part of our banquet. And then I'll give some closing words and then you guys can finish the rest of the cake, and as soon as the cake is gone, you can leave. (audience laughing) The truth is that this year you offered me the greatest and most challenging learning experience I've ever had the opportunity to face. You asked me to understand somebody's story, somebody far removed from my own lived experience, and tell it to the world.

Writing about Yousef and his family only further instilled an idea that you said to me on my first ever day in "Communicator." "Your voice matters. The stories you tell matter, and the people you write about matter even more." I'm reminded of this every time you say those words to a freshman looking for a voice, or to a senior questioning theirs. I hope you never stop repeating them, Tracy. It's nice to be reminded.

(audience clapping) (crowd chattering) (crowd clapping) ("Pomp and Circumstance") (crowd cheering) About five years ago, when I was thinking about retiring, I said to myself, "Judith just don't fall in love with this new batch. Just don't fall in love with them. There'll just be a few kids that you'll know for a year or so." And I sorta kept it together for about 20 minutes and then it was all over. And then I watched that group.

They graduated maybe last year or the year before, I don't remember. It's wonderful to watch these kids grow up and be on stage with them at graduation. I think that's another measure about the family. When you hear kids talk at graduation about how much they love their forum leader, or their school, or the class itself, that tells you a lot.

There's something really special about those kids and their 30-second moments, talking about how much they've loved this four years. (audience clapping) I'd just like to thank my friends, my family, my teachers for supporting me. I don't think I'd be standing on the stage without any of you. It is really impossible for me to put my experience at Community into any correct words, let alone 30 seconds of them.

All the awesome friends and classmates I've gotten to know over the years, all the amazing teachers I've had, you, especially, Judith. Staying there for four years has been one of the best decisions I've ever made. If not for its supportive and flexible environment, I wouldn't have been able to grow as much as I have. And the last thing I wanna mention is that I have a reputation in the school for always wearing a hat.

Today, that hat comes off. (crowd cheering) ("Pomp and Circumstance") (crowd chattering) If we want society to have the benefits of all of the productivity and all of the, just the gifts that people have to offer, if we want to make those gifts available to everybody, all of those gifts available, we have to have schools like Community, and schools different from Community, so that people can fulfill themselves. What I walked away from that school with is confidence in that I can take care of myself. That was a big one.

That who I was was basically okay. I want people to know how rigorous, and academic, and caring, and loving we are because all that goes with the cool stuff, and the relationships that we build, and the connections that we make. Those aren't opposing forces. You can be very, very academic, and rigorous, and demanding, and inspirational, and be loving, and compassionate, and fun, and silly.

They all go together. They're all part of the same thing. Something special about that. When you bring people together, they're all like 100%, they're on top of their game and then they can bring that to the table, and then the kids all loved their...

It was phenomenal. I mean, I don't think I'll ever see that again and I've been in education 30 years. I don't think I'm gonna see that again. Upfront, when you shift from being a large, failed school, that's losing connection with its students and families, to a set of small schools, there's an investment you have to make.

And my guess is, if you wanted to turn every high school student's experience into one like those at Community, you could do it for the same price in a second, if you're willing to take the political risks of changing the existing structure. The school has has changed over times. And I think why it's successful is, is it's changed with the times to meet the expectations of the times. A lot of those early alternative schools couldn't get past being hippy schools, and when nobody wanted a hippie school anymore, they were out of luck.

I just have this, the word that comes to mind is rhapsodic, that's a little strong, but I did teach English. Just this memory of what we were, and that we didn't do it for nothing, 'cause there it is. There it is. (crowd chattering) Look at you!

Hi, good morning. (laughs) All right, she sees her friends. So, first day of high school. In my day, I don't think people showed up quite so early for school.

And there were a lot more kids smoking cigarettes, (laughs) and I don't see any kids smoking cigarettes or adults smoking cigarettes. Nobody's smoking. -

Photographer

it's 2

Wow, wow. Are you ready for us? Yay! Come on in!

(Judith clapping) (upbeat jazz music) (crowd cheering) Welcome back and welcome to Community everyone. Welcome, welcome! (crowd cheering) Thank you. I am thankful for all of you, every single one of you, that makes this an amazing place for all of us to come and spend the biggest part of our day every day at Community High School.

Teachers and students, everyone, and I wanna thank you for making this place we all like and love to come and feel welcome. So thank you for making... (upbeat jazz music continues) -

Announcer

it's 2

This program was made possible by Roos Roast Coffee, home of Lobster, Butter, Love, art and coffee experiences in Ann Arbor, Michigan. To learn more, visit RoosRoast.com. Enspire Dental, committed to supporting the community through comfortable, comprehensive, and personalized dental care. Explore more at enspiredental.com.

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The Michigan Theater and State Theater, bringing films and performing arts to the greater Ann Arbor area. And by contributions to your PBS station from viewers like you. Thank you.