History (in 16 months)

The beginning of the third marking period is approaching, which means we're coming up on the halfway point of the school year. For three of us at Project Bridging Cultures, it'll also mark one and a half years at the program.

Immersed in a school environment where every day is different, it sometimes takes a while to recognize just how many things have changed in the time since we've been here. These changes are all around us. Students arrived as silent newcomers, grew comfortable and made friends, picked up fluency in a new tongue, and blossomed. They've shown newcomers the ropes and become leaders in their peer groups.

I've been reading some of the profiles the mentors wrote about students at the end of the last school year, and it's amazing how much some of the students have grown even in just the past six months. And in another year, or five years? The amazing thing about high schoolers is that they have so many capabilities and so many choices before them. Maybe I'll even find out what happens with some of them.

There are changes, too, in our relationships. As students' stories unfold all around us, we start to see and understand each other in ever more complex ways. This isn't just true of the students. By visiting classrooms day in and day out in a time range that spans three calendar years, Pete and Oumar have built strong rapport with the students' teachers. They have become our colleagues and friends.

In a week, we'll be starting the second half of the school year. What changes lay before us?