STATEMENT XXVIII

 I came to New Rochelle in the 7th grade from Honduras. I was put in ESL. Out of all the classes I took in IEYMS only one of them had an assistant teacher to help ESL students. Once in high school, 9th and 10th grade I was never advised I could opt out from ESL classes even though I was already fluent in English and was taking the same courses as the non-ESL students. In 10th grade I found out about AP classes through a white classmates. When I tried to sign up for two AP classes I was told to reconsider if I was ready to take AP classes. I still signed up for them and passed both AP's. In 12th grade I signed up for 3 more AP classes! After being nearly denied the opportunity of taking AP courses I was recognized at the 2018 State of the City. New Rochelle takes pride in being a diverse city and in terms of population it is. But the opportunities presented to its students are often directed to those who are already privileged.

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Jensy Maldonado

NRHS Class of 2018