Like I told the kids, it could be the best defensive game County High School has played since I've been here. It was a good team effort all the way through, from start to finish. The kids did what they had to do and didn't falter at the end.

The potential right now for success at that school is very, very high. Of the 30 kids in my class, about 10 are Hispanic. It's very difficult for me to look at those kids that I'm teaching now and know that statistically there's a good chance some of them will drop out of school.

Giselle has no problem. She does really well in school. Some kids it might affect. They might go to school and speak Spanish. She does everything in English.

It's hard to maintain in high school unless you have your own feeder system. We have a lot of kids going to Academic Magnet or who choose to go to Bishop England. The next few years, we could do well, but the key is to keep getting the kids in.

I think the middle school does a really good job with starting kids off really liking it, and I think it really helps that we're all in the same building and that we have great teachers.

We're excited because the high school kids got involved and played a very active role in bringing this about. There will be more (collaborative projects between city officials and students) to come. I love working with the students. They have such energy and enthusiasm. It's been a great first project.