a room full of quote un teachable at risk students and her helping them find their

freedom

to write their own destiny well if that sounds like a Hollywood movie the

Freedom Writers

it is but it's more than that it's the true story that the movie is based off--

real students their lives and the teacher who believed in them

over ten years later she still doing that but bringing it to the next level

with the Springfield City School District and today I'm joined by that

English High School student teacher and the founder the freedom riders

foundation

Erin Gruwell better known as Ms G also we have Springfield assistant school

superintendent Lydia Martinez

and Denise Jordan from Mayor Sarno's office to talk about Springfield being

the first of its kind to implement the Freedom Writers curriculum on

on a district-wide level thanks so much for joining us today and

I want to start with Ms G as I told you I wanted to call you Ms G because

feel that name has really just stuck with you

the past ten years or so it's really made you probably

who you are today do you feel that connection? I do and I still see the

original freedom writers and they still call me Ms G so there's

great admiration for that name

that's great now everybody's familiar with the story

behind the Freedom Writers

but we're taking it to the next level like I mentioned Freedom Writers curriculum

what is that

What was amazing was that when my freedom writers were writing their stories

and it was like a message in a bottle we were hoping that

their parents and community would read their stories and when it became a book

we realized that other kids and other communities have similar stories

and so right here in Springfield we hope that would be a mirror

to what my students went through so we created a curriculum

that allowed teachers and students alike to mirror

our story and to pick up a pen and write their own ending

and right wrongs essentially what difference is the Freedom Writers

curriculum from maybe a normal

or what you've seen in the past what is the difference it brings

to the table

for a lot of education programs we teach to the

overachievers or the kids who are headed off to the Ivy Leagues

and for me i I had students who weren't college-bound initially

students whose parents dropped out of school or even middle school or high

school

and so we learn how to tap into their prior knowledge

and their community and the strengths that they had and not look at it as a deficit

but looking at it as a strength and so I was very fortunate that the 150 students I

had

graduated and went to college and we wanted to replicate that same kind of

success

withs tudents everywhere but specifically right here in Springfield

and talk about that Springfield first time on a district-level you're going to

be bringing this to the Springfield school district

Why Springfield? I was given an incredible challenge

by Warren Buffett's daughter Susie Buffett and she said

I think you could take what you did in room 203 with 150 kids

and replicate it. If it's a secret sauce and you could bottle

where would you take it and the freedom writers and I've been very blessed

we're traveled to all 50 states and have been to hundreds and hundreds of cities in

our country

and there's something so unique and so special about this community

that for us it was very easy to pick

if we were to have one city to try to replicate what we did

in room 203 it was a natural fit and we have fallen

in love with this community the educators the students

and we hope that there's gonna be great synergy by bringing all these people

together to

try to fight for kids and give them a voice And it seems that they've been

the community has been so involved and so passionate about

the same exact model and

education that you followed in room 203 in bringing it to this level

What's amazing and I think you're gonna meet these incredible women

they're super heroes

is everyone here believes in kids

it's not about data and statistics it's about kids

and helping them get next level and when you're in the trenches and you're from

hear and you went to school here

you want everyone to have the same success you had and I think

it's really a partnership I think it's an incredible synergy

and it's a belief system that these young people

regardless of economics regardless of race or religion each

and every kid has the ability through the support of

caring adults to make it Lydia

why impact do you feel that this will have on the Springfield City Schools

and students It's like Erin said it's about a belief

and so many of our educators really truly do believe in our children so it's

about that love of children

25 of us had the opportunity to go to long beach this summer

and really go through the Institute when we returned a lot of people

asked us can you explain it and I kept saying no

it's something you have to live because it's something that really

helps you understand the love for children

and so thats what we're bringing to the table and so we'll be

doing a workshop with about approximately fifty other teachers

because it it's just

it's a synergy its it's an energy that I I can't even explain to you so

it's really about the love of our children because our children can learn

and they will learn and they are learning It seems that

sometimes we focus on the students but also it's about getting the teachers

involved so they know what to do and how to do it

what has been your reaction from the teachers? what it's been their reaction

Oh my god I've had to stop them and they just wanna go crazy because

the opportunity that they had and what they learned was so powerful that

everybody's just ready to give that love to the children

it's not about a methodology it's about a love

and that's the best way to describe it so our teachers are

are ready to go and you'll be hearing a lot more about what we're doing to

really

make sure that the Freedom Writers way really does penetrate in all of our schools so

we're

really excited about it Talk about how you feel Springfield

was able to show how much they wanted and they needed and looked forward

to having the Freedom Writers curriculum take place

in the school Well let's just say we had over a hundred applicants for 25 slots

and a lot of disappointed individuals that didn't get to

go to long beach which is why Erin so generously agreed to come back

and really

do a workshop for all of them so that everybody had a little piece of the pie

because

when Erin first came in and we saw one of

the documentaries that the Freedom Writers did there was nothing but tears and love

and hope in that room in

in the energy it was just an energy that I can't describe was something that we

were kinda missing for a little while

and it came back and so those teachers still have that energy we don't wanna

let the energy go so

its its it's beyond words I can't describe it

Now Denise you are from the mayor's office he's obviously not in this

springfield school district but he was just as excited as

the school was? Absolutely the mayor serves as the chairperson

of the School Committee so I was fortunate enough to attend

a conference or actually a reception that was hosted by doctor carole leary

from baypath and the guest of honor was Erin Gruwell

so the mayor and I and a number of members of the community

were in the room to listen to Erin tell her story now

if you have not had the opportunity to hear Erin tell her story in person

you're really missing out

her passion her spirit permeated the room and

everybody just focused in on what she was saying and I remember on the way

back to the office the mayor was like wow maybe we could bring that back to the

city

what if we could bring that back to our children and so I mean once everyone

in the room heard Erin and heard her story

and she basically you know kinda dispelled the myth

that kids are unteachable because she had proven results

so once we heard her story we're all compelled to be a part of it and we want

to bring it back to our children so it was an

easy sell That's great now

going back to you Ms G I know some people may have originally 10-15 years

ago looked at

your idealism and said it can never happened

you know you're thinking too far outside your dreams are too high

there too unimaginable it can't happen

you how were you able to look past that and

still stay focused on what you wanted your dream to accomplish

it's easy I have a 150 students who are still very much a part of my life

and the beauty of both Denise and Lydia's visit to Long Beach was

part of our teaching strategy is bringing those original kids

into the teaching strategy so they were learning beside Darius

and Mirada and Tiffany and these original students who

very humbly picked up a pen told their story about being homeless

or leaving a gang or are burying a loved one

and to see where they were and to see where they are is such a transformation

and we believe that every kid deserves that chance, deserves that second or

third chance

deserves somebody believing in them and so it's really a process

of coming together and in leaving your ego at the door

it's all about being humble and being open to

change and knowing that kids who have done bad things

are not necessarily bad people and so that's the spirit that we're bringing to

Springfield

we know that there's some economic challenges and with any

urban community we have that in Long Beach they have it here in Springfield

but kids are more than their economics and they're more than their past

and they're more than those stereotypes and so it's taking

a group from entire community saying I want to believe and so when all these

incredible business people said how can we support

how can we get a scholarship to teachers to

take this magic carpet ride to give back it was incredible we had so many

businesses and thought leaders and individuals in this community come

together

and all the major community colleges and universities

also came together so it's unprecedented its it's not just an

ordinary teacher an assistant superintendent and someone who works

beside the mayor

its the entire fabric of Springfield coming together

for these kids that's great and we're so excited to

follow this Freedom Writers revolution that happening now on the other side

of the

Coast and we're so excited to follow it and see what's going to happen

in Springfield about it thank you so much for joining me today ladies.