By Tom Allen
East High School Class of 1964
Teacher, Major Achievement Program
School No. 12, Rochester
I was born in Rochester, grew up on Anderson Avenue, attended School No. 31 (near the corner of Goodman and University), and was a member of the first graduating class at the “new” East High School in 1964. My father worked shift work at RG&E while my mother worked part-time cleaning homes. Often, when we didn’t have any school, I would go with her to clean and vacuum. Sometimes I’d go with my dad to one of his two part-time jobs: cleaning an office located near Central Park and helping stock displays at local stores.
I had a Democrat & Chronicle paper route from sixth grade until I graduated from East High. For six years I got up at 4:30 a.m. every day to deliver papers to about 80 customers. Some days, when the weather was rough and my dad was home, I’d drag him along to drive down the center of the street while I dropped off the papers. This wasn’t easy, but I needed to work and had the pleasure of meeting and interacting with some very neat customers. I’d get back home, sleep a bit longer, then get ready for school. I played sports and was active in a few organizations but always found some time to study. I was an average student in school and enjoyed my friendships with peers and teachers.
I’ve had a lot of success in my life: receiving my doctorate degree in academic administration from Southern Illinois University, remaining married for, thus far, 29 years, and raising three wonderful young men. I also had the experience of competing for the highest Olympic level in sports.
In 1967, I was involved in the east coast final selection for the U.S. Olympic '68 soccer team and the '67 Pan-American U.S. team competition. I had been a goalie at East High and in college and had some personal success in soccer throughout school. In the Olympic trials, I was one of four goalkeepers in the final selection, with only one going forward to compete against the west coast finalist. Unfortunately, I did not make the final cut but I had a great time meeting the U.S. Olympic coach and other players. That’s my “brush with fame,” I guess!
In each of these successes, what mattered most was my desire to do my best, a desire instilled in me from my earliest experiences in the city schools. School staff cared about me. They wanted me to do well in and out of the classroom. And they knew when to “kick me in the pants” to get back on the right path.
As I stand before my fifth-grade students at Rochester’s School No. 12 today, I’m reminded of my roots and the hard work and effort it has taken to be successful. I won’t ever forget what it was like on the other side of the desk. With all my heart I hope that I can instill these values in my students – students who experience many of the same challenges and successes in their lives, knowing there are supportive and caring adults around them to reach their potential. |
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Todd Brown
East High, Class of ‘97
City schools offer students the invaluable opportunity to be immersed in diversity. Having so many different lives and lifestyles around a person opens up endless gateways to creative and thought-provoking activities. The more a person is stimulated at a young age, the less intimidated he or she will be by challenging situations later in life.
I graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Music and am now a recording engineer and digital media manager with Telarc International in New York City. One of the projects on which I served as assistant engineer was even awarded a Grammy Award as Best Engineered Album, Classical, in 2003. Rochester city schools gave me the mindset early on that there isn't anything that I cannot do, and there isn't any place that I don't want to experience. |
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I was a freshman when I tried drafting for the first time. I enjoyed it but I truly embarassed this trade during my junior year at Edison Tech. The eleventh grade teacher, Mr. Gravelle, said I had a talent in this trade and needed to invest more of my time in this area.
Mr. Gravelle and Mr. Pierce tutored me until I was ready for a co-op position with F.L. Heughes Steel in my senior year. During my co-op I assisted with designing malls and office buildings. They hired me for a year following my high school graduation and gave me financial assistance to finish my engineering degree.
These educators believed and guided an inner city youth such as myself into a career that lead me to where I am today, president of my own construction firm. |
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I have lived in Rochester my whole life and have always attended Rochester city schools.
I entered School Without Walls in 1992 and the experience changed my life. My perspectives changed, my mind “opened” and I was given the freedom to develop my own learning style and explo re many different academic topics and career opportunities.
As a junior, I was given the opportunity to intern at the Rochester City School District in the Communications Department. There, I met a lifelong mentor, Tom Petronio. Tom taught me how to write press releases and how a communication department was structured and worked. Through the internship and the guidance of my school counselor Mike Roche, I decided to go on to college and explore the communications/marketing field.
I received my Associate’s Degree from Monroe Community College and my Bachelor’s Degree from SUNY Brockport. Prior to graduation, I was offered a marketing/promotions position at Infinity Broadcasting. After six months I was promoted into a management position and have been Marketing Director there for the past three years.
It’s funny that I spent all of my life wanting to get out of school, and now the part of my career that I enjoy the most is being in schools and talking with students.
I feel that the education I received from the Rochester City School District was priceless and could not be received anyplace else. My education, experiences, and successes would not have been achieved without the foundation of Rochester schools. |
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George-Michael Peterson
Franklin, Class of '70
 I was born in the city of Rochester. I began my elementary education at Henry W. Longfellow School # 36 (in the year of 1957.) I attended 7th grade at Paul Revere Ellis (the former # 26 school). My physical education teacher was the late Mr. Sal Rizzo… He later became the legendary coach of East High School.
I entered Benjamin Franklin High School in the fall of 1965 and I met my mentor and life time friend Mr. Bertram Alexander. At the time he was only my counselor, but little did I know that through his guidance and friendship I would become the success that I have achieved today. Mr. Alexander not only introduced me to the world of Trades but he also exposed me to the field of education by enrolling me in a summer internship as a student at the University of Rochester.
This is where I met Ms. Brown. (A former teacher at the old Madison High School.) Through their guidance I was offered an apprenticeship at Eastman Kodak Co. In the spring of 1970 I graduated from Benjamin Franklin High School and that fall I was enrolled in the apprenticeship program at Eastman Kodak Co. In the spring of 1973 I graduated from the program as the first African-American to have ever completed the Pipefitting program. I was employed by Kodak until downsizing resulted in a layoff in the year 1986. My trade skills made it possible for me find employment within 6 months. I was hired by the Rochester City School District. I now serve as a planner for the Maintenance Department of the Facilities Division of the Rochester City School District. I owe my life to the educational leadership I was given and I consider myself blessed.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. |
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David Pihl
Wilson Magnet High School, Class of ‘01
I attended Wilson Magnet High School for four years, graduating in 2001 in the top 10% of my class. I am currently a junior at Pitzer College in Claremont, California, where I am studying Political Science.
I'm focusing on community grass-roots organizing with plans to become a union organizer or a high school teacher. I am very involved in labor and immigration issues and work as an intern and volunteer at the Pomona Day Labor Center, which has been nationally in the forefront of organizing immigrant day laborers.
I volunteer with the United Farm Workers Union to bring college and middle school students on an alternative spring break to UFW headquarters to learn about Cesar Chavez and the farmworkers’ struggle. I also helped found a Cesar Chavez Memorial Garden at Vina Danks Middle School in Ontario, CA.
Most recently I have been involved in organizing community support for nurses at a local hospital fighting for a union contract, and helping organize a four-day, 50-mile "Pilgrimage for Human Rights" in support of equal rights for all Californians. Back home in Rochester, I was involved in the fight to save Genesee Hospital and in the John Duval police brutality case.
Thanks to my excellent education at Wilson, I have received a very good financial aid package at Pitzer College, where I have maintained a 3.5 GPA, and several grants and scholarships.
I think the city is a great place to live. I owe a great deal of my academic success and commitment to community organizing to growing up in the 19th Ward and especially to attending Wilson.
The Rochester school district has many wonderful, committed teachers. These teachers excel in the face of a level of racial and lingual diversity, poverty, drug abuse, and violence that is unknown to their counterparts in the suburbs. While many who are ignorant of urban Rochester are frightened by the struggles we face in the city, I believe that in fighting and defeating these obstacles, teachers and students in Rochester schools become even stronger and more prepared to deal with the changing face of America, one that is made up of many colors, ethnicities, and languages. I hope to be able to bring many of the experiences I have gained while studying and organizing in California back to Rochester. |
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Judge Anthony J. Sciolino
Franklin, Class of ‘63
I am the product of a Rochester City School education. I attended Andrew J. Townsend School No. 39 during the ‘50's and graduated from Benjamin Franklin High School in 1963. My early educational training in Rochester city schools well prepared me for success at Columbia College, Class of ‘67, at Cornell Law School, Class of ‘70, and in my professional and private life.
After practicing law in Rochester for a number of years, including three years as an Assistant District Attorney, I was elected a Monroe County Family Court Judge in 1986 and re-elected in 1996. From 1979- 86, I served on the Rochester City Council.
Along with my regular duties as a Family Court Judge, I currently preside over the Juvenile Drug Treatment Court, the first court of its kind in New York State. In 1998, I earned a Masters of Theology degree from St. Bernard's School of Theology and Ministry and that same year was ordained a deacon of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester. I currently serve as deacon at Church of the Transfiguration in Pittsford.
After my parents and family, whom I credit as being most influential in forming me as a person, I credit the Rochester City Schools. I was blessed with outstanding and caring teachers who helped shape me, teaching me not only academics, but core values and life skills as well. At Franklin, for example, I developed my interest in a public service career through my involvement with student government and honed my communication skills through involvement with dramatic productions and public speaking opportunities. Several teachers have left lasting impressions on me.
Interacting with students from diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds taught me tolerance and valuable interpersonal skills. I formed many life long friendships that endure to the present day.
Last year my wife Gloria, also a Franklin grad, and I attended our 40th high school reunion. It was great to renew old acquaintances and reminisce about wonderful times. I greatly enjoyed and benefited from my formative years in the Rochester City Schools. |
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Will Towler
Monroe High School, Class of ‘88
Rochester city schools have played a very important role in getting me to where I am today: Associate Director of ACNielsen, an international marketing information company, in China. Simply put, attending city schools from first grade to twelfth grade opened my mind to new horizons. Classmates came from different backgrounds, causing me to ask more about cultures different from the one I was born into. As a result, I couldn't help but want to see what lay outside the boarders of my home country when I graduated from high school. And so I went on to study, work, and live abroad in China, Japan, and Hong Kong.
Rochester city schools provided an education that far exceeds academics alone. Beyond basic social and physical science skills, I gained important emotional and interpersonal skills that I believe might have developed differently in a more homogeneous environment. I now work with a multicultural team that provides market research services to multinational companies in China. This is a job that depends heavily on skills and knowledge that I began to build in Rochester city schools.
I suppose that it is fair to say, then, that my time spent in Rochester city schools was well worthwhile considering the emotional and financial dividends I now experience. And with our world becoming increasingly inter-connected, I have to believe that Rochester city schools provide learning opportunities important to the success of almost anyone. |
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