Features

Eric Valenti

A&E Editor

The second week of school at SLA has started off strong with a new batch of aggressive graffiti.

For the past two years, SLA has experienced an increase in the amount of graffiti in and near the school building.

At the end of the 2017-2018 school year, a middle finger was painted on the side of SLA. At the beginning of this school year, a message written under the JFK overpass on 21st Street. with a [misspelled] message: “F— Eververy Cop.”

However, graffiti isn’t new to SLA. Many students in SLA tag and write on walls throughout the school, most commonly in the bathrooms.

Principal Chris Lehmann acknowledged the tagging at SLA, and explained why cleaning up the graffiti isn’t a top priority.

“Some of it has been cleaned up but this piece of the puzzle that is difficult, we need money. We need the supplies to deal with the problem. That is money that we’re not spending on books, supplies on student activities on all of these things.” Lehmann stated.

Students have noticed that the recent graffiti has become less about tagging and more about taking a stance.

Graffiti in SLA’s community has usually been in the bathrooms. Most of which appear to be people’s names and open-ended questions. These two larger instances of graffiti appear to be sending a more specific message. Students may use graffiti as a means to get a message across because they may believe this gets more attention rather than taking an issue up with a teacher directly. In SLA, we are able to express ideas that change SLA positively to adults but we are unable to express negative ideas that attack SLA to adults.

Senior Jayla Wright offered a different view over the controversy.

“They both seem sorta silly so it’s unclear whether they’re jokes or  if they’re actually serious.” Wright stated.

The mystery of who created the graffiti on the side of the school last year will have to remain a mystery. This is due to the fact that the staff wants to refrain from exposing the creator (or creators) believing that this would cause too much commotion. As for the anti-police graffiti this year, there is no evidence it was created by an SLA student, apart from the fact that it appeared at the start of the school year.

Project Coordinator Jeremy Spry does has one theory about the graffiti under the overpass.

“I definitely don’t think it was an SLA student because the word “every” was spelled wrong.”

Though graffiti isn’t SLA’s top priority, the faculty and staff, as well as the students, see the graffiti as an issue. Spry went on to explain that the graffiti is a problem but there are larger issues, such as holes in walls, that trump smaller issues like writing in the bathroom. However, maybe the graffiti is a way of expression, maybe graffiti should be viewed how Wright looks at it.

“Graffiti can be drawings, typography, or just phrases but their existence itself is a crime typically. But graffiti being a crime may be a part of why it’s art. That controversy gives graffiti more meaning.”

Mo Kelly

Staff Writer

It’s a Monday morning. Tired children trudge up the staircase to get to the fifth floor for their first class. They are greeted at the door by a bright-faced Michael Clapper, the new History and English teacher at SLA Center City, who asks the questions about their weekend. Kids walk into his classroom, ready to start the day.

Growing Up

Mr. Clapper grew up in Reading, Massachusetts, a small town north of Boston. He attended a boarding preparatory school. This school provided him with many opportunities and the students there had what he describes as an “intellectual firepower.” But, he said it was very different from SLA.

“There was almost no diversity there,” he said. “And also, at SLA, curiosity extends to an intellectual, social, community level. That’s what I love about it.”

After high school, he attended Macalester College, a small liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The broad-based, diversified education he received there well-prepared him for the variety of jobs that would come after college.

From Minnesota, Mr. Clapper moved to Philadelphia ultimately in pursuit of his Ph.D. in American History. The move to a big city, like Philadelphia, made a big impact on him.

“The transition from a suburb to a Philadelphian environment was a difficult one, but I really enjoy living in the city,” Stated Clapper.

Along with living in the city came many different job opportunities. Clapper has worked as a park ranger, a social worker, a drug and alcohol counselor, and a bike courier. His favorite part about the city is the diversity and the ability to walk anywhere.

Teaching Career

Clapper started teaching in the late 90’s at Simon Gratz High School where his love for watching kids learn and grow began.

“Teaching is closest to who I am,” he said when asked why he decided to become a teacher, “and, I like to read, write and argue.” He taught students History and English in many schools across the city.

In addition to teaching, Mr. Clapper was a part of the founding team of The Workshop School. another project-based high school in West Philadelphia. He and four other people worked on this school from the beginning, making sure students had a different approach to learning than conventional high schools. Although it’s different from SLA, he says it’s still a great school.

While teaching in Philadelphia, Mr. Clapper began to play Ultimate Frisbee. This is where he met Chris Lehmann, the founding principal of SLA. Mr. Lehmann told him about his idea of SLA and shortly after Clapper was hired to teach 11th-grade students History and English.

“There is power in the way people work,” said Clapper. This is why he was interested in the SLA model.

At SLA

Mr. Clapper fits just right in the SLA community. English and History Teacher Joshua Block, who now works alongside Mr. Clapper knows this from personal experience — he was Mr. Clapper’s student teacher many years ago.  

“His vision of education and the way that he teaches fit with SLA and what we’re trying to do as a school.” He also describes him as a goofball and incredibly smart,

His students all also love him. Freshman Ellis Measley, a Clapper advisee says, “He has made me feel welcomed by mostly being nice and making things chill… Overall I am very happy he is my advisor.”

Home Life

Michael Clapper lives in West Philadelphia with his wife and two children. At home, he likes to read, write and cook with vegetables he grows in his garden. If you’d like to keep up with Mr. Clapper you can visit his blog, mrclapper.com. This blog has been around since 1997, where it was originally a Grey Matter site.

“I like keeping track of the way kids are inspiring me,” he says about his blog.

Lily Bromley

Staff Writer

This year, SLA has welcomed in many new faces to the community. One of these teachers is the new Assistant Principal, Ann Leaness. Ms. Leaness has been working as a teacher for over 27 years, she previously worked at SLA Beeber as an English teacher and an advisor. Leaness also confounded an organization called Edcamp, which is a professional development resource for teachers.

Her History

Ms. Leaness grew up in Northeast Philadelphia and went to an all-girls Catholic school. When describing her experience in school she stated, “I loved high school, I had a great experience.”

In fact, she loved her high school so much that she went back to teach there later in life. Leaness attended Holy Family University for her Bachelor’s Degree and St. Joseph’s University for her Masters. She worked at SLA Beeber for 4 years, and described how being an assistant principal differs from being an advisor, “I think I just became an overall advisor!” she stated.

Ms. Siswick, Guidance Counselor at SLA expressed her excitement with having a woman in an admission position at SLA and also discussed Ms. Leaness’ qualifications “She has extensive experience in education as a teacher and an administrator, and also in the SLA model. Having worked at SLA Beeber, she really understands how the learning happens.”

Nydirah Torrence, a Junior from SLA Beeber talked about Ms. Leaness’ teaching style “Mrs. Leaness was creative and outstanding with her teaching that really pushed me to read more. In referring back to my middle school year I read tons of books but they weren’t really interesting to me in my enjoying what I read. But by her big selection of books in her class, she made me open my reading experience”

Edcamp

Ms. Leaness co-founded a nonprofit organization called Edcamp that she described as a “professional development that is meaningful for teachers.”

Edcamp meets on Saturdays and is entirely teacher run. “It just blew up,” stated Ms. Leanes. “It went viral across the country. And it’s international. And now there are hundreds of Edcamps.”

Leaness founded the organization when she was working at Martin Luther King High School during which she began communicating with other teachers on Twitter. “It was something that was needed at the time because teachers were really feeling like they were being targeted, everyone was being really negative about education. So it was a space for teachers to really flourish and talk about education,” said Ms. Leaness.

Yarn Love

One of Ms. Leaness favorite hobbies is knitting and dyeing yarn. She even has her own Etsy Shop called “WoolyHues”. However, the shop is currently closed due to Ms. Leaness’ busy schedule. She explained that when she was about 9 years old, a family friend taught her how to crochet, and she has been doing it since. Then, about 2 years ago she decided to take a knitting class and fell in love with it.

“When people think of knitting, they think of a bunch of old ladies sitting around, but it’s really not like that. There is a lot of really young people who get involved in the activism of it, that’s where the pussy hats were created.” She stated, referencing the hats that many protesters wore when attending Women’s Rights Marches and Anti-Trump Rallies.

Ms. Leaness said that she loved the people that she met in the Knitting community, and how thoughtful and kind they all were.

When asked what the students at SLA should know about her she stated, “I just love kids. I love being around them”