In this episode of The Educator Podcast: Perspectives I interview veteran High School teacher Rob Lieberman, who has taught at inner-city Trenton Central High School for the past 7 years. In this honest, raw and unfiltered interview we look behind-the-scenes at American inner-city high schools and discuss the life, successes and challenges these students, teachers and communities face every day.
Rob Lieberman is a veteran educator and former lawyer who has spent the last 15 years working as a High School teacher, and the past 7 as an English teacher at the inner-city Trenton Central High School in Trenton, NJ. 68% of its students qualify for free lunches, and close to 30% of the population of Trenton, NJ, lives below the poverty line. In 2011 Schooldigger.com ranked the school 372nd out of 381 New Jersey public High Schools for academic achievement. Trenton Central High School made national news in 2013 for the “shocking” and “decaying” conditions of its building, prompting a complete rebuild of the school, which opened in 2019.
But that only tells half the story, a story, in fact, that Americans tend to “expect” when hearing about inner-city schools. Trenton Central High School is also home to a variety of small learning communities, including Science and Engineering, Media, Performing Arts, Tourism, and Business. It boasts 30 clubs, its Boys Track indoor relay team won the state championships in 2007, 2008 and 2012, its Girls Basketball team won the state championship in 2002, 2007, and 2008, and its FIRST Robotics team were Regional winners in 2004 and 2008. And as we’ll see, it is home to untold success stories, ones that might just shock and inspire you.
The Educator Podcast is hosted by Matt Douglas, longtime educator and life coach for teens and young adults. To see more of The Educator Podcast, including the Walking History and How To series, please visit TheEducatorPodcast.com. For more information about me and my work, please visit www.lifecoachingsd.com or follow me on Instagram at lifecoachingsd. This episode was recorded on February 4, 2021.
Special thanks to MaxKoMusic for this episode’s theme music.
Positive Hip-Hop by MaxKoMusic | https://maxkomusic.com/
Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
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