Siegel, Stefanie, 2010 April 19, inclusive

Stefanie Siegel begins her interview by describing the work of Dr. Marcia Lyles, a principal at Paul Robeson High School in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Crown Heights. Dr. Lyles is credited with transforming the school, and Siegel contrasts it with her prior experience as a teacher at Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn's Flatbush neighborhood. Siegel looks at the larger picture of Robeson High's challenges to remain open to students during the Mayoral administration's attempts to phase out and consolidate some school districts. She talks about the changes she's seen over two decades in Crown Heights. Siegel describes the extracurricular efforts to engage students in intergenerational learning. This takes the form of a community organization named Bailey's Cafe. She advises students on how to prepare for senior year and how to be involved with their school and set standards for peers. She recalls her experience as a high school and college student; and how the latter prepared her to lead Bailey's Café. Interview conducted by Floyya Richardson, Treverlyn Dehaarte and Alex Kelly.