City Heights

Students at Arroyo Paseo Charter High School started the Health & Sustainability student club to work in the school garden. We’re introduced to students Khadija Osman, Ana Vega, and Cindy Perez. They speak of having tough times in other schools and found that the attention of the teachers they receive at Arroyo Paseo and project based learning like the garden club has attributed to their success in school. Khadija, a Somali refugee and Muslim, is torn between the traditions of her family and her goals of attending university, while being the target of prejudice. With the aid of her teachers in the new school, Khadija gets accepted to UC Merced and plans to attend in the Fall. The school’s approach to diverse students working together discourages the bigoted bullying that affects many schools.