by Steve Chambers/The Star-Ledger
Thursday January 15, 2009, 6:00 AM
On Inauguration Day, 13-year-old Damon McCasker will rise early in his Irvington apartment, don his school uniform and head for St. Philips Academy in Newark, where he will be sworn in as president of the private school's student government.
Across the city, as in cities all over America, students will mark the historic swearing-in of Barack Obama Tuesday in significant ways.
Patti Sapone/The Star-LedgerEighth-grade student Armondo Lopez assists in the display marking events in the life of Barack Obama, a class project at Marquis de Lafayette School in Elizabeth.
Some 200 public school students from Newark will watch it live at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center; in Elizabeth, students at Marquis de Lafayette Middle School will hold their own inaugural parade in a school decorated with essays and artwork to or about the new president and his children. Camden schools will close to give students an opportunity to see the inauguration in person.
And in many other places, students will watch the event live on TV or computer screens, the culmination of much study about the nation's first African-American president.
Just as Baby Boomers, when they were children, sat riveted to TV screens for the first moon walk, students will file into auditoriums with bag lunches or simply remain in their classrooms to witness history.
"It's both a teachable moment and an actionable moment," Newark school superintendent Clifford Janey said. "We can best serve our country by doing that which is good within our communities. What I hear students saying is, 'Yes, we can do something to help.'"
Several teachers said Obama's election has given them a unique opportunity to enliven dry subjects like politics, civics and the economy, allowing them to reach students who previously showed little interest in current events.
"There is a great deal in the curriculum I'm way behind on, because I took so much time on the election. But this was an historic election and the kids were just so motivated that you went with it," said John Eichman, who teaches history at Philips.
At Lafayette, a sprawling brick building surrounded by a mostly black and Hispanic working-class neighborhood, the inauguration was dominating instruction last week.
"The buzz has been incredible," principal Debbie Brady said. "The teachers have come up with many creative assignments about what the inaugural is and what this election means in our history. And the children are really excited about being a part of history. That's really how they feel about it."
In Franc Lacinski's eighth-grade classroom, students busily worked on an essay that was inspired by Obama's victory speech and is designed to tease out their ideas for improving the country.
Lacinski, who left Wall Street for the classroom after the Sept. 11 attacks, was tag-teaming his young charges with the help of social studies teacher Michelle Rodriguez. For Lacinski, the excitement has been palpable.
"There is a lot of pride here in him being the first African-American," Lacinski said. "A lot of students of color can see themselves in the White House for the first time. It's visceral."
Sitting in the back of the class, Samantha Pierre, a 14-year-old African-American, said she looks forward to watching the inaugural live with her class on Tuesday.
"I feel different than I did before," she said. "We've been waiting for this for a long time. It feels so good to know there is someone who knows how we feel and where we come from, who gets to share his ideas. He can change the country."
Change is on a lot of students' minds, but it is not an esoteric idea for many at Lafayette.
Moncerrat Bravo, 13, who was sketching the beginnings of an Obama portrait in her art class, said she is hopeful the new president can get to work on the economy. Her mother recently was laid off from her factory job.
"He's going to fix America," said the seventh-grader, who was born in Mexico. "My parents like him, too. They said maybe he can put people back to work."
In more-suburban districts, the inaugural doesn't necessarily dominate instruction. Some said there are logistical concerns in letting students watch the event, noting the swearing-in occurs during the lunch hour.
Michelle Martin Gonzalez of Jefferson Township said she was so dismayed to learn her son's school had no plans for the inauguration that she fired off a letter to parents in her development. The district is now considering some kind of viewing, she said.
"This is an historic moment our children should not be cheated out of seeing," said Gonzalez, a New York City teacher.
Vernon Township superintendent Anthony Macerino said teachers were being encouraged, rather than required, to view the swearing-in. And students were being encouraged to watch inaugural activities at home.
At Chatham High School, the inauguration will be a focus in social studies classes, where it fits better into the curriculum, said Steve Maher, supervisor of social studies at the school.
"Students who in the past had no connection to current events seem to be watching the news more and were able to participate more in this election," he said.
In a train suburb dominated by New York commuters, however, Maher said some of the buzz about Obama's historic first has been drowned out by the downturn in the economy.
"It's something that has touched some of our families," he said soberly. "The connection has shifted to how he'll change financial policy and what programs might bring some relief."
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