Students at PS 75, the elementary school on Faile Street, have a new friend: Sonia Sotomayor, the first Puerto Rican to be named a justice of the United States Supreme Court.
Seventy-two students in grades 1-3 will receive autographed copies of her picture— addressed personally to each student by name.
Teacher Phyllis Murray thought reading “Sonia Sotomayor: A Judge Grows in the Bronx / La juez que crecio en el Bronx,” a biography for children written in English and Spanish, would inspire the students. After all, the biography for children by Jonah Winter is the story of a girl who grew up just across the Bronx River from Hunts Point in a public housing project in Soundview.
There was just one problem. Her school had no money to buy copies of the book So Murray put out a call for help, posting a plea for contributions to cover the $314 cost of 25 books on the Internet bulletin board Donors Choose, which solicits donations for public schools.
In mid-June, Murray was able to report that the money was in hand. The books, she said, should arrive in time for Hispanic Heritage Month.
And to make things better still, Murray wrote in an email message, “We have received word from Justice Sotomayor. Our students will receive autographed copies of her portrait.” When she received letters the students wrote to her, she had her office call to check the spelling of each child’s name to be sure each got a photograph signed especially for them.
In her appeal for the funds, Murray wrote, “The residents of this community may be financially challenged, however, the richness of their culture and interdependence of the people are always apparent. If we combine a school that is capable of propelling students to higher heights, with children who are determined to succeed, the success stories are incalculable.”
Hoops inspire
PS 75 students
Students at PS 75 extended a long winning streak in June. Since 1994, as a reward for good behavior and hard work, a group has traveled to Madison Square Garden under the auspices of One Love Tennis, a non-profit founded by teacher Phyllis Murray.
The students and their parents and teachers watched the New York Liberty and took in the atmosphere of the world’s most famous arena.
“A visit to the Garden to see some of the most dynamic professional players of the WNBA fosters the beginning of a wonderful summer for the kids of an inner city community,” said Murray. “The New York Liberty Games can further inspire youngsters to write about the game in various genres throughout the coming school year.”
The teacher also hopes the event will inspire some of the youngsters to play basketball. She points to Latoya Anderson, a PS 75 alumna who recently graduated from New York Institute of Technology. Anderson won a full scholarship to the college, where she was captain of the women’s basketball team.
She called the story of Sotomayor “a road map” that would show her students “if they have the determination to succeed, they will.”
When President Barack Obama announced Sotomayor’s appointment to the Supreme Court in May 2009, The White House said much the same thing. The announcement quoted praise for her as “’a role model of aspiration, discipline, commitment, intellectual prowess and integrity’ for her ascent to the federal bench from an upbringing in a South Bronx housing project.”
The official announcement continued, “After her father’s death, Sotomayor turned to books for solace, and it was her new found love of Nancy Drew that inspired a love of reading and learning.”
It went on to tell of her success in school. She was valedictorian of her class at Blessed Sacrament and at Cardinal Spellman High School, graduated with highest honors from Princeton, and served as an editor of the Yale Law Journal.
Is there another Sonia Sotomayor in a classroom at PS 75? According to Murray, “The lives of our students parallel the very same circumstances. And like Sonia Sotomayor, education must become the key to unlocking the doors to a future without limits.”
Versions of these stories appeared in the July issue of The Hunts Point Express.
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