It’s the morning of graduation and Armani Sidik is fixing her bright blue cap over her hijab as she patiently waits for her family. At the entrance of their walk-up apartment in the North End of Hartford, the Sidik family is joyful and neighbors walk by offering congratulations.
“We gave her all our love, all our guidance, she’s doing really well, that’s our baby,” said Charlette Sidik, Armani’s mother, beaming with pride.
But her daughter says making it to graduation was not easy.
“We [were] evicted out of our old house. And we ended up living with my grandma for the time being until we got on our feet,” Sidik said. “Then we ended up staying there for like five to six months, until we got this apartment and we were able to move here.”
Sidik says starting her senior year in a new home without a stable internet connection was challenging.
“I didn’t do work for a long time because I had to use my mobile hot spot on my phone and I ran out of data really quickly,” she said.
In a traditional school setting, Sidik held steady grades. As the pandemic interrupted in-person classes, she worked closely with her school’s Student Success Center -- a program launched two years ago with the goal of engaging students struggling with attendance and falling behind with the required credits to reach graduation.
A team of graduation and academic intervention specialists works with students by providing individualized plans and frequent check-ins. If students need additional services, they are directed to a social worker. The program also uses a software program to guide students through remedial work to recover credits they need in order to graduate.
The past few months have been difficult in the North End of Hartford. Armani’s mother says she’s grateful she’ll be able to see her daughter graduate.
“Not too many young kids get to graduate. We had a couple of shootings this year, a couple of months ago. These are young kids dying,” Charlette Sidik said. “So any time you see a young person graduating, that’s a blessing! No matter whose child it is, that’s a blessing. [Because] you never know what tomorrow might bring or if you’re even going to be here.”
During the pandemic, Armani Sidik took a job in a nursing home as she juggled her academics. She also helped her mother care for her two younger siblings, and she began to fall behind.
Liliana Ballestas-Cuevas is the coordinator of the Student Support Centers for the Hartford Public Schools.
“The Student Support Center is really a vision of our superintendent and, you know, the centers were created with that focus in mind to reengage our students, to get them a chance to be successful, to earn credits and to earn a high school diploma,” Cuevas said. “And I think what makes us unique is really our mission to build relationships with our students and to empower them to believe in themselves and their families. So we make that our priority.”
The second step is to create an academic plan that includes social and emotional support from a social worker. Graduation specialist Krystal Bravo describes it as a holistic approach.
“So it’s not just about the child academically but the whole child, the social, emotional and mental health needs of that student. And so we’re making sure that those things are being addressed,” Bravo said.
Bravo says she worked with many students who were employed full time during the school year to help pay bills during the pandemic. Others had to help their families with child care, and some students faced homelessness.
Student Jah’Dore Rodriguez contemplated dropping out of high school just one month before the end of the school year. She was only five classes away from her diploma. Rodriguez was expelled from her previous school and transferred to Hartford High. She says she owes her milestone graduation to the center.
“Coronavirus came and it was all gone. I was really discouraged, and my mother also thought I wouldn't graduate. But no! I came back within a month and finished. Everybody [is] really happy,” Rodriguez said.
After a year like no other, the district hosted its final in-person graduation Monday. The graduation ceremony was at Dunkin’ Donuts Park, and the stadium was filled with flowers, balloons and students wearing bright blue caps and gowns. Proud families took their seats under the bright sun, ready to cheer Hartford High’s Class of 2021.
As Armani Sidik crossed the stage, her family erupted with cheers.
Brenda León is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms.
