"NEW YORK (AP) — Christopher Columbus and Thomas Jefferson have been deemed historical relics.
Columbus High School and Jefferson High School are among 19 schools to be closed for not making the grade in the nation's largest school district. The closures announced last month are part of an aggressive city plan to shut down low-performing schools in favor of smaller, more specialized ones.Students and the teachers' union have fought back against the closures, the most ever in an academic year, filing a lawsuit that says the targeted schools were overloaded with high-needs students and set up to fail.
For 16-year-old Ferona Bryan, Columbus' closure will shut a 71-year-old school with a legacy: Her mother and two aunts attended and still feel connected to it."
