AP Chemistry is a travel class, a class that I have to travel to another school to take, for the 2024-2025 school year. Despite this I still decided to take the class. Going into the new experience of being a travel student I had concerns such as, how will the teacher conduct their classroom, how will I receive help, and have the Bremen students learned more previously. However, I neglected to consider how the school’s policies would be different, how the culture would be different, and how the school enforces their rules. 

When first starting at Bremen the first thing I noticed about the school was the difference in population. According to the Illinois Report Card, Hillcrest High School has a student population that is 88% African American whereas Bremen High School has a student population with the majority being Hispanic, 65.3%. With this large population difference between schools the culture is different and the rules and activities are catered differently. For example, at Hillcrest our teachers try to tie in ways for students to learn about our culture, of course this varies from classroom to classroom depending on the subject and course level. In my AP Literature and Composition class we are reading the play, Fences by August Wilson – an author that wrote plays about the lives of African Americans throughout the decades. However, at Bremen things such as the announcements are catered towards the Hispanic population. The announcements are played twice, once in English and once in Spanish every day. As a travel student, I get to see how each school caters to the majority from a cultural standpoint; it’s an unique experience. 

The next thing I noticed when I started at Bremen was the classroom. Bremen had iMacs in the Labs. This allowed their students to conduct more advanced experiments without having to take down the data collected from the experiments for each trait by hand like at Hillcrest. Having that technology that automatically times and measures the results of each trial gave them more time to conduct the experiment and make it more difficult, therefore expanding their lab abilities. This also allowed the students to conduct experiments with pressure in real time opposed to virtually like my peers and I had to do when taking chemistry our sophomore year. With that hands-on lab experience using more advanced technology they have more background experience for when they potentially enter a college lab. This was a shock for me and the other Hillcrest Students in the class because Bremen and Hillcrest are in the same school district. One would think that each school would give its students access to the same opportunities. This makes me wonder: Why is Hillcrest spending its funding differently?

However, the biggest thing I have noticed since taking a course at Bremen is that Hillcrest gives its students grace. We don’t have to worry about paying for parking spots, being dress coded for having an inch of stomach exposed, or dealing with staff with unwelcoming demeanors on a daily basis. Since attending a class at Bremen, I have seen how the staff talks to students with no emotion. There have been a variety of security guards that make sure that those who’s backpacks set the metal detector off step to the side to be checked and I have only felt welcomed by two of them. Most of their tones are harsh and monotone. I have seen girls in their hallways being scolded about an inch of their stomach being out. I do not think that an inch of a girl’s stomach being exposed is calls for being dress coded. I have never been distracted or disturbed by such an article of clothing. I appreciate Hillcrest administration for not making us students’ lives harder with things such as paying for a parking spot, making us feel like we cannot express ourselves through clothing, and having to deal with the attitudes of the staff. Getting to experience another school has shown me that I appreciate that Hillcrest caters towards the history of its students, allowing us to learn about our history and celebrate it. We are allowed to express ourselves through our clothing, and are given grace by the staff. I am happy to be a Hillcrest Hawk.