Pascack Valley history teacher Leah Jerome took students from her Advanced Placement (AP) World History and AP United States History II to Ellis Island in New York on April 3.
“It’s an amazing place that we have easy access to. Not everywhere in the country can you go that is such a historical landmark. So, the fact that so many kids haven’t had a chance to go, it just seemed like a perfect opportunity,” Jerome said.
The field trip also related to the topics that Jerome was teaching in her classes.
“We studied immigration to America multiple times over the course of our high school curriculum and U.S. history and then also World History from a global perspective,” Jerome said. “So it seemed like a perfect location.”
The students took a ferry to get to the island and got a view of the Statue of Liberty on the way there.
Jerome and her students also looked at the Ellis Island Passenger Search to find their ancestors before visiting.
“I was actually able to see pictures of the manifest and I saw my great great grandparents last names,” Jerome said.
Jerome found it interesting to see which details were noted on the manifest from each ship.
Details like literacy level, the date that the ship arrived, and the name of the ship were included on the manifests or ship lists, which can be found on the computer database.
Jerome hopes to make this trip a yearly trip.
The weather was rainy with clouds this year, but Jerome felt that the students were still positive about the trip.
“We had kids [who] bought ponchos…the students were so amazing,” Jerome said, “I think if we could do it in that kind of weather, then it will always be great.”
After visiting Ellis Island, Jerome hopes that the students gain a lot of knowledge and insights.
“I hope that they gain a better understanding of the struggles that the immigrant population went through and this idea of the American Dream that drew them here,” Jerome said.
