Student panelists share their experiences navigating New York City’s segregated public school system during a school integration town hall hosted by The Bell and New York Appleseed. Photos by Dulce Marquez
When Madyson Olivo walked past Stuyvesant High School, she wondered whether she was smart enough to attend. For Tanzila Mosammat, applying to college revealed how many opportunities her school had never offered.
In this live conversation, Olivo and Mosammat join fellow New York City public school students Camilla Spillmann and Evan Pernett to examine how school segregation shapes their education. They share their experiences navigating high school admissions, compare the resources and opportunities available at their schools, and discuss how those differences influence their lives and plans for the future.
Chalkbeat New York reporter Michael Elsen-Rooney moderated the discussion on Oct. 20, 2026, during a school integration town hall presented by The Bell and New York Appleseed at the Washington Irving Campus in Manhattan.
Learn more about the School Integration Town Hall here.
Watch the whole event on Youtube here.
Miseducation is The Bell’s flagship podcast, which gives New York City public high school students the tools to report on inequities in the nation’s largest school system.
This school integration town hall was made possible through the generous support of the Marguerite Casey Foundation.
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