New York City has always been one of Berkeley Carroll's greatest educational resources. This spring, BC's 11th graders made that idea literal.

As part of the American Studies curriculum, juniors recently stepped into the dual role of historian and guide, leading classmates and faculty on original walking tours across New York City. The project built on a full year of independent research: each student selected a topic of personal interest, wrote a research paper, and then brought their thesis to life by designing a route that wove together landmark buildings, cultural institutions, infrastructure, and historical sites.

The range of topics and neighborhoods was a reflection of the city's own complexity. Students explored the American paradox of tobacco and nicotine in Kensington, traced three waves of gentrification along Park Slope's 7th Avenue, and examined how capitalism and tourism shape counterterrorism measures in the Financial District. In Two Bridges, a tour connected housing policy, art, and neighborhood change; in East Harlem, one student uncovered how Italian Harlem is quietly being preserved today. Other tours took on fast fashion's hidden costs in SoHo, the legacy of power and race on the Brooklyn waterfront in Dumbo, and the story of Weeksville, a reminder that freedom in the "free" North had its limits.

These are just a few of the tours given by our students, all of which offered something rare: a guided rereading of a city that most of us think we already know.

Well done to all of our junior historians for their insight, curiosity, and thoughtful engagement with the world around them.