Wresting a School Courtyard Back From the Weeds

Principal Ferzeen Shamsi of Claremont Elementary School in Ossining, NY, invites me into her sunny office. Admittedly, the prospect of “principal’s office” still sparks a wee bit of childhood dread, even in the middle of summer when the school is abuzz not with backpack-laden preteens but administrators and groundskeepers preparing for a new school year. “Aysha, come, come,” she says.

I’ve known Shamsi, another Rockland County native, for as long as I can remember. She’s the older sister I never had. “It’s a mess,” she says of her office, crowded with the makings of classroom assignments, each student’s profile thoughtfully matched with a teacher and other students.