WHS Freshmen Duo Interview, Document Elder City Residents' Stories

On June 11, April Cheevers and Austin Ferrenti, freshmen at , presented their completed an (ELO) project, a collection of the stories of the city's elder residents, "Save our Stories" to English teacher Jean Capitumini, for grading. 

Woonsocket High is one of the first schools in the state of RI to offer the Expanded Learning Opportunities Programs. It is the ELO mission to provide all students who participate with high quality, experiential and personalized learning opportunities beyond the traditional classroom setting as a pathway to graduation. 

This program allows students to earn course credit for projects they complete outside of school.  Over the last school year both April and Austin partnered with the Woonsocket Historical Society in interviewing elderly Woonsocket residents, capturing their experiences living and working in the city, and recording them for their book.

April said “The project was very meaningful because we were able to connect with so many great people while learning an abundance about our city’s past.  Austin and I are both really proud of the book we created and the many stories we wrote where we were able to capture such memorable moments from the lives of those who grew up here and the history of Woonsocket.” 

All the interviews were transcribed, edited and put in a soft cover book.  Printing was done by the .  All interviewees will receive a copy of the book.