The Pocantico Hills Central School District serves students from pre-k through eighth grade. Each year, towards the end of January, the eighth graders at Pocantico (known as POCO) are required to select one of three high schools to attend. Briarcliff High School, Pleasantville high School or Sleepy Hollow High School.
There are many factors that go into making this important decision.
We spoke with several former POCO students to learn more about why they chose to attend Briarcliff, how that decision shaped who they are today and what makes the school special.
Senior Fiona Xu plans to study illustration in college and credits the Briarcliff teachers for helping her evolve as an artist.
“The art teachers here are very passionate about art,” she said. “Before she retired, Ms. (Roxanne) Ritacco taught me in ninth and 10th grade and helped me work on my technical skills. Ms. (Jessica) Dubin helped me with elements and principals of art. I am now taking AP Art class with Ms. (Peridot) Smith and putting together a portfolio with her help. She is pushing me beyond my limits to see how far I can go. I usually start off with my own ideas, but then she gives some suggestions and asks me what I think would make it better. This makes my art feel more authentic to me. I feel like you can sometimes get trapped into a box, but with her, I feel like I’m making my own art that resonates with me.”
Senior Pen Anderson appreciates the resources available at the school, such as the Wellness Center, Math Lab and Writing Lab.
“I am taking all college-level courses this year and use the Writing Lab often – it’s important for getting help with college essays,” she said. “The Wellness Center is great because you can either talk to someone or just sit quietly in the dim light. And the teachers are all right there in the CLIFF, so you can always see them during their office hours.”
According to Pen, the school atmosphere is not competitive, but there are certain expectations from teachers.
“Briarcliff is a high-ranking school, so there is an expectation to do well, but I think it’s a good expectation to have,” she said. “The school gives you all the resources you need to deal with rigorous work, if you choose to take advanced classes. There is a wide variety of honors and AP courses, but you can also choose to not take any advanced classes.”
According to senior Gemma Fante, the administration makes it easy for the POCO students to integrate into the freshman class.
“I met friends through sports and in my classes, but there are other events, like the back-to-school barbecue and pep rally, that bond us together as a class,” she said. “And the teachers and staff have been very welcoming from the start.”
Going from a small pre-k-8 school to a small high school seems to have made the transition easy for Gemma.
“There were only 25 students in my grade in POCO, so going from that to a small high school such as Briarcliff made the transition smoother, than if I had gone to a much bigger high school,” she said. “Being in a smaller high school allows you to connect to more the people. For example, I see my sports teammates all the time in the hallways and in my classes.”
Being at a small school means there is also more time to connect with teachers, according to Gemma.
“The classes are smaller, so I have more time to speak to my teachers,” she said.
Gemma especially enjoys taking the “Ism” class – “Introduction to Classism, Racism and Sexism” – with Kristin Becerra.
“The ‘Ism’ class is interesting because we get to hear about a lot of different perspectives,” she said. “We also watch a lot of documentaries and see how people are affected by those topics in real life.”
In addition to taking four AP classes this year, Gemma is also co-captain of Varsity girls soccer, basketball and golf and is involved in many clubs.
“Being a part of clubs helped me develop collaboration, communication and leadership skills, which also help me as a co-captain in my sports teams,” she said. “I hold leadership positions in many of my clubs and in a small school, you get an opportunity to do that more easily.”
