Gabrielly Ferreira remembers what it was like to spend kindergarten through eighth grade at Ann Street School in Newark’s East Ward, a building dating back to 1892. The floors were sinking, the paint was peeling off the walls, and sharing a small fan with her classmates during the hotter months distracted her from learning.
Then, in ninth grade, Ferreira went to Science Park High School in the Central Ward and saw a well-maintained school for the first time.
“It was much nicer. It was much cleaner. I guess it was much more open. I felt like even the hallways felt bigger,” said Ferreira, now 16 and a junior…