Adequate Yearly Progress

by Roxanna Elden

A burst of static from the PA speaker drowned out the first line of the poem. “Good morning, students and teachers. Thank you for an interruption. On today we will begin implementing the Curriculum Standard of the Day Achievement Initiative.”

Hernan had always told students that “natural selection” wasn’t as elegant as it sounded. In reality, nature didn’t select anything. The climate changed, and certain traits that had once been important for survival stopped being helpful. That was what had happened: Hernan D. Hernandez had been selected out of the school system.