A student's-eye-view of what makes New York Metro area communities like Massapequa vital from the grassroots level up is the goal of Home of the Free, a student photojournalism project involving Berner Middle School.

The project, designed for seventh and eighth grade classes, will give students the opportunity to learn about photojournalism, create photo essays of public servants, and have select pieces of their work exhibited at the New-York Historical Society (N-YHS).

Students will learn from a curriculum designed by N-YHS, and meet David Hume Kennerly, a Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist who has been photographing world leaders and major historical events for nearly 30 years.

Sponsored by Washington Mutual and N-YHS, the Home of the Free project will involve 100 New York and New Jersey Schools. Each participating school will receive a free digital camera and a $500 honorarium to use toward the project's completion.

Following a program introduction led by Kennerly this fall, student teams from each school will photograph public servants in their communities. Each school's photos will then be exhibited at a local Washington Mutual financial center, and will be reviewed by Kennerly and a team of national civic leaders and notable media figures. The top 60 photos will be displayed, along with an exhibit of Kennerly's work, at N-YHS from Oct. 29, 2002 through Jan. 19, 2003.

Internationally recognized as one of the greatest photographers of his time, Kennerly has been photographing history for four decades. This October, he publishes his fourth book, Photo du Jour: A Picture-A-Day Journey through the First Year of the New Millennium. This work will be recognized with a year-long museum tour sponsored by the University of Texas Center for American History with its premiere exhibition opening at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. Oct. 1.

The Massapequan Observer has agreed to participate in the project by providing volunteer support as a "media mentor" to the students in Berner Middle School, and will be acknowledged at the New York Historical Society exhibition and in the local financial center exhibits.