More than 3,000 public school students from all over the city converged at the Harlem Armory this morning to watch the inauguration. The event was hosted by Democracy Prep Charter School (check back soon for their new review), but students from 34 schools spanning all grade levels waved flags, recited the pledge of allegiance, made posters celebrating their schools and the inauguration, viewed the festivities in Washington on three massive screens and cheered robustly for the new President. The mood was festive and celebratory, with even the youngest students eager to speak to the significance of the day.

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We asked students from several schools what the inauguration meant to them:

| asa2.jpg"I am pleased that we have our first African American President and I hope that he makes a change with the economy," a ninth grade student from the Academy of Social Action said. "It is hard for people to pay for things now." |
| bronx-academy-of-promise.jpg"Can a girl be president?" (Yes!) "Then I want to be president!" said a third grade student from the Bronx Academy of Promise. |
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After spending two hours on a bus from their school in Brooklyn, the first graders from East New York Prep were still excited. “He is going to change the world like Dr. Martin Luther King!” on girl said.

“He is like my brother!” another said. |
| lighthouse.jpgStudents from Bronx Lighthouse Charter School wore shirts that said "Be like Obama" on the back. Two boys in the fifth grade said that being like Obama meant being a role model. |
| bronx-prep.jpg"It gives a new beginning for all the people who didn't have a chance," a sixth grader (on the left) at Bronx Preparatory Charter School said. "Obama is going to make all our dreams come true.""I think it is very exciting that we get to see the first black president," said an eighth grader (on the right). |
| fda.jpg"America's changing," said a sixth grade girl (on the right)from Fredrick Douglas Academy."Happy day!" said a boy (on the left). |

Everyone we spoke with -- including more than a few sometimes-tearful teachers -- echoed that sentiment: It was indeed a happy day in Harlem.