Whatever It Takes

I head back to school tomorrow for a week of workdays and then new students on the 25th. Post coming later this week about how this was the most un-productive task filled summer while being the most family centered of our lives. I did exactly what I wanted, made the family time we are so lacking during the year.

While at NCCAT last week I started Whatever It Takes by Paul Tough. LauraC has already written a great account of this book. As an teacher I was applauding the foresight of Geoffrey Canada to succeed at providing much needed support to families from birth to 18 in an attempt to break the chains of poverty in Harlem.

While reading this book I thought about a couple of things. First, one of the teachers I met at Harvard helped start an all girls charter school (in Harlem no less)that is part of the NYC school system. I found myself loving when I ate with her to hear how she and her colleagues have made this school work in the midst of enormous bureaucracy and setbacks.

What stuck with me more than any success story she told was the fact that once many of these girls move on the prestigious colleges and universities that they often earn full ride scholarships too, so the high number of failures/drop outs within the first year.

She explained that year after year it is NOT because they are not smart or could do the college work, but because they don't have the family support/structure to continue their success. Namely without the support of the school behind them, often they do not make it. Felice told me of how she spends most fall weekends making the rounds to Northeast schools to check on her girls, to offer them emotional and much needed financial support and encouragement to stay.

I also thought of myself as co-organizer for our Freshman camp of 800 incoming new students at my old school, an inner city magnet school that served polar opposites of demographics.

I suggested to a completely quiet room of administrators that if we wanted orientation to be a phenomenal success that would continue throughout the year we needed ALL students to learn how to "do high school". We didn't need the mainly White/Asian students that would come regardless, that we needed to make the camp assessable and welcoming to our minority base population. I went on to say that if we expect the neighborhood kids to come to us because we sent them a letter, we totally missed the boat on how to reach them.

Over the next months of planning this event I convinced a few teachers to join me as we canvassed on foot the surrounding neighborhood public pools and community centers, public housting tenant meetings, neighborhood schools, area grocery/liquor stores, and what was the best suggestion from a school board member who caught wind of our unorthodox approach, to meet with multiple minority church ministers who then took our outreach to their congregation.

When the 5 days of camp started we tracked enrollment each day and our efforts paid off. Even more inspiring was in my own classroom later that fall with my neighborhood kids I asked who had come and what they would do to encourage their friends for next year.

While this is super small potatoes compared to what Geoffrey Canada is doing, I am very proud I had the chance to participate in this grassroots campaign to pull ALL students into the school, not just the ones that will likely raise your test scores. The belief that everyone deserves the same opportunity is paramount to changing your school as well as a 97 block neighborhood.

I am going to take raising money for Harlem Children's Zone to my NHS officers as our year long service focus. I am inspired for the first time in a long time to be heading back to school. Partly that this is likely my last year, and also for the opportunity to return to my new students a little piece of what changing your focus can do to your outlook and possibilities.

Bring it 2009-2010! We may have packed out classes and limited resources and little air/heat to save money, but I am determined to make going out with a bang possible on a daily basis.