When you walk through its doors, Sankofa Academy has a different feel – even before you meet a student or staff member. That feel is in what you hear – and don’t hear. First, you’re met by the sound of a small fountain just inside the entrance, encouraging you to take a “mindful breath.” Next, you notice what isn’t there: any sound of disorder. No shouting, no squeak of running sneakers, even in a hall full of students. Then, as happened to this Sankofa Reflections reporter, a 1st-grader politely approaches, unprompted, to stick out his hand and introduce himself.This is Sankofa, and it’s just a start. When you sit down and talk with students, the motto at right resonates again and again. They epitomize the words “respectful, responsible, and reflective.” “These students represent the beauty and range of Sankofa,” says Principal Monique Brinson of Curtavia, Maceo, Noah, and Sharde, four 5th-grade “elders” who took time out of their day to sit down and share their experiences. “Sankofa feels alive!” “When I first got here in 2nd grade, I felt very welcomed right away,” says Curtavia. “Every time somebody new comes to Sankofa, they feel like they’ve already been here.”
Before Sankofa, Curtavia says, “I was really shy [at my old school]. I didn’t used to talk like this at all. But here I saw how the kids were kind and joyful, and that brought me out of my shell.”
“They see things that adults don’t see or notice,” explains Brinson. “They know they are making this world a better place, and they help me to become my best and be at my best. Our big goal is always to create a community where there’s care and learning.”
“I invite visitors to drop by unannounced,” she continues. “That’s how open and comfortable and transparent I want to be with our community. As Superintendent Tony Smith stated when he visited, ‘Sankofa feels alive!’”
This atmosphere of community echoes in 5th-grader Maceo’s reflections on his “buddy work” with younger Sankofa students. “We’re all nice and understanding and helpful with the younger kids.” “They depend on us older kids to help them be as good as us or even better,” chimes in 5th-grader Noah, who relies on some teaching tips his mother used when he was a child. “It has been a learning process. As I read with them, they start to understand. If I ask them the right questions [like my mom used to ask me], sometime it’s just like snap! -- and they get it.”
The students also pay tribute to the tireless work of their teachers. “In math, at first I was okay but now I’m really good,” says 5th-grader Sharde. “My teacher Ms. Byon really helped me. She takes the time to make sure we really understand. Also, I was kind of low in Science and now I’m getting it. It’s exciting, we’re learning all about solar systems, organisms, things like that.”
The “all for one” atmosphere on campus creates an environment where everyone is learning from everyone else at all times. “Every teacher has taught me, even those not in my own grade,” explains Noah. “They all teach us things to prepare us for middle school and college. The learning here is incredible, rich, and fun.”
As their words suggest, “Our 5th-graders are my examples and my leaders,” says Brinson. “They set the tone for the school.”
“This is my school!”
“Being a responsible leader means being responsible for others and yourself and Sankofa as a school,” reflects Noah. “Ms. Brinson, for example: She’s a responsible leader for taking care of every single child here. Even when she’s in a meeting, she will spend her time to help and go around the whole school -- in class, outside, anywhere -- to see how we’re all doing.”
“Sankofa feels like a family to me and I feel the students and family feel that way too,” says 1st-grade founding teacher Teresa Hart. “I’ve worked in different schools in Oakland and Los Angeles, and I’ve never seen a group of teachers who love their students as much as the teachers here.”
”We do everything we can to make sure we’re reaching the whole child; it goes way beyond academics,” Hart says. “I’m not just a teacher, I’m their counselor, I’m everything that kid needs during the school day.”
Hart speaks highly of Sankofa teachers’ frequent home visits as well. “It just gives us a different outlook on who the children are and where they’re coming from,” she says. “It really builds a sense of partnership, where [the staff] and family can feel like, ‘This is our child’ and we’re partners in giving them the best we can.”
When students have moved away from Sankofa and switched schools, Hart says staff often sees them come back. “They realize the community at Sankofa really cares about their kids,” says Hart,” that we don’t ever give up on our kids.”
“Our young people deserve a place of beauty,” says Principal Brinson. “We have plants, original paintings, not a pot is broken and not a leaf is ripped. They deserve this beauty, and it becomes ingrained in them, and they can proudly say, ‘This is my school!’”
Count Noah among the proud. “I’m glad to know that Ms. Brinson and the teachers have noticed something: that there is poison outside of Sankofa, there is violence, and they are sending the 4th- and 5th-graders to Camp Mosaic to learn how to stop this violence and spread peace. I want to see no violence – that’s how the world should be. I’m hoping Sankofa students can learn this and show peace to the whole world.”
Ever the reflective observer, after these hopeful words Noah turns to Principal Brinson. “You’re holding in your tears,” he tells her.
“I love you guys,” replies Brinson. “Look, you’re going to make me cry again!”
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