Sankofa Reflections, Summer 2013

"We are arriving..." 

Sankofa Continues Ambitious Expansion

Standing in the recently painted hallway as Sankofa Academy’s first class of 6th-graders passes by and its Pre-K students rush to recess on the redesigned playground, Principal Monique Brinson takes in the scene before capturing the school’s commitment to continuous improvement in a few short words: “We are arriving.”

Student Council Vice President Mikylah and President Phillip,
both members of Sankofa’s first 6th-grade class

It is this mix of pride and humility — and a nod to the work yet to be done — that continues to define Sankofa. As the campus evolves and grows to become a Pre-K-8, the school community constantly looks to the present and past for cues, staying true to the meaning of the Sankofa name: “to return and fetch it,” to reclaim the past in order to move forward.
 

“The adults in our school community are my eyes and ears,” says Brinson. “Through the dedication of our family leaders, classroom teachers, Teachers on Special Assignment (TSAs), and other school staff, we are becoming the village that takes care of our children.” 

Sankofa is also respecting the small-school roots that shaped its culture and helped boost student achievement. Staff has capped class sizes at 25 wherever possible, and has stayed true to the philosophy of individualized attention for students, with one-on-one support offered by on-site staff as well as outside partners like Lincoln Child Center (LCC) and Project SEED, UC Berkeley’s Sage Mentors and UC Build, Experience Corps, and Temple Sinai volunteers.

6th-Grade Youth Elders Lead the Way

While a unified vision and positive momentum are felt across all grades at Sankofa, the school’s first group of 6th-graders has stepped up to lead the way. “Last year’s 5th-graders became this 6th-grade class of leaders,” Brinson says, echoing this newsletter’s theme of “arrival” and growth. “They are our legacy class, and I’m so proud of how they’ve become the youth elders in our community.”

6th-grader Adam embodies this spirit in a number of ways. Academically, he is on the Sankofa Honor Roll and in the Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) program. He is also clearly a peer leader and role model for other students. When a class of 3rd-graders filed past Adam during his interview for this newsletter, nearly every student greeted him with “Good luck, Adam!” They all knew he was scheduled to represent Sankofa at the Alameda County Spelling Bee the next day. 

6th-grade student leader Adam

“It feels great being a youth leader and Sankofa elder because the younger kids look up to you,” Adam explains. “Whenever I’m on the yard with them, they’re always like ‘Adam, Adam, can you help me with this, can you play with me?’ And I love to do it because I like children, they’re so energetic it’s just fun to be around them and mentor them. You have to be trusted to really be a big part of Sankofa. We 6th-graders are leaders, and we choose that role ourselves by showing that trust.”

The genesis of Adam’s piece for the recent Oratorical Contest reflects the depth of his sensitivity and vision. The idea came to him around September 11, this past fall. As an African-American Muslim, he was attuned to the atmosphere of discrimination connected to the 9/11 anniversary. “I was thinking about this, and I got really sad,” Adam recalls. “So I thought of a solution. My thoughts were to make a poem and have my dad and family and everybody else listen to it. The poem is called ‘I Am an African,’ an original piece by me displaying African culture and saying we are here, we’re like you, we are all the same.”
 

After writing it, he shared the poem with Principal Brinson, “to see if it was good enough. She cried when she read it. It was amazing.” When Adam read the piece aloud before the entire school, “I was a little afraid. But once I let it out, everybody was happy that I was speaking up for every African and African-American that has been treated unfairly because of the skin they’re in.”
 

Adam’s free-time reading also reflects an ambition beyond his 6th-grade years. “My dad is a lawyer and political author, so has a lot of law books,” Adam says. “I like to read those and challenge myself because my dad always says, ‘I want my kids to be smart.’ He treats me like an adult, he’s real with me. He trusts me and, along with my mom, he’s the one who made me achieve all these things. I want to show the younger kids how much of a leader I am, as my dad is for me.”
 

When asked about the future of Sankofa, Adam lights up. “I hope we continue the success we’re having right now,” he says. “I mean, we’ve achieved so much. I feel as if we’re all connected, and I think that can happen to every child as long as they feel our spirit and our Sankofa pride.”

Academic Achievement Gains

  

This year, Sankofa moved more students into “Proficient” and “Advanced” (a 12.2 percentage-point increase) in English Language Arts (ELA) than any other school in the District. Overall, Sankofa’s Academic Performance Index (API) has increased 248 points since 2007! At 773 today, we are just shy of the state goal of 800.

Sankofa's steady API increase since 2007

As we continue to grow as a Pre-K-8 full-service community school, it is more critical than ever to sustain and build our programs, including the whole-child activities offered in our extended-day program. You can make a tax-deductible donation online or by mail to: “OSF/Sankofa,” PO Box 27148, Oakland, CA 94602. Thank you for your support!
 

Interested in enrolling your child at Sankofa Academy? Call the Student Assignment Office at 510-273-1600. We also welcome you to tour our school. Call 510-654-7787 to set up a visit.