They Will Be Change Makers

UFSA leadership team spends unforgettable week in New Orleans

For the ten 7th- and 8th-grade students on United for Success Academy’s Leadership Team, spring break was more like spring breakthrough. “When we had our first circle in New Orleans,” recalls 8th-grader Ameerah, “I told everybody I wanted people to look at Oakland and be amazed. I didn’t want them just to think ‘Oh, Oakland, here comes trouble.’ I said, ‘We’re bringing Oakland with us to New Orleans, and how we act as young ladies and men is how we present Oakland. We’re bringing our home wherever we go.’”

They also brought many months of preparation, having studied social justice and other issues here in Oakland that they knew were also affecting the youth (and other residents) of New Orleans. They arranged to meet with like-minded student leadership groups like Rethinkers, and perform community service like cleaning up around the Lower 9th Ward, as well as helping fix up a damaged library. “We represented well for Oakland,” says Katherine, “because we reacted really passionately about what they told us, and we really wanted to learn to help them make things better.”

They went there to help, something everyone there picked up on quickly. “[All the groups we met] received us with open arms,” says Vanessa, “and with Rethinkers, we created a really good friendship. I felt great about that.”

Rethinkers was just one of the community activist groups the Leadership Team connected with during the trip. They also met with American Civil Liberties Union leaders, and with Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana, who shared the story of a school repealing a requirement that students wear clear backpacks. “They educated us about our rights and how we need to speak up and know what’s going on,” says Katherine.

"That’s world-changing right there"

The Leadership Team also witnessed, first-hand, the destruction left behind by Hurricane Katrina. “It’s amazing – not in a good way – but amazing to see how something could just turn over in a couple hours,” says Ameerah. “And now they live in that – that’s their home now. We really wanted to know, after Katrina, how did they make it?” says Ameerah.

“We would drive down the street and actually see all the houses torn apart,” says Esmerelda. “But people like Mack, who lost everything, they keep on going strong.” Perhaps no one made a deeper impression or captured New Orleans’ post-Katrina resilience more than Ward “Mack” McClendon, a resident who lost his home in storm but has turned an abandoned warehouse into a community center complete with library, teen center, community garden, and more.

“I mean, this man is a revolutionary in my opinion,” says Ameerah. “For you to be helping everybody else without having a home of your own to sleep in, that’s world-changing right there.”

The students also absorbed a great deal of “Nola” culture along the way, browsing voodoo stores, strolling down Bourbon Street, and eating gumbo, jambalaya, fried chicken, po’ boys, and beignets. “We also went to the Bayou,” says Esmerelda, “where we saw alligators, lizards, and snakes.” And no trip to New Orleans would be complete without catching some live jazz. “The music was amazing,” says Katherine. “We saw a jazz band in this really little room.”

“In the jazz club,” Vanessa recalls, “it felt like we were in the past. The musicians were all dressed up in suits and tuxes.” The show offered a moment of signature New Orleans spontaneity as well. “At one point, the security guard suddenly took off his jacket and started playing with the band! He played awesome.”

“That’s all a part of me now”

Back in Oakland, it is clear that the experience has deepened the leaders’ community-minded spirit. “The trip was really important to me because, knowing what we’re going through out here in Oakland, I think something needs to change,” says Ameerah. “Rethinkers, they’ve really done a lot for their community, and I feel like we can better our community too. I went on this trip not just to change our city but to change our globe.”

“New Orleans was important to me because it was a change in my life,” reflects Mammaloa. “It was an opportunity to help the people of New Orleans and help restore their schools and community and environment.”

“Some schools in Nola barely have books,” adds Ameerah. “That made me appreciate our school even more. Now, when I see people tearing up books or writing in them, I tell them to respect what we have. My dad and I were saying we should do a book drive, and then ship the books out to different communities that need them.”

“Since we got back, we’ve been emailing with the kids in Rethinkers, and they’re even talking about coming here to see Oakland,” says Mammaloa.

“When we came back to Oakland, we really just wanted to create a group that could help out our community with [some of the same issues],” says Vanessa. Last month, the student leaders did that, founding a group called Change Makers.

“Everything we saw – their schools, the storm’s effects, the food which I loved – it all affected me so much that I feel like no matter where I live, that’s all a part of me now too,” says Ameerah. “When I saw the gardens around New Orleans, I thought, ‘Wow, it’s just like what Mack said: Everything starts as a seed and you have to grow.’” She expands on this thought in her blog entry: New Orleans is not a state or a place. It’s a seed. And that seed, by the minute is is growing and it is going to get bigger ad better. It is the best over here. It is similar to Oakland. Like I said, New Orleans is a seed and I can’t wait to see its full growth.

"[Oakland and New Orleans] were very similar before Katrina. After Katrina, people had to get together to fix the community. We don’t want to wait for a Katrina. We want to be the Change Makers now!" – An entry from Davon and Vanessa’s blog. 

To read more from the students quoted in this article – and from the other student leaders who were on the trip (Davon, Daisy, Hulices, Jenifer, and Vy) – please visit their blogs at http://ufsa.wordpress.com/!

Environmental Awareness Expands as Composting Comes to Campus

A year ago we reported on Bridges Academy students’ newfound respect for the “Four Rs” upon returning from their three-day outdoor education trip at Camp Arroyo. Hearing reduce, reuse, recycle, and rot all rolling off the kids’ tongues, Bridges staff resolved to build on that environmental enthusiasm in 2010-11.

“This year,” says 4th-grade teacher Soo Hyun Han, “we really wanted a post-trip project that was more far-reaching than projects in the past, one that would definitely affect everyone on campus.”

Conveniently, there was already movement in that direction, from Bridges’ garden program. “Our after-school coordinator Alia, who is in charge of the garden, already wanted to start a composting project here,” says 4th-grade teacher Pat Kaplan. “So it worked out that we were wanting the same thing.”

“One of the great things has been seeing the older kids learn about it and then train the younger kids,” reflects Kaplan, who says student leaders made up the posters pictured here, and went from classroom to classroom presenting the composting process. “They’ve shown a lot of leadership.”

In the cafeteria, the impact is on compelling display. As students finish their lunches, they approach the middle of the room where three receptacles await their garbage, compost, and recycling. With an assist from Bridges Custodian Mr. Robinson and Cafeteria Supervisor Ms. Cross, two students monitor the compost station, helping kids sort their items.

“I’m happy we’re protecting the environment because if we don’t, the landfills get bigger,” explains 4th-grader Yajaira. Her fellow compost crew leader Janelly elaborates, explaining how landfills produce methane, a major culprit in polluting our air.

“They’re known as the experts now,” says Han. “They’re in the cafeteria every day, taking turns monitoring.” The composting bug has caught on school-wide, with all school staff in the mix, plus support from partners at Waste Management and stopwaste.org (which also sponsored the school’s Camp Arroyo scholarships this year). “It’s really been a team effort,” says Kaplan.

4th-grade teachers Stephanie Pool and Rosa Kurshan have seen the spirit extend into their classrooms. “They like to police me a lot,” says Kurshan. “I call them my eco-police, always looking around and asking, ‘Where’s the compost?’”

“They’re very aware in class,” concurs Pool, “saying, ‘Oh, could we compost this?’ It’s something they’re really trying to think about.”

If you would like to support Bridges Academy, you can donate online here (picking “Bridges Academy” in the pull-down) or by check: “OSF/Bridges,” P.O. Box 27148, Oakland, CA 94602. Thank you!

"You Could Make a Masterpiece"

Of Starry Nights, Mona Lisa's Eyes, and the Next Picasso

"Whenever you look at that painting," says Bridges Academy 5th-grader Sabrina, "it seems like her eyes are moving and always watching out."

Sabrina and her classmates Cristian, Joan, and Gemma are deep into a discussion of Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa. Channeling the 16th-century masterpiece, Gemma strikes the subject's enigmatic, enduring gaze. "That's why it's famous!" says Cristian. They all nod.

"I've actually seen her move her eyes," offers Joan.

Bridges Academy's 5th-grade artists Gemma, Joan, Cristian, and Sabrina
with their portrait projects

"Well, it seems like they move because you see her looking at you," muses Gemma, momentarily breaking her Mona Lisa pose. "But that's the thing: It's all in your imagination. [The painting] really gets in your mind."

Art is clearly in the minds of Bridges students, both their own and that of legends like da Vinci, Van Gogh, and Andy Warhol. "We drew a picture that this famous guy Van Gogh painted," says Joan. "Starry Night. It's awesome. Beautiful."

"The wind," says Gemma. "He looked out his window and he painted it, that swirly wind."

Sabrina's rendering of Van Gogh's Starry Night

(Note: You can click on the images to see larger versions.)

"It's cool with all the stars," says Sabrina. "We did hatching with pastels [to recreate Van Gogh's technique]. Making art is important because you can show your feelings and express yourself. If it's your own art, then you're not copying anyone and they're going to think it's cool that you created something all by yourself, just out of your own thoughts."

"Art gives students an outlet for expressing themselves and a chance to be creative in a way they might not normally have during the school day," says the kids' teacher, Jessica Jung.

"It's fun times when you're doing art," says Gemma. "You feel excited about how it's going to turn out, and then when it's done you're proud of it."

"Some kids learn better through art or music, or social studies or science, and these all work together to create a full education," Jung says. In that spirit, she and fellow Bridges teachers connect art to standards in math, English, and other areas whenever they can. When her class studied Van Gogh's Starry Night, she tied it to an astronomy lesson, and building dioramas became an opportunity to explore history as the kids constructed scenes of different colonial regions. "It's all a way to process information in different and more entertaining ways," she explains. "They're not just writing and answering questions, but showing a real understanding by creating this scene."

"Art is important," says Cristian, "because some kids can draw their feelings on a piece of paper, and if they're happy they could draw the world, and their neighborhood, and houses, and they can inspire people."

"Art is a way of exploring the world," reflects Sabrina.

Joan agrees. "If some people see your picture of New York, they might like and want to go to New York."

"It might also make them want to do something creative like us," adds Gemma.

"Art gives students a chance to succeed in their own way," says Jung. "Particularly kids with behavior issues or who aren't as successful academically, other students can say, 'Wow, this student did a really beautiful job.' It's an opportunity for every student to feel successful in one way or another in class, and we see different parts of their character come out when they're doing certain projects."

"When I draw," explains Joan, "I think in my mind that one day I will become an artist. It's so cool. I might create the beautiful sea, a picture of New York, or my face in a self-portrait."

"Like a Picasso," adds Sabrina. "But instead of it being a Picasso, it will be a Joan."

With art, you could do anything you want," says Cristian. "You could make a masterpiece."