"We Do It For Them"
At Shaw Middle School in West Philadelphia, "summer" doesn't necessarily mean "vacation." For six weeks each summer, the school hosts a Philadelphia Freedom School, a program designed to empower and teach local youth.
With roots in the Freedom Schools of 1960s Mississippi, the Philadelphia Freedom Schools (PFS) bring together local university students, high school students, and middle school students to create a community school in which students can learn and grow.
According to PFS Manager Sedrick Miles, PFS aims "to build intellectual, cultural, and civic engagement of children and youth in order to make meaningful change in themselves, their families, schools, communities, and larger society."
The Philadelphia program was brought to Shaw by Penn; GSE doctoral students Chonika Coleman and Valerie Adams coordinate the program, with support and assistance from GSE Professors Diana Slaughter-Defoe and Howard Stevenson.
Freedom School classes are taught by college students, known in the program as Servant Leader Interns (SLIs), "because it's our job to serve the learning needs of the students," explains Coleman. To prepare them, PFS provides extensive training – in child development, academic lesson planning, team teaching, team building strategies, positive conflict resolution, and social advocacy.
The day begins with Harambee (the Swahili word for "let's pull together"), an all-school assembly with lots of singing and dancing. "It's a way for us to get everyone on the same page," says Coleman, "and excited about the school day." Harambee not only gives children the much-needed opportunity for movement but also sets a culturally specific tone for the day. A centerpiece of the Freedom Schools' approach is to provide a curriculum that reflects students' own images and experiences.
After the Harambee session breaks, each Servant Leader Intern leads a classroom of about ten elementary-age student in the PFS Pathways curriculum, with afternoons devoted to enrichment activities. As positive role models and mentors, the SLIs are expected to lead by example, embodying the values of honesty, hard work, and service.
Community is a driving ideal for PFS. The group collaborates with neighborhood organizations to provide transformational experiences for its students and, in turn, sets out to instill a sense of community in the youth it serves. Students at Shaw's Freedom School organized their service work around access to health care – a serious issue in their neighborhood – by writing letters, petitioning their senator, and staging a demonstration.
Violence and poverty are also major concerns in this community. West Philadelphia has a high crime rate, and the lives of most Shaw students have been touched by it in some way. Violence is "sweeping the community," says one of the Servant Leader Interns, adding that Shaw's Freedom School students are "incredibly strong.... They've been through so much and you wouldn't know it until you've taken the time to talk with them."
Students and Servant Leader Interns are challenged to exceed their own and others' expectations. "I couldn't believe we were going to read six books," said one of the program's teachers, adding that "they do it [work hard] for us...and we do it for them."
In February, WHYY, Philadelphia's PBS affiliate, aired a documentary on Shaw's Freedom School program. Directed by Amit Das, "Freedom School" was produced by GSE in collaboration with Penn's Netter Center for Community Partnerships and with the support of the Children's Defense Fund.