Someone Else's Eyes

Starting a school from scratch is becoming just almost as much about my own growth and development as it is about that of the students I hope to serve.

In recruiting students and families for this start-up high school that I'm opening in the fall, I was asked on a number of occasions about how diverse the school would be (thanks Tiffany, Michael, and board member). Each time I brushed off the question, thinking that my Black face as a school leader would likely turn off many Hispanic families, along with the history and reputation of the school we're replacing (99.5% Black). Additionally, since four new small schools opened up in the mainly Hispanic section of our community, I figured that would be the natural place where families with Hispanic students would go. Finally, I felt there were already quality schools in the city targeting that population, but comparatively few quality ones for African-American high schoolers.

Wanting to make sure I stuck with my passion of offering quality education for all urban youth, I did not limit my visits to elementary schools. What I found at one school amazed me! Though I don't speak a word of Spanish, the students there took to me (especially the fellas) and I took to them. They listened to what I had to say about the new school, they asked great questions, and their concerns were the same as those at the mainly Black schools I visited (Will there be sports? How will three schools share one building? What will the teachers be like? And so on.) So began my lesson on what it's like to be a different minority in the U.S.

I realized that for many Hispanic families (and I know that's the wrong term), an obstacle to access is basic communication. So I worked hard to get materials in Spanish and to get a translator. The best I could do was get some of the materials translated, and a student served as translator. Wanting to make all families feel welcomed (another priority of mine), I realized I need to serve various kinds of food -- not just the regular chicken and fish. That took more money and more effort. And I had to make sure I did not ignore parents just because they don't speak English (I don't like it when people ignore my daughter, who's non-verbal).

Wow, what a lesson! I went home wondering what it is like to navigate a public school system without the basic tool of language easily at your disposal. I wondered what it is like to entrust your child to a school whose culture is so different from yours. I wondered what our school will need to make sure we build bridges with all our parents. Exciting, but tough. And humbling. I attend a multi-cultural church where decisions about staffing, worship style, and so on are made all the time. I'm just now starting to get a glimpse as to how sensitive one has to be when the environment is diverse.

But man, it would be so great to have a diverse body of students! Everyone will be enriched by the culture, background, talents, and personalities of the other. Our students will be exposed to a glimpse of the big wide world out there as they learn to interact peacefully with those both similar to and different from themselves.

Lord, forgive my protective provincialism! And continue to teach me to look at life through someone else's eyes.