EDUCATION LEADERS TODAY
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GLOBAL LEADERSHIP ACADEMY With beginnings as a failing, poorly-run facility in West Philadelphia, Dr. Naomi Johnson Booker has transformed the newly named Global Leadership Academy to a school that prides itself on providing children with an environment to learn, grow and become productive citizens in a global society.
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global PREPARING CHILDREN WITH A CULTURALLY BALANCED EDUCATION FOR THEIR PLACE IN A GLOBAL SOCIETY by Anne Brouilette
The students who attend Global Leadership Academy in West Philadelphia wear uniforms, do community service, take golf lessons and travel throughout North America. And they do it for free. GLA is a charter school, led by CEO Dr. Naomi Johnson Booker, a retired teacher, principal and superintendent. After 34 years in the business, she retired, but not to a life of leisure. Instead, she was asked to take over a failing charter school. The school, founded in 2000, had low performance, bad finances and in 2005-2006, it was involved in a federal investigation. “During that time, there were children that were going there. They were underserved,” Booker said. Since then, GLA has grown into a well 2 Winter 2010
respected and highly popular charter school. They have achieved higher scores, transformed the $800,000 deficit into an $2 million balance, and changed the name, wiping away any traces of the former charter. “The name of the old school was so tainted that any place I went or any place that I dealt with in the school world, the negative background prohibited us from going forward with that name,” Booker said. Today, GLA has more than 80 percent certified teachers, above the 75 percent required by the state, and up from the 35 percent in place before Booker took over. The purpose of GLA is evident in the school’s name: to prepare and educate children for the global society. “We’re able to reach and touch children
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OPPOSITE PAGE: Mrs. Tamika Evans, Assistant Principal reading to GLA’s scholars during their circle time.
who may not have the opportunity to grow and blossom and become productive citizens.” Ninety-seven percent of the 595 students fall below the poverty line and many don’t realize what they are capable of until they get to GLA, where a world of experience and opportunity awaits them. Students take global studies rather than social studies, where they learn about the language, economy, culture and politics of other countries. In elementary school, the children travel locally around Philadelphia, throughout Pennsylvania, and in sixth grade, they take a trip to Washington D.C. In seventh grade, they go to Canada to study the Underground Railroad, following the path that Harriett Tubman traveled. And in their final year at GLA, they travel to the Bahamas or Canada, offering community service to area schools.
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I don’t look at the challenges as being such a big problem. Children are children. We have to reach them where they are.
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Booker believes that kids deserve the chance to remove barriers caused by poverty. Through traveling and education, she is opening up the entire world to kids who would have little opportunity to do so otherwise. “Children come into this world wanting to learn,” she said. “There’s nothing at birth that says, ‘You are poor so you can’t learn.’” All of the school trips are paid for via fundraising, ensuring that all students may attend, regardless of their financial situation at home. “I don’t look at the challenges as being such a big problem. Children are children. We have to reach them where they are.” She believes that the school should help children with all parts of their lives, and so they have a social worker and parent liaison. Parents are required to contribute 40 hours of parent participation, whether it be through chaperoning a field trip, assisting in the classroom or helping with an event. Booker wants to keep an open dialogue between the kids and their parents and keep parents in the loop when it comes to school. GLA provides a number of extracurricular activities to keep their students well-rounded. They have weekly golf lessons through Tiger Woods’ First T organization, Cub Scouts, softball, music, dance, piano and choir. “We provide extracurricular
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ABOVE: GLA scholars view the geographical location and other facts about their new Global Country. OPPOSITE PAGE: Nyeemah Pratt is amazed by the new global presentation given by her teacher, Mrs. Williams.
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activities that will build on kids’ social change and challenge them and build their minds and their bodies,” Booker said. Booker has set up after school and Saturday tutoring sessions, and a program for gifted and talented students. This past year, 35 students were inducted into the National Honor Society. They use Rosetta Stone for foreign languages and provide students with daily access to laptops and computers. GLA aims to prepare students for the world ahead through extracurricular activities and a well-rounded and rigorous academic curriculum. “Global studies promote interdisciplinary and cross-cultural learning,” Booker said. The students research global issues, presenting them to their classmates and opening up discussion. “Our students are scholars. They are prepared to be active and knowledgeable members of a global society, so that when they grow up they are able to participate in that society.” Each student must complete a certain number of community service hours each year. “They learn that their actions as individuals impact on the larger community.” At the culmination of their time at GLA, they present what they’ve done and learned to their classmates. “We help them to think globally, act locally.” The school’s excellent reputation is causing them to outgrow their current facilities. Currently, the school is divided between two campuses: one is an old Catholic school and the other is an old Synagogue. As a charter
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We provide extracurricular activities that will build on kids’ social change and challenge them and build their minds and their bodies.
THIS PAGE: Scholars exiting the classroom after peer mentoring with the 7th grade mentor scholars. OPPOSITE PAGE: GLA reading period, students are engaged in reading activities, while making the global connection.
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school, GLA is required to find and pay for its own space. In September of 2011, GLA will roll out a new, state-of-the-art building, large enough to accommodate 200 students. Teachers and faculty are drawn to the school as well. “In the beginning, it was very hard for me to get teachers because of the reputation,” Booker said. “But now, over 100 people have applied for only six positions.” This change is reflected in the students, too. Previously, only 20 percent of students were achieving academic efficiency on statewide tests. Three years later, that figure is up to 56 percent and growing. The students have a 95 percent attendance rate and the faculty is at 98 percent. “That’s phenomenal, to go up by 36 percent, which tells me that we are preparing our children academically and really working towards moving them to where they need to be.” Booker is aiming for
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90 percent as the school continues to grow. On a day-to-day basis, Booker acts as a liaison between the two campuses. She is the point-person for the state, acting much like a superintendent. “I am very closely tied to what goes on at the school.” She’s involved in hiring, firing, financing, budgets and teacher observations. She holds a weekly meeting with her administrative team. The school has 70 staff members, with a 1 to 23 teacher/student ratio. But each classroom has instructional assistants, bringing the adult-to-student ratio down to 1 to 17. While the instructional assistants aren’t required, Booker wants to ensure that each student gets the personal attention he or she needs to succeed. The recent economic downturn means GLA has to work harder for grants and fundraising dollars. Charter schools often have to do
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more with less. And while GLA hasn’t felt the full impact of the recession, it has received less funding from the government. Looking to the future, Booker is first concentrating on opening their new campus. But long-term, she’s aiming to bring test scores up even more and expand GLA’s international contacts. Ultimately, Booker would like to get the children earlier and see then all the way through high school. “When they leave us in 8th grade, we have to give them as much personal equipment as they can so they can battle through high school.” As it is, students must apply for magnet or charter schools, or be thrust into large public schools. Getting the children at pre-school age would provide them a stronger foundation for life. “The research tells you that if children have a good basis before they come to school, then they have a stronger success rate as they move along.” She plans to keep GLA in the West Philadelphia community for a long time, noting the positive effects the school has had in revitalizing the area. Booker has transformed the public charter school into an experience that can compete with top private schools in the area. “Schools can work,” Booker said. “We call this a Cinderella story. It came out of rubble. If you take the right people and the right resources, it can be done.” ELT
ABOVE: GLA Scholars take a moment from their studies to represent their academy. OPPOSITE PAGE: Oscar Edwards is learning and having a great time during a science lesson.
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