East High teacher Leigh Vierstra: 'Our kids need to know about the world.'
Two years ago, Alanna McClain was a child at risk.
She didn't care about school. Her attendance was spotty, and when she did show up, the struggles she faced at home followed her into the classroom. Her grades slipped, her attitude suffered, and her future looked uncertain, at best.
"The bad stuff I got into, it kind of messed up a lot of things for me," says McClain, now 16 and a junior at East High School. "I had nothing to look forward to."
But thanks to a connection forged with students her age in Kenya, McClain now dreams of attending college and pursuing a career in helping others. First, she hopes to visit her new friends around the world, as part of a program called Pa-Moja.
McClain says the new program has given her the confidence and motivation to believe in herself and her future.
"That was not at all possible before," she says of her post-high school dreams. "After getting accepted into this program, teachers are willing to work with me, and I'm getting the extra help I need."
Local disparities
McClain's struggles aren't unique. About 60% of East High students are economically disadvantaged, and about a quarter of the student body is African American.
The Madison Metropolitan School District is known for its staggering disparity in minority student graduation rates. In 2013, more than 54% of all African American students didn't graduate on time, compared to just 12.5% of white students, according to the state Department of Public Instruction.
Racial achievement gaps are persistent throughout the district as well, with black students historically lagging behind their white peers in math and reading scores. The disparities extend to student discipline as well, with African American students suspended nine times more often than white students.
"This is a major concern for us," Madison schools superintendent Jennifer Cheatham says. "Everything we're doing as a school district is aimed at raising student achievement and addressing the opportunity gap."
Beyond the school district, Dane County is known for its racial disparities as well. African Americans -- who make up 5.4% of the county's population -- experience disproportionate levels of poverty, unemployment, children in foster care and juvenile arrests compared to white residents, studies have shown.
But at the time McClain was in danger of falling through the cracks in the city's educational system, one of her teachers at East High School was launching an innovative program aimed at empowering students like her through cross-cultural exchange and leadership training.
Cultural exchange
Pa-Moja -- the Swahili word for "together" -- is a Canadian nonprofit that connects schools in North America with schools in Kenya to foster intercultural exchange through educational development. It strengthens communities through strategic partnerships that promote wildlife conservation and fund scholarships in Kenyan schools.
Leigh Vierstra, who teaches social studies and English as a second language at East High School, learned of Pa-Moja and the 33 African schools it supports when she traveled to Kenya two years ago to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in honor of her mother, who had recently died of ALS.
"This is exactly what East needs," Vierstra remembers thinking about the program. "Our kids need to know about the world, because if we don't open their eyes, they're not going to be able to navigate well in a world that's so globally connected."
With approval from East High administration, Vierstra established a sister school relationship with Malek Secondary School in Laikipia, Kenya. Over the past two years, students have used the Internet to share music, dance, poetry, art, recipes and more via YouTube and Skype, forming friendships and learning about the differences and similarities of life in a community nearly 8,000 miles away.
"Their culture is so much different than ours, from the way they dress to the time they get up, to their music," says Alexis Cameron, a 16-year-old East High junior. "It's opened my mind to things that I never thought I'd experience."
But Vierstra hopes to take Pa-Moja further -- she wants to travel with a group of 12 students to Kenya this summer to experience the culture firsthand and work alongside African students on leadership development. The hope is that the students will return to Madison and apply their newly sharpened problem-solving skills to tackle local issues.
What's more, she wants to target economically disadvantaged minority students for the opportunity and have the group raise $60,000 to cover the cost of the trip.
McClain, who has never traveled outside of Madison, was interested. But with her troubled academic past, a teacher warned her that she might not be chosen, McClain says.
"I decided to just go for it," she says. "I wanted to prove certain people wrong."
The opportunity gap
Youth service and leadership trips provide important learning opportunities for high school students, but for families without money, the experience can be out of reach, East High School principal Mary Kelley says.
There are a number of programs at the school geared toward empowering minority and economically disadvantaged students, but Pa-Moja is unique in that it is being offered at no cost to the families. Students take ownership by raising money for the trip.
"It's a very ambitious program," Kelley says. "My hope is that we raise enough money so that [Pa-Moja] becomes part of the culture here at school." So far, the students have raised about $25,000 of the $60,000 needed. (For details on how to contribute, contact Vierstra at lkvierstra@madison.k12.wi.us.)
Students who go to Kenya will be expected, upon their return, to share their experiences with their peers and spread their knowledge throughout the East High School community. If they raise enough money, their next goal is to bring students from Malek to visit Madison in April 2016.
"My hope is that students will feel empowered to make changes when they come back," Vierstra says. "They're given the opportunity to build up their confidence, and my hope is that they keep that momentum going."
Alanna McClain is still a child at risk. Economic hardships, racial disparity, achievement gaps still persist in Madison -- and beyond. But now, for the first time, she feels a connection to her education and looks to her future with hope.
She is determined to go to college and wants to become a social worker to help others overcome the kind of obstacles she has faced.
She also wants to debunk stereotypes and misconceptions about Africa, using what she learns to help build a better Madison.
Together, Madison East and Malek Secondary students will work to solve problems for people in Kenya -- like the challenge of getting water from the community well back to their homes. In turn, the same skills can be related back to issues in Madison -- like how to improve the city's bus system.
"I've learned that we aren't the only ones struggling," McClain says. "I've realized that there can be a better life for us all."
