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Harambe for Reading
Program provides culturally relevant literacy education T
school support programs. Both programs offer culturally relevant literacy education to students in the greater Kalamazoo area. Educating for Freedom in Schools is a partner program to the Freedom Schools Program, a national literacy program funded by the Children’s Defense Fund. On the Youth Program Quality Assessment in 2013, Kalamazoo’s program ranked 4.77 out of 5, which is an “extremely high quality” ranking, in that it shows literacy gains in six weeks of programming that are equivalent to those gained in six months to a year of instructional time in a typical classroom. The Harvard Family Research Project named the Freedom Schools program as a whole one of the top youth programs in the nation. “Clearly, there is something about this program that is impactful,” Gardner says, “impactful to children who are normally outliers too — the ones that historically fall through the cracks and the ones that have risk factors that might make them unlikely to succeed in this world.” Designing curriculum that is socially and culturally relevant to the students is one of the reasons Gardner believes the Educating for Freedom in Schools program is so successful. Kids aren’t just reading. Demarra Gardner, third from left, leads Harambe festivities with children enrolled in Educating for Freedom in Schools’ summer program.
Erik Holladay
he noise from Harambe can be heard a block away from the Edison neighborhood’s Tree of Life school, where it is happening. “Harambe” is a traditional rallying cry used in Kenya, but for the Educating for Freedom in Schools’ summer literacy program it’s more than just a rallying cry for the program — it’s the first daily activity, with singing, dancing, chanting and a visit from a volunteer reader. “It’s Wednesday at Harambe, and Freedom School’s in the house!” chant the students, instructors and director Demarra Gardner. “Everyone say, ‘Read aloud,’” Gardner shouts. The group responds, “Read, read, read, read, read aloud!” The room calms as the kids settle on the floor and guest reader Julia Dean introduces herself. Dean has a special connection to the program; she used to work in it from 2008 to 2010. Since she began a master’s program in education at the University of Michigan in 2010, Dean has kept in touch with the program, visiting and donating to it. She begins her visit with a short introduction explaining how she’s connected to the school and what her occupation is. She then begins reading a section of the picture book I See the Rhythm, by Michele Wood and Toyomi Igus. Literacy is the cornerstone of Educating for Freedom in Schools, a nonprofit organization that operates full-time summer and after-
12 | Encore NOVEMBER 2014