An Achievable Dream

For our team project we chose to study a school on the East Coast that is making a significant impact in the lives of children living in poverty in the inner city of Newport News, Virginia.  An Achievable Dream Academy (elementary school) and An Achievable Dream Middle and High School provide K-12 education for at risk and impoverished children.  They also have a nonprofit counterpart called An Achievable Dream Inc. that is responsible for raising the extra funds needed to run the school and also help coordinate some of the programs that benefit the children.

The children that attend these schools are children that otherwise would have likely become a statistic in the dropout rate, be yet another teen pregnancy, caught up in gang violence or just simply the unemployable.  You see, over 50% of the population of Newport News has a family income of $25K or less.  85% of the local population comes from single parent or guardian homes.  And 100% of the children that attend An Achievable Dream qualify for free or reduced lunches.  Here are some additional statistics on the area if you are interested.

Walter Segaloff, a local businessman is the visionary behind this school.  He was having a hard time finding functionally literate high school graduates to employ in his warehouse.  He would frequently find himself interviewing around 300 applicants to find 40-50 to hire.  Wondering if he was the only business facing this challenge, he consulted with the local shipyard and a couple other plant owners and found they where having the same challenge.  

Wondering how far reaching the problem was, Walter set a letter out to 200 business owners calling meeting to discuss the problem.  To his surprise 150 of those businesses came represented.  The problem was greatly affecting their profitability. 

With the business community’s support and urging, Walter began to dream about what could be the hook, the leverage point for change.  One day watching a tennis match it occurred to him that this sport could provide the inroads needed.  The next year he began an after school tennis tutoring program that over the last two decades has grown into this great school that is know for quality and excellence.

An Achievable Dream or AAD for short has a unique culture and curriculum that set it apart form other schools.  Each morning, at least five administrators, local officers or military soldiers greet children as they walk into school.  This is not because they have discipline problems — rather just the opposite.   “We really don’t have any problems with violence in our schools” says Judi Overbey, the AAD Tennis Director who is our main contact.  This same greeting also happens in between classes.  Teachers stand outside their classroom door and greet children on their way in.  The children are required to shake their hand, look them in the eye and say good morning or good afternoon.  Some of the benefits of doing this Judi said are boosting the children’s confidence around authority figures, it also gives authority figures a daily opportunity to build a relationship with the children and it also teaches the children good manners.  Likewise it give teachers an opportunity to assess how each child is doing and weather or not there might be something happening at home that would require them to provide the child will a little extra attention and support.

Once in the school the children are not allowed to talk in the hallways but go directly to their morning program, a pep rally in the gym where they line up, their uniforms are inspected, they sing the national anthem, hear a motivational message from one of the teacher that gets them jazzed up about learning and then they recite their “banners.”  Banners are saying that are hung all around the school to remind the children of important values and truths.  Through repetition and participation in saying them each and every morning, these banners become a part of each child.  Here is the complete list:

•  Proud to be drug free
• Be cool – stay in school
• Nothing was ever achieved without enthusiasm
• It’s nice to be important, but it’s more important to be nice
• Being bright is out of sight
• Decisions are up to me
• Success in school – helps me be successful in life
• Being a success means doing my best
•  I can go to college if I work hard
• An Achievable Dream loves me
• I am someone special
• Believe in yourself
• I will say no to guns
• I will say no to drugs
• Being smart sends my scores off the chart
• I must learn to earn
• I AM somebody

The culture however does not stop there.  The teachers on staff understand why they are there and have a real heart to see each child succeed.  Walter evangelizes the belief that every child can and will learn.  Extended school days, Saturday classes and four additional school weeks in the summer help children receive the attention and help they individually need.  Breakfast, hot lunch and nonperishable food sent home with children on Fridays to help students make it through the weekend and are also important elements of the care and support these children need to succeed.

As for the expanded curriculum, children attend a social rotations class each morning in which they study one of the following topics:

Speaking GREEN – In this class they work on mastering the verbal skills of the wider world.  It teaches the standard American English they will need in a college classroom, in a job or out in the business community.

Etiquette – Students must learn and are expected to display good manners.  Skills such as table manners are taught preparing the children for special occasions like when their accomplishments are celebrated.

Peaceful Conflict Resolution – Core to the AAD culture, this class explores why the pace and safety are better served by non-violent strategies that produce solutions that preserve the dignity and wellbeing of all involved.

Ethics – Teaches the children how to make sound value-based decisions.  The class focuses on putting character traits like honesty, respect, trustworthiness, integrity, responsibility and kindness into action.

Healthy Living – Time is devoted to learning sound habits like nutrition and hygiene.  Basic skills the children will need for life but may not be taught at home.

So do all AAD’s efforts pay off?  Do all the extra hours, hand shaking and special classes produce results?  — Evidently, as the school has a consistent 100% on time graduation rate with student’s test scores rivaling the students of more affluent schools in the area. 

AAD is making a significant difference in narrowing the opportunity gap and bringing social justice to Newport News. This year AAD is celebrating their 20^th anniversary.  Click here to watch their most recent video and maybe you too will be inspired that the dreams of these children can come true.