This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Feb. 17, 2011 - At 1 p.m. on a Friday, when many students may be dreaming of the weekend, the sixth-grade students in Haliday Douglas' classroom at City Academy were hard at work. Students were split up into small groups, each with an assigned task for a civil rights documentary they have been working on since the fall.
Douglas, the sixth-grade humanities teacher, said he had no idea this project would end up working out the way it did. The students have interviewed local heroes, people who, according to Douglas, helped integrate St. Louis. The names included activists Percy Green and Norman Seay, civil rights lawyer Frankie Freeman, Rep. William Lacy Clay Jr., longtime Alderman Freeman Bosley Sr., and many more.
"I wanted to make the text relevant to their experience," Douglas said, "not just reading history, but having a conversation with history."
The 19 sixth-grade students all participated in some capacity, whether it was greeting the guests when they arrived at the school, conducting the interviews or asking meaningful follow-up questions.
Douglas began to plan the documentary after receiving a grant this past summer. With the help of an intern, Douglas composed a list of possible interview subjects. Most of the students conducted an interview, after having done background research on their subjects.
Ready for Their Closeup
Last week, the students were working in small groups to finish the documentary and to prepare for the school assembly on Feb. 23 where the documentary will be shown. The teams include editors, researchers and logistics. The editors group is working with video editing software on a Mac computer, splicing together segments from each interview into overall categories and themes.
"We wanted to make the assembly student-run. Kids are thirsty for responsibility and if you give it, they will rise," Douglas said.
Makayla Perkins, a member of the editing team, said it has been challenging to select the segments for the documentary because the interviews recorded so much important information. She is looking forward to the assembly because "it will be exciting to sit and watch what we actually did."
Jonathan Elkins, who was assigned to interview U.S. Rep. William Lacy Clay, D-St. Louis, said the project was a good experience that allowed the students to meet different people. He is currently working on the logistics committee to go over the assembly script and assign parts. "I have a lot to do, but it's OK," he said.
When asked about their favorite interview, most students enthusiastically responded, "Norman Seay." The editing group said he was their favorite because he made them laugh, but he was also very emotional. "His emotion made it more interesting," Perkins said.
Douglas agreed with the students' responses. "Norman made me cry. It was insane listening to him," he said.
Throughout this project, Douglas has been pleasantly surprised by his students' dedication. "I am surprised by their endurance. It's not a willingness, it's an excitement to actually be doing something," he said. "They realize people their age don't do this sort of thing, and they're embracing opportunities to act like adults and take on responsibility."
Endurance and Responsibility
This theme of student endurance and responsibility is the backbone of the entire school. Don Danforth III, co-founder and president of City Academy, said the students "represent our school really well; they're our best ambassadors."
The idea for City Academy grew out of Danforth's work with the Mathews-Dickey Boys' and Girls' Club, where he first served as a volunteer after college, and later as the head of the educational programs. Danforth said during his time at Mathews-Dickey, he discovered just how much he had in common with the students "once we got below the surface."
City Academy began as an idea after Mathews-Dickey started a successful summer school program. "That got us thinking: Wouldn't it be great to take this energy and enthusiasm? We started thinking about this school," Danforth said.
In 1999, City Academy opened within Mathews-Dickey with 42 students in junior kindergarten, kindergarten and first grade. The idea was to add a grade each year. Once the school outgrew Mathews-Dickey, they purchased the old warehouse next door and opened the current building in 2004. Today, City Academy sits next to the Boys' and Girls' Club on North Kingshighway, near Penrose Park.
Danforth said the whole idea of City Academy was to create a top academic program for families who typically do not have access to quality education. Unlike many independent schools, where 80 percent of the funding comes from tuition, tuition accounts for only 20 percent of City Academy's budget. All families qualify for some form of financial assistance, and the average tuition per student is around $3,000.
City Academy now has 140 students in junior kindergarten through sixth grade. Students come from 25 different zip codes, and 72 percent live in underperforming or unaccredited school districts.
Currently, the school receives five applications for every opening. The admissions process includes school visits and interviews. Parents are expected to contribute to their student's academic success and to volunteer 20 hours with the school each year.
"I think people really understand the scholarship and the need to make it possible for families to get the quality education that I think we're giving our students," Danforth said.
City Academy graduates have gone on to attend a variety of independent and parochial schools, including MICDS, Whitfield, John Burroughs and Thomas Jefferson.
"The students are being compared to kids at top schools all across the country; that's an ambitious goal," Danforth said.
The school's curriculum emphasizes language and visual arts, literacy, mathematics, science, social studies, foreign language, music, art and physical and character education. Danforth said Principal Kelly Tyson has applied a critical approach to the curriculum.
Many parents, grandparents and former graduates return to the school to volunteer and visit. Danforth said last year the entire sixth-grade class returned to the school the day after graduation to volunteer, even though they were not required to do so. "I think all of our graduates feel like a part of the City Academy family when they leave and they come back and give back to the school and they always feel a part of it," he said.
"Our students are happy, engaging people and they're enthusiastic and sincere and appreciative," he added. "They love their school and they love when people come visit their school."
Erika Miller, a student at St. Louis University, is an intern with the Beacon.