THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, October 16, 1995 TAG: 9510140051
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ALETA PAYNE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 118 lines
THE EXERCISE itself was simple, typical of any preschool. The six children, divided in pairs, worked to fit the pieces of three puzzles together.
Through the chatter of young voices, the teacher asked questions aimed at getting them to think about broader lessons.
``I wonder if they're practicing safety. I wonder if they're wearing safety belts,'' she said to two youngsters working on a car puzzle.
``Very good. You did it. You did it together,'' the teacher, Mut Franchetta Ajibola, told another pair.
``Working together, unity. What is our word for unity?'' she asked, then provided the answer: ``The word that means unity is Umoja.''
``Umoja,'' the students responded.
Welcome to Kujichagulia Academy in Chesapeake where the everyday lessons of preschool are intertwined with Swahili vocabulary - like calling teachers Mut (mother) - kente cloth uniforms and stories of African culture. Kujichagulia, founded by four local women, is believed to be the first non-denominational African centered school in the area.
The school opened its doors to 3- to 5-year-old children in September, with plans to add a grade each year as those students progress. Eight students are enrolled.
``The basics (of what is taught) will be the standards of the Chesapeake school system,'' said Shawn Eure, one of the owners.
What will make it different, is the daily instruction in African and African-American history and culture that will go beyond the four weeks of lessons for Black History Month, which defines what many public school children learn.
``We're incorporating our history in our program on a daily basis,'' said owner and home day-care provider Veronica McMillan.
While students participate in some non-denominational devotions, including reciting the Vow of the Black Child, Kujichagulia is non-sectarian. The school is pursuing a state license.
On a recent morning, the students sat around a preschool-sized table, the girls in dresses and boys in shirts all made of a bright, multicolored African print. After identifying the first letters of their names, the students glued rows of pinto beans into the shape of the letters.
``Put your hand over mine so you can feel how a letter J feels,'' Ajibola said to 3-year-old Jessica Featherston. ``Does anybody know anything about beans? Remember when we talked about nutritious snacks?''
After the exercise was completed, the students moved on to a discussion of the African-American holiday Kwanzaa, which celebrates agriculture and seven principles that support unity and community. One of the principles, ujamaa - cooperative economics - is practiced daily through pretend stores and businesses the students run.
They talked about the harvest and repeated words like kuumba, which means creativity.
``We used our kuumba when we made our pictures,'' the teacher said.
Almost seamlessly, the lesson progresses and moves on to a discussion of shapes.
The teaching has a strong math and science base, an area in which African-American children have lagged, tightly laced with history and culture. That convinced the Quick family to place 3-year-old Dion in Kujichagulia.
``We felt it would give him a good foundation, a good base to operate from,'' said Thomas L. Quick, Dion's father. ``It would lay the foundation to build his self-esteem to the point that society could not tell him he is not as good or better than someone else.
``What we are teaching him at home is reinforced at day care.''
Reaching children like Dion early is crucial to the mission of the school's founders, who hope to blunt the edge of violence and poverty cutting through some segments of African-American society.
One of the contributing factors to problems of self-hatred and denial among some young blacks is the lack of understanding of their history, they say.
``They don't have a legacy if they don't understand our history,'' McMillan said. ``If they understood our ancestral history, they would respect others and their lives.''
Not everyone agrees with the concept behind Kujichagulia. Critics worry that such programs will re-establish patterns of racial segregation or even perpetuate racism.
McMillan and her colleagues say that is not the case.
``This is not to alienate us from other groups,'' she said. Students from all cultures and backgrounds are welcome. And the contributions and traditions of other groups of people will be incorporated into lessons, as well.
``We want to the children to appreciate their history and to appreciate other cultures,'' Eure said.
Ask the students what they enjoy about school and their answers are typical of any 4- or 5-year-old, regardless of the school.
``I like doing my shapes,'' said Jamile Crudup, 4.
But the messages that surround them teach lessons that go beyond the pictures of shapes, colors and numbers hanging on the walls. There are also posters of African-American leaders and murals of black children reading books with titles like ``Proud To Be Me.'' And prominently displayed are the seven principles of Kwanzaa, including unity, faith, and self-determination - Kujichagulia in Swahili. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by Huy Nguyen\ The Virginian-Pilot
Administrator Phyllis Williams Featherston holds Shantelle Higgins
as the group heads in from recess.
Colorful nametags await the preschoolers at Kujichagulia Academy
From left, Oluwafemi Ajibola, Shantelle Higgins, Jessica Featherson
and Yochawnaw Bragg attend Kujichagulia Academy n Chesapeake.
Yochawnaw Bragg cuddles with an Africa-American doll.
Franchetta Ajibola reviews the alphabet with her class of 3 - to
5-year-old children.
Graphic
The Vow of the Black Child
[For complete text, see microfilm.]
by CNB