Education innovators make their mark

Just a few blocks from Margolis's workshop studio, in northwest Washington, is the Maya Angelou Public Charter School, cofounded in 1997 by another Ashoka fellow, David Domenici. Poems written by high-schoolers are tacked onto colored construction paper in the school's lobby. The theme is "I am," and one student writes, "From a water head [overly emotional] mother and crack head father...." Another poem reads, "I am from eating at all the carryout places.... My mom didn't know how to cook."

The 85 students at Maya Angelou, some of whom live in the school's dormitories, are there because they have been in jail or they couldn't make it in the city's other high schools. The average entry age is 16, but the average grade level is sixth or seventh.

"We want to give options to kids that no one wants to give options to," Mr. Domenici says.

"We've helped them develop into candidates who are more likely to overcome things in life. When we ask seniors things like, 'Would you ride in a stolen car, or would you pull out a weapon in a fight, or why not get high seven days a week?' they write, 'I don't want to get arrested. I have a reason to stay out of jail. I want to go to college.' They wouldn't have responded that way coming in here."

The school provides academics, job training, and counseling. Students are required to be in school 11 hours a day. They also work at one of the school's two businesses - a catering company and a technology center.

About 60 percent of the students who stay through the first of three years end up graduating. This is an area in which Domenici would like to see improvement. He has found that students who graduate strongly believe that the school "works," and they often become advocates for it.

He plans to establish a program in which any graduate who also completes college will be guaranteed a job at the school or the organization that runs it, Domenici's See Forever Foundation. He also plans to expand the concept by opening a new campus every year in the D.C. school district, starting in 2004.

Some Ashoka fellows foster change in schools indirectly. In 1994, Angela Coleman founded Sisterhood Agenda in Durham, N.C. It offers a program called "A Journey Toward Womanhood" for at-risk African-American teenagers.

"I noticed a lack of empowerment in young people," Ms. Coleman says. "Part of it was common sense, things I learned from my mother that I thought other girls weren't getting, like be assertive, be yourself. All that ties into self-identity and positive development."

Four groups of about 10 girls, ages 12 to 17, meet for four hours a week. Topics include cultural awareness, nutrition, sexual health, and life skills. The organization also provides the girls with an adult mentor and offers them a place to spend the night if they need it.

Coleman, who has expanded the program to New Brunswick, N.J., says research shows that participants miss fewer days of school and have lower rates of sexual activity and pregnancy.

In Milwaukee, Wis., Ashoka fellow Matthew Johnson created Strive Media Institute. It trains disadvantaged minority teenagers in five areas of mass communication and also provides outlets for them to practice their skills.

During the year-round program, the youths are linked with internships, which have resulted in companies turning to Strive to diversify their talent pool. Eighty percent of the program's graduates remain in the field.

Mr. Johnson says involvement in Strive leads to higher grades in school because students learn to plan their time better and set goals.

"They start using their creativity, and a light goes on upstairs," Johnson says. "They realize that through the media, they can make an impact."

• For more information about Ashoka, see www.ashoka.org/us-canada or call (703) 527-8300.

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