Letters to the President ..."Support ACE Innovation"

Written by Roger Madison

Thursday, 30 July 2009 18:50

We need your help to raise African Centered Education to the level it needs to be in the Black community – and to let the President know that this deserves at least the attention he is giving to have a beer with Skip Gates and a police officer. At the very least, he could send a White House representative to welcome Amefika Geuka to Washington. More importantly, the Black community needs to look around at ACE (African Centered Education) schools in their communities and extend the level of support needed to help close the gaps that threaten to relegate many of our youth to a status of permanent underclass – under-educated, under-employed, and over-represented in our prison system.

See our letter to the president below, and join us by sending a letter to the President at one of the following addresses:

The physical address is:The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Please include your e-mail address

EMAIL OBAMA ADMINISTRATION: www.whitehouse.gov/contact
FAX OBAMA ADMINISTRATION: 202-456-2461
CALL OBAMA ADMINISTRATION: 202-456-1111

Cut and paste this letter and send from your personal email:

Dear Mr. President,

One of your top priorities throughout your campaign and administration has been improvement in the education of American students – to prepare them for competition on the world stage. Within the initiatives and focus to achieve this goal are two key elements of your message. One is the value of charter schools. Another is the drive to turn around schools to provide a better education for our children.

I am writing to bring to your attention an initiative that is the focus of these two elements in your education strategy. Amefika Geuka, at 69 years old, one of the founders and Chairman of the Joseph Littles NGUZO SABA Charter School in West Palm Beach, Florida embarked on a 1,000 mile walkathon to raise awareness of the value of African Centered Education in the development of Black children. He departed from West Palm Beach on July 15^th. He will arrive in Washington on August 12^th. On August 13^th, he will present a message to Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, and letters from the students to First Lady Michelle Obama.

On July 28th, he passed through the halfway mark of 500 miles -- Clarendon County South Carolina – one of the school districts that was part of the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision. This is significant because the education of Black children hasn’t made the progress it should as a result of that decision. The education achievement gaps are wide, even though a recent study reflects a small measure of closing in some states.

In meeting the challenges of closing the gaps and striving toward excellence, the Joseph Littles – NGUZO SABA Charter School embraces an African-Centered Education (ACE) approach to turning around the lives of the students in the community they serve in West Palm Beach. This approach includes a focus on the African heritage of Black students as an integral component of their overall education. Here are some of the highlights from the recent FCAT (Florida Comprehensive Assessment Tests) outcomes.

- Writing proficiency was 94% for the 4^th and 8^th grades
- Percent making learning gains in reading was 59%
- Percent making learning gains in math was 54%
- Percent making learning gains in science was 56%

These gains indicate progress against tremendous odds. Additionally, this school has been in existence for 10 years, and among their first graduates, they are able to point to role models who are now entering college. Seven of the first 11 graduates are attending college this fall. This school is a typical “struggling school” that is attempting to do more with less. As you look at measurements of progress, the “excellent schools” get the accolades they deserve, but the challenges of “struggling schools” aren’t always understood – when they start with a bigger challenge to address and fewer resources.

The goal of this walkathon is to bring attention to the need for additional resources, and also to point out that ACE schools are making a difference, though the progress may not fit the external timetables and measurements that lump schools into “succeeding” or “failing” schools. Struggling schools like Joseph Littles – NGUZO SABA Charter School are also making progress, and could do more with a greater share of the resources.

The 1,000 mile trek of Amefika Geuka is a demonstration of the commitment a 69 year-old man is willing to make for his school. We implore you to acknowledge this effort and many like this all over the country. Our goal is to help our students to become successful on the world stage --the very same as yours. If you could find a moment to greet Amefika Geuka when he arrives in Washington, DC, that would be a tremendous encouragement to our students and staff, and a boost to the community that we serve.

Please visit www.jlnscs.org for more information about our school. Please reply to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Thank you for your consideration,

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Last Updated on Thursday, 30 July 2009 19:42