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Rev. Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker knew that Harlem youth were in
trouble.
As Martin Luther King Jr.’s chief of staff, Walker had
worked hard for civil rights. As a minister who helped
reclaim Harlem’s neighborhoods, he knew the value of
education for its citizens – and he was concerned.
“Increasingly,” says Bounds, “Walker heard stories from his
congregation about how inner-city schools were failing their
children.” He considered opening his own school but
logistics prevented it. Still, he never stopped searching
for answers – until he found something he thought might
work: a charter school.
Much like a public school, charter schools are “tax-funded,
tuition-free, and open to all public school children…” The
difference is in who operates the school, and that parents
decide on enrollment. It was education reform in its truest
sense, and it was a relatively new concept then.
When he met Steven Klinsky in 1999, Walker hoped the
solution was at hand.
For years, Klinsky had been thinking about his brother.
When Klinsky was a kindergartener, his brother Gary tutored
him every day after school. Thanks to Gary, who died young,
Klinsky was a success, and he’d been thinking about a way to
honor Gary’s legacy. In the beginning, Klinsky created an
academic after-school program that offered kids a fun way to
learn – much like the fun he’d had with Gary – but when he
learned about charter schools, he became truly excited.
Harlem seemed to be the likeliest place for a charter
school, if the right building could be found.
And then someone introduced Klinsky, who had the finances,
to Walker, whose church owned a magnificent and nearly-empty
structure…
There’s been a lot on the news lately about the “crisis” in
education, both from the teacher point-of-view and from
parents. People worry about their children’s success and
A Light Shines in Harlem sheds some good news on this
issue.
I had to smile as I was reading this book, in fact: author
Mary C. Bounds’ telling of this tale makes it sound almost
like a thriller, with heroes and hurdles. I enjoyed reading
about the synchronistical events that allowed the Sisulu-Walker
Charter School of Harlem to become a reality, and the tales
about the students. Parents and educators will appreciate
the you-can-do-this hints in the back.
Be aware of one thing: this book contains a lot of names,
and that quickly becomes overwhelming. Look beyond it, if
you struggle, and persevere. In the end, you’ll find that
A Light Shines in Harlem has plenty of class. |
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