Editorial
Front Page - Friday, August 7, 2009
Community unites for opening of CGLA all-girls charter school
Samara Litvack
“Here we are!” said Maxine Bailey, to a roomful of cheering friends, family and community members. Moments before, the sizeable group of supporters welcomed busloads and cars full of students to the first-ever day of school at Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy, the city’s first all-girls, public charter school.
“This is a glorious day,” said Bailey, co-director of CGLA. “So many of you have been with us through so many stages of this journey – from submitting the application, to getting approved, to celebrating getting approved, to getting the keys to this building, to going through the process of selecting the girls.”
Inside the James A. Henry building on Grove Street, the old school lit up with new life as the school’s inaugural 6th and 9th grade classes were introduced to the cheering crowd.
“We have 75 young women, amazing young women, with strong voices, brilliant minds, unique talents and skills that have yet to even come to fruition,” said Julie Davidson, Bailey’s counterpart. “And a full complement of teachers – talented, passionate teachers – who are poised by the girls’ side to guide them on this journey.”
Mayor Ron Littlefield welcomed the eager students, addressing the astounding potential he saw in the room before him.
“What a wonderful way we are engaging in here today, with this charter school,” he said. “I’m really excited about where you will be taking this community.
“I stand here and look at this old building, thinking how we have worked over the years on this neighborhood in this part of town, how to re-breathe life into an institution like this school. How wonderful to have come full circle and to have this school once again serve as a school, filled with happy, smiling faces.”
Councilman Andrae McGary took the floor next, assuring each new student how important she is to CGLA, as well as the community.
“I wish to say to you this morning that, as you saw behind you, you have mothers that you never knew you had,” he said. “Look at the girls next to you. You now have new sisters, not just new classmates. I ask you to take care of each other. I ask you to look after each other, because we are all one family and our futures are wound together.”
CGLA parents addressed the crowd, thanking them for their support and expressing sincere feelings of pride and respect for their daughters. Inspirational women of the community took the floor, offering words of encouragement to the youths, and assuring them they could achieve anything they believed possible.
Before the ceremony closed, parents presented the girls with identification lanyards, symbolizing the turning over of trust to the faculty and staff of CGLA. Then, the girls embarked on the first day in their new school, which will surely be remembered as the historic day Chattanooga’s first all-girls charter school opened, changing education in the city.
As co-director, Bailey’s enthusiasm hasn’t lessened one bit since school came into session.
“It’s great,” she says. “We’ve imagined the girls being here for three years. With them physically being here, in the present, and all the energy they bring, all the curiosity that they bring, it just really fills in the picture.”
And it seems CGLA is set up for success. During orientation the week before opening, nearly 95 percent of school parents were in attendance, giving input on the school’s code of conduct and the family/student school contract, and pitching input for the fee structure.
“That myth that parents don’t want to be involved is really just that – a myth,” says Bailey.
“Parental engagement is key – us sharing responsibility for the education of the child. Great teachers is another key and, these days, kids having access to those 21st century technology tools to support education.”
Each of the girls received her own Macintosh Notebook computer, which students and their families will be trained to use.
“We also have digital cameras,” said Bailey. “One of the first things the girls did was use their cameras to conduct a scavenger hunt. We had a training during orientation, a little ‘laptop opening party’ we called it, where parents and girls together were introduced to the laptop and the activity was a photo activity. It was just amazing to watch the moms and girls and dads together explore the use of the laptop.”
From the looks of things, CGLA is well equipped with eager students, dedicated teachers, involved parents and top-of-the-line technology. The only thing they are still in need of, says Bailey, is volunteers – everything from mentors and e-mentors (which will correspond with the girls via e-mail, thanks to their laptops) and people to accompany students on field trips and greet the girls as they arrive in the mornings.
“There’s a range of volunteer opportunities,” says Bailey. To support CGLA, volunteer or learn more about the charter school, contact Bailey at 423-386-3005.
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