School of Education Faculty Forge Connections with Haitian Community
In early March, three faculty members from the School of Education had the opportunity to travel to Cap-Ha茂tien, Haiti, to experience the culture, visit the schools and propose ideas for supporting the community.
The trip was planned in conjunction with Brace for IMPACT 46, an organization founded by former MLB pitcher Kyle McClellan and his wife, Bridget, that seeks to impact the lives of children and families in Haiti and north St. Louis by funding programs to build schools and hospitals, provide healthy meals, and create local jobs. Brace for IMPACT 46 forms partnerships with local organizations to gain an understanding of the needs of the communities they serve. The organization left a lasting impact in Cap-Ha茂tien by building a children鈥檚 home, employing numerous Haitian workers, and providing education, medical care, clean water, and healthy meals, regardless of a family鈥檚 finances.
Jaime Welborn, Ph.D., an Assistant Professor in Educational Leadership at Saint Louis
University, has a personal connection with the McClellan family, which led to conversations
about the education system in Haiti and specifically about the school of IDADEE, a
children鈥檚 home with primary and secondary schools that provide an education to over
290 local children. After talking with Gary Ritter, Ph.D., Dean of the School of Education,
about the possibility of supporting the IDADEE school in some way, plans were made
for Welborn to lead a team from the School of Education down to Haiti. Welborn was
accompanied by Merlene Gilb, Ed.D., Assistant Professor in Educational Studies, and
Maureen Wikete Lee, Ph.D., Associate Dean and Assistant Professor in the School of
Education, as well as Kyle McClellan, Founder of Brace for Impact 46, and Estevenson
Coleman, Program Director, on a trip meant to introduce the SLU team to the area and
culture of Cap-Ha茂tien and the IDADEE community. A goal of the SLU team was to build
a foundation for supporting the school in the future.
Early in the visit, the faculty listened to the leaders鈥� (teacher, principal, president)
perspectives and asked for suggestions regarding opportunities and about the possibility
for developing an ongoing partnership. Their focus was to follow the lead of the
community members and to work with and for them. 鈥淲e certainly took away more than
we gave. It was a humbling, unforgettable experience,鈥� said Gilb.
During the trip, the faculty conducted a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and
Threats (SWOT) analysis and met with the IDADEE president, Mr. Remy Fils-Aime, to
propose three areas to focus on moving forward鈥攑rofessional development for purposeful
practice, building parents as partners, and investing in a library/learning center.
The SLU team cited many similarities between the priorities of IDADEE school and the
schools in and around our SLU community, including incorporating classroom engagement
opportunities and structures, encouraging authentic hands on learning experiences,
and increasing connections between families and the school. They found that teachers
are eager to share resources and engage in new learning as a community of professionals
across the country. Haitian teachers are advocates and eager to engage and empower
children.
The children of Haiti attending schools are the light of Haiti and the hope for the future."
Jaime Welborn, Ph.D.
With these connections in mind, the faculty members hope to work with other SLU faculty, staff, and students in the future to build on these proposals and to further support the educational system, teachers, students, and stakeholders of the IDADEE community.