Teacher, administrator, counselor in one
Published: September 12, 2005
When Chapel Hill High School hired Sherlock Graham-Haynes two years ago, administrators called him a “minority student advocate” — brought on to raise the academic achievement of the school’s black students.
But the Jamaican-born staff member sees himself as much more, and considers himself an advocate for all students — whether white, black, Hispanic or Asian.
“It’s not us versus them,” said Graham-Haynes, whose office is tucked between science classrooms on the ground floor of the school. “I am an advocacy specialist. My motto is: ‘We are all one family.’ ”
Graham-Haynes’ job is unique to Chapel Hill High. East Chapel Hill High doesn’t have one like it, and neither do the Orange County high schools. Many at Chapel Hill High don’t even know who he is or what he does.
A cross between a teacher, administrator and counselor, Graham-Haynes was homeless as a boy in Jamaica. He later went on to graduate from Williams College in Massachusetts, and earn a master’s degree from Harvard University.
When he came to Chapel Hill High, Graham-Haynes wasn’t sure what tactic to take to close the achievement gap between white and black students. But he knew it had to do with more than just standardized test scores and advanced classes.
“Education is not just about the cognitive,” he said. “We live in a world were there are many educated people who are not moral.”
Graham-Haynes wanted to develop human beings, not just A students. He was — and still is — fond of saying he’d rather see a student make fair grades, but be kind and ethical, than see an A student who is immoral and a cheat.
Graham-Haynes also wanted to develop a family at Chapel Hill High, where students didn’t see the colors of each other’s skin, but saw the person inside. He wanted black students to be comfortable in honors courses, which few minorities enrolled in. But he also wanted the white students to be comfortable with the minority students.
“At Chapel Hill High School,” he said, “you can go four years in Advanced Placement and honors courses and not meet one black person.”
So Graham-Haynes formed what he called The Rose Garden Forum, whose name was taken from a poem comparing the human family to a rose garden. He invited students of all colors, classes and backgrounds. They met for meetings where they shared personal stories and experiences.
Graham-Haynes paired the students for tutoring sessions, and watched unlikely friendships form.
He tells of an affluent student named Russell who attended a Rose Garden session almost reluctantly. Russell heard another student telling a story of using lunch money to buy drugs.
“[Russell told me] I am annoyed at myself for spending 17 years doing nothing about this,” Graham-Haynes said. Another student told Graham-Haynes his tutoring partner, who was nothing like him, was like a brother.
“I liked that,” Graham-Haynes said. “Relationships are being built, and racism is broken down.”
If you enjoyed this good news Subscribe to Good News Blog
Share this
To share this simply copy and paste one of the below URL's: