CFES College Partners Morehouse and Spelman: Excited to Serve at PS 197

CFES College Partners Morehouse and Spelman: Excited to Serve at PS 197

Shortly after John B. Russwurm Public School 197 joined CFES in the fall of 2007, Renardo Wright, Russwurm's principal, asked the organization to help locate a group of African-American men and women who could work with the boys and girls at his Harlem school and get them thinking about college as a real option.

"I jumped at the opportunity to alert our New York City alumni," says Danny Bellinger, founder and director of Project Identify at Morehouse College. "Morehouse alumni welcome the chance to share their college experience and are expected to be called to service."

With the help of then Morehouse Alumni Chapter leader Charles Ray and Kevin Nesbitt, a Morehouse graduate and now a counselor at PS 197, an alliance was forged between New York City Morehouse alumni and PS 197 that has supported and inspired students.

Founded in 1867 and located in Atlanta, Georgia, Morehouse College is an academic community dedicated to teaching, scholarship, and service, and the continuing search for truth as a liberating force. As such, the College offers instructional programs in three divisions: business and economics, humanities and social sciences, and science and mathematics. Augusta Institute, the precursor to Morehouse, was established in the basement of Springfield Baptist Church in Augusta, Georgia. The Wall Street Journal named Morehouse one of the nation’s top 50 most successful schools at sending students to graduate and professional schools. Black Enterprise magazine ranked Morehouse College the number-one college in the nation for educating African-American students three years in a row.

Tapping the service traditions of Morehouse, 20 New York City-based alumni visit PS 197 regularly, talking with youngsters in their classrooms and participating in school-wide programs designed to introduce every student to Morehouse, and Spelman College, and what it takes to gain access and succeed there. A Morehouse/Spelman bulletin board on the second floor is a popular stop for students, many of whom now express their interest in becoming a "Morehouse Man" or a "Spelman Woman."

Participating Morehouse alumni include: Seth Pickens, Michael Bryant, Duane Burrell, Wesley White, Malcolm Turnquest, Tony Clarke, Christopher Swinney, Chad Harris, Wayne Taylor, Kamua Hixon, Dennis Spencer, James Moore, Moses Matias, Torian Robinson, Glen Pinder, Seth Pickens, Charles Ray, and PS 197 counselor Kevin Nesbitt.

"The men from Morehouse have engaged our students and provided them with needed examples of the benefits and opportunities of a college education," says Joan Weisberger, multicultural studies coordinator and liaison for the CFES program at PS 197. "Their confidence and professional image negate stereotypes that trap and limit our Harlem kids."

Representing professions from education to finance, Morehouse alumni have taught students about the value of college and the unique experience offered by an African-American single-gender liberal arts college. "Many students are intrigued by the idea of a college of just African-American men and attracted by the fact that Martin Luther King was an alumnus," says Leroy Nesbitt, CFES program director and college ambassador. He notes that Morehouse alumni were especially excited "to partner with a school that is named after one of the country's first African-American college graduates and that includes an all-male sixth grade class."

Because PS 197 also has a sixth grade class just for girls, it was not long before female students and their teachers were asking about black colleges for women. In response, Program Director Nesbitt and PS 197 educators have begun involving alumnae from Spelman College, across the street from Morehouse. "I consider it a privilege and an honor to participate and realize that many students are never made aware of the opportunities that a college experience can provide," remarked Angela Jenkins who has "adopted" the sixth grade girls class at PS 197.

"CFES has given us a platform to engage our community and inspire the next generation," says Charles Ray, the Morehouse alumnus who launched the collaborative effort. "In the future, we plan to bring current Morehouse students, create pen-pal relationships between PS 197 students and Morehouse students, and engage students' parents to teach them about our careers and professions. We are very excited to serve."