Wednesday, February 8
12:21 pm    D Period

Board of Directors

• Bruce Penniman
• Oumy Cisse
• Momodou Sarr
• Nick Shaw
• Kathy Wilkes
• Samantha Camera

Implementing an African Studies curriculum at Amherst Regional High School has been an active goal for several years. Oumy Cissé of the World Languages Department and Momodou Sarr of the Special Education Department, who are natives of Senegal and The Gambia, respectively, and experienced in teaching elements of African culture in both curricular and staff development programs, have been working with Bruce Penniman, a recently retired member of the English Department, to establish the African Scholars Program at ARHS. The planning group has since expanded to include Samantha Camera of the Social Studies Department, Nick Shaw of the Science Department, and Kathy Wilkes of the Technology Department.

The long-term goals of this program are to infuse African studies into all parts of the curriculum and to establish an exchange program with secondary schools in Senegal and The Gambia. The vision is that students enroll in a full or nearly full load of courses with African content during the term of the exchange, preparing them more thoroughly than is possible in a conventional exchange program; that they conduct social justice/research projects during the exchange; and that they develop and present reports on their work upon return. Another goal is that participants in the program be at least 50% students of color.

The exchange is happening in 2012! Come to the informational meetings in September to learn about the exchange.

African Studies Course

Global Education Grant