Group builds education pathway

Members of the Black Education Community Collaborative. (Courtesy)

Southwestern College employees established a dedicated support group to address the challenges of man African American students face in preparing for college. The Black Education Community Collaborative stems from the understanding that there are many African American students who miss critical educational milestones in K-12, negatively impacting their college readiness.

Part of the BECC, School of Counseling & Student Support Programs Dean Steven Baissa said the BECC is starting listening tours in February to look at what is needed to build an education pathway for people of African descent and Black people in South Bay.

Baissa said the group took a trip to Ghana in west Africa, a program the college sponsored for staff and students to go every two years.

“This trip is many colleges and universities who are focused on African American education to learn from the Ghanian education system, to look at establishing an exchange program between the students in our schools and over there. To look at how we can help students of African descent thrive and do better in our education system, African descendent practices,” he said. “It had to do a lot with racial trauma. It is about creating a space around healing from racial trauma for many of our educators.”

Baissa said one of the most powerful experiences on the trip was going to the slave dungeons.

“We spent a couple of days to see what it would be like to be at the time and what were their conditions on how slaves were treated. There is this right of passage that is truly inhumane and awful conditions that you get to see how they were treated as human beings, and what that has done over multiple generations,” he said. “There is a lot of unpacking of that conversation with the faculty and educators in Ghana and what they did. It was like a bootcamp for African-centered education. This last trip there were around 49 universities and colleges that participated, and about 300 people who went on this trip.”

Baissa said what they are trying to do with the upcoming listening tour is to listen to students and families. So, they are inviting students, families from the Sweetwater Union High School District and the Chula Vista Elementary School District to participate to help the BECC understand their experiences in the education system in the area.

“And what would be needed to have a better experience and outcomes in terms of where we are,’ he said. “At Southwestern, the learning communities are programs that are under my purview at the dean of counseling, and the faculty coordinates those programs. There is a program called Umoja, which is about creating a holistic port for students of African descent. Umoja is a Swahili word meaning unity. The idea behind it is how do we build this cohort experience of students when they see that they are not the only black student in the classroom, or one of two or three. When you create a more of a majority classroom, it creates a sense of belonging, a sense of community, to have faculty who are trained on principles surrounding African-centered education, and how to use those student experiences. The objective is to create a safe space so students can gain a better understanding, in which they do when they go through the Umoja program.”

Baissa said what they are trying to learn now is the experience in elementary and high school education, and that is why they are doing this project through the BECC.

“What we are looking for is how to help students thrive. What would that look like? Better training for our teachers in elementary, middle and high school. How we equip the administrators at those schools. How we have conversations about bullying around racialized lens. What that looks like in equipping students to meet their needs in a better way. It could be a host of things, but we do not want to make assumptions, so that is why we have four Listening Tours scheduled. Two at Chula Vista, one in National City, and one at San Ysidro. All of them are on Tuesdays starting Feb. 4,” he said.

BECC has planned listening tours every Tuesday of February. Held at a different SWC campus each Tuesday 6-7:30 p.m., parents and students can come and share their experiences, desires and suggestions related towards how to better serve African American children within the South County community. To RSVP, visit https://bit.ly/BEC2LT.

Southwestern College South Bay Black Family Listening Tour dates:
Feb. 4 at SWC Chula Vista in Rm. 64-238 (Library)
Feb. 11 at SWC HEC San Ysidro in Rm. 5104
Feb. 18 at SWC HEC National City in Rm. 7130
Feb. 25 at SWC Chula Vista in Rm. 64-238 (Library)

Please follow and like us: