Opening Eyes Project - Taking Students from the North West to New York City

The aim was to create an educational foreign travel experience that would broaden their horizons and inspire them to achieve more at school and in their lives. More specifically, it was designed to to open the eyes of both the students and teachers to new and radical ways of teaching, challenge cultural perceptions and enrich their understanding of the entrepreneurship specialism taught at the school.

In October 2009 staff and sixth form students from Darwen Aldridge Community Academy (DACA) embarked on a unique visit to New York City. Many students hadn’t even visited their local city Manchester before and some didn’t have passports so the prospect of travelling to America was a daunting if exciting one.  

While most school visits to New York would naturally include a day trip to Liberty Island, the Empire State Building and other famous sights, the Opening Eyes visit also included an itinerary which demonstrated how another culture tackles social issues.  The students visited two schools in the Bronx neighbourhood, volunteered at a food distribution centre, and visited a social enterprise bakery and a housing project for the city’s homeless population.

Darwen is an area with high levels of unemployment and indices of disadvantage.  However the students were stunned by the differences in a society without a welfare state.  The Yorkville Common Pantry highlights the sharp contrast between rich and poor in the neighbourhoods of Manhattan.  The students spent the day unloading vans and making up food parcels for some of New York’s poorest families. The contrast of being in a Bronx housing project one hour and enjoying the tourist attractions in Central Park the next was keenly felt by the students.

At the Jericho Project, which provides accommodation for New York’s homeless, it was the first time many of the students had been confronted with the reasons how and why an individual can end up without a home.  One boy said: “I understand now how hard it is to rebuild a life.”

DACA teaches students about social enterprises such as the Greyston Bakery, which reinvests its profits to provide jobs, healthcare and affordable housing in the Yonkers Community.  It takes great pride in the quality of their products, especially the brownies they bake for Ben and Jerry’s ice cream (you can read about Greyston on the back of cookie dough flavour tubs).

Perhaps the most thought provoking day, especially for the teaching staff, was spent at the Harriet Tubman Charter School and the KIPP (Knowledge is Power Programme Academy) in the Bronx.  Both schools demonstrate that outstanding grades can be achieved in underserved communities and with very limited facilities.  In fact HTCS uses a converted supermarket and the KIPP school occupies one corridor of a building block.  Instead of expensive buildings, they focus on quality of teaching, rigour and structure. Parents and students are required to give their total commitment to the school’s goals and the teachers work later and at weekends to help the students achieve incredible academic results.  One Darwen student said: “They really appreciate the chance of a good education here – we need to value what we have back home.” The Darwen teachers were inspired by the students' and parents’ commitment  to education especially with such limited resources. A new £45 million Darwen Aldridge Community Academy building is due to open later in 2010 providing state of the art facilities for the students and teachers as well as facilities for the community to use.

The trip was a success on many levels and the students capitalised on the new experiences on offer. Many have returned to Lancashire with a new found interest in working in America and others have felt inspired to achieve their best in exam results so that they can go on to further education at colleges outside of the rural town.

A school visit like this provides opportunities for students and staff to challenge and change their perceptions. Taking education outside the classroom and in this case the country helps nurture maturity and awareness and the consideration of different options.  The Opening Eyes Programme could be the catalyst to change young people’s lives.