海角大神

When it came to getting homework done, the odds weren鈥檛 in Kebba Bojang鈥檚 favor. Like many teenagers, he admits, he had a tendency to procrastinate. And with no computer at home and the nearest library a long walk away, assignments often ranged from difficult to impossible.聽

Unlike most other high school students in similar predicaments, however, Mr. Bojang was able to find a solution in 鈥� quite literally 鈥� his own backyard.聽

Bojang, now 24 and entering his second year of pharmacy school at the University of Iowa, is representative of a range of success stories to have come out of Northport Apartments, a聽Section 8聽housing development on Madison鈥檚 East Side. At the heart of the 140-unit apartment complex, both physically and metaphorically, is a humble brick building that holds a roomful of computers, a few quiet meeting rooms, and a team of residents-turned-staff eager to help their neighbors succeed.聽

After moving to Northport his sophomore year of high school, Bojang, a native of The Gambia, began frequenting the on-site learning center to study on his own, later taking advantage of a math tutoring program offered there by visiting students from the University of Wisconsin. When graduation rolled around, the center offered him a scholarship to help pay for his undergraduate education at the University of Dubuque in Iowa.

A quiet workspace 鈥� and high expectations

Access to a quiet workspace, up-to-date technology,聽knowledgeable聽tutors, and scholarship money was all very helpful, Bojang says. But he also found something less tangible at the learning center: high expectations. As one of the older students at the center at the time, he recalls, one of the employees there would hold him up as an example for the younger children. She always seemed happy to see him, he聽adds,聽and would notice when he wasn鈥檛 there.聽

鈥淪he was kind of pushing me,鈥� he says. 鈥淲hen I have this feeling that someone is expecting me to be somewhere, it kind of pushes me to go there so I don鈥檛 disappoint the person. My fear of disappointment takes over my procrastination issues.鈥澛�

This kind of motivation, driven by interpersonal relationships and a strong sense of community, is a primary goal of the on-site community learning centers at Northport, the neighboring Packer Townhouses, and two similar low-income housing facilities in Milwaukee, all of which are managed by the nonprofit group Housing Ministries of American Baptists in Wisconsin (HMABW). On a practical level, the resident-designed and -staffed learning centers create jobs for those who live there and make it easier for learners young and old to access the educational resources they need. But beyond their convenience, Northport and Packer residents say, the centers have nurtured a sense of community and ownership, empowering students to take on leadership roles in other aspects of their life.聽

鈥淭he kids are seeing that it鈥檚 not only having access to technology or getting homework done,鈥� says Sainey Nyassi, a longtime resident and current manager assistant at Northport Apartments.聽鈥漈hey鈥檙e seeing the human aspect.鈥�

鈥楢sset-rich and access-poor鈥櫬�

The facilities in Madison and Milwaukee offer services to residents of all ages, spanning from pre-school children to older adults. Offerings include Head Start programming, after-school homework help, one-on-one tutoring for adults, a summer program with field trips, and English classes for the facilities鈥� large Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern immigrant populations. For recent graduates and older adults hoping to attend college, scholarships are available. Both services and scholarships are funded through a portion of rent profits.聽

Over their twenty-plus years of existence, the Northport and Packer apartments have come to be regarded as a model for community-based learning in the Madison area, according to Madison Mayor Paul Soglin.聽

鈥淚t鈥檚 more than, pay the rent and you鈥檝e got an apartment with running water and heat,鈥� says Mayor Soglin, who in January publicly recognized the Rev. Dr. Carmen Porco, CEO and executive director of HMABW,聽as the recipient of a joint city-county聽humanitarian award聽that honors those who 鈥渞eflect the values of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.鈥� 鈥淚t鈥檚 a more holistic approach in regards to the entire family, ranging from the needs of toddlers and infants to the future of the parents.鈥澛�

The numbers suggest an effective model for improving academic performance. High school graduation rates among students residing in the Madison facilities have fluctuated between roughly 90 and 100 percent in recent years, rates significantly higher than Madison public schools鈥� four-year graduation rate of聽78 percent. More than 70 percent of high school graduates from the HMABW facilities go on to attend college.

Some of the Madison centers鈥� success may be due to the convenience they offer in a city that Gloria Ladson-Billings, a professor聽in聽the University of Wisconsin-Madison鈥檚 School of Education, describes as聽鈥漚sset-rich and access-poor.鈥澛�

鈥淲e have everything in this town that you would want in a high-quality community,鈥� she says, 鈥渂ut the access to it is very, very poor for some people.鈥�

One common challenge for low-income families, Professor Ladson-Billings notes, is transportation. Others may lack the financial means to enroll their children in expensive educational programs.

鈥淗aving those centers right there on site means that鈥檚 one less barrier that people have to try to get over,鈥� she says.聽聽

Seeing the human aspect

For young people growing up in low-income communities, exposure to people from similar backgrounds in leadership roles can be life-changing, observers say. Oftentimes, schools serving low-income students will bring in people from outside the community when career day rolls around, Ladson-Billings notes, sending a 鈥渟ubtle message鈥� that 鈥渨hat people do in this community isn鈥檛 that valuable.鈥�

By staffing the learning centers with residents, Dr. Porco and his team aim to send the opposite message. 聽

鈥淧eople see that people like them are running the show,鈥� he says. 鈥淔or once, they own the institutional base. And that makes a difference.鈥澛�

There is some evidence, through anecdotes, that the strategy is working, as young people living in the housing facilities take on leadership roles at school in student government, sports, and other clubs. Sandra Willis-Smith,聽resident聽and manager at Packer Townhouses, proudly tells of her middle school-age son鈥檚 job helping social workers by talking with classmates who have behavioral problems, an accomplishment she attributes 鈥渙ne hundred percent鈥� to his experiences at the learning center.聽

The neighborly bond between residents enables some degree of flexibility when it comes to running the centers, says Pat Wongkit, program director at Northport, where she has lived for 33 years and worked for 22. Sometimes, she鈥檒l let young people stay and do their work after hours to accommodate聽for聽busy schedules and family demands.聽

鈥淚 trust them,鈥� she explains, 鈥渁nd they trust me.鈥澛�

These relationships between employees and their fellow residents, cultivated through facility-wide picnics and holiday celebrations, are one of the centers鈥� greatest strengths, those who live there say.

Ms. Willis-Smith, a resident for more than two decades, recalls participating in meetings to design the learning centers upon first moving from Joliet, Ill., and then in the groundbreaking ceremony in 鈥�93. In the years that followed, she climbed her way up from receptionist to聽manager. Being a part of the community, Willis-Smith believes, has allowed her to build stronger relationships with the residents she serves.聽

鈥淭hey feel more comfortable with me because they know I鈥檝e been there, I鈥檝e done that, I鈥檝e seen that,鈥� she says. 鈥淪o I鈥檓 able to help them out more.鈥�