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Unique Learning Center
| Article
# : |
19991 |
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Section : |
LIFE
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| Issue
Date : |
8 / 1992 |
3,117 Words |
| Author
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Gerald Leighton
Gerald Leighton is the Washington, D.C., coordinator for
United to Serve America, an organization that networks
volunteer organizations. He has served as dean of the College
of Business and director of graduate programs at Southeastern
University and has taught at Johns Hopkins, George
Washington, and American University. He has directed programs
at the U.S. Departments of Energy and Housing and Urban
Development. |
Education in the inner city is not held in high esteem by most Americans. Yet, there are examples of excellence in the midst of the pervasive problems. One is the Unique Learning Center in Washington, D.C., a free learning cneter that was established through a partnership between National Presbyterian Church and an inner-city congregation, Third Street Church of God.
Sherry Woods is the director at Unique Learning Center, which offers free after-school and summer instruction to inner-city children. These classes have helped many students get into top colleges--almost all of the students at Unique have improved their grades.
THE WORLD & I: Could you begin by giving a nuts-and-bolts description of the Unique Learning Center?
Sherry Woods: Unique is open to neighborhood children. We have some preschoolers and students in K through 12. Our program includes academics, recreational/cultural activities, and moral/spiritual instruction.
In the academic area, we have a tutorial program, a computer lab, a science club, and a cooking class.
The recreational/cultural activities are a broad range of activities that we believe will help to mold the kids into well-rounded individuals. For example, we take trips during the year. We visited one of our students who is now a freshman at West Virginia University. The kids stayed in a college dorm, visited the Center for Black Culture and Research on the campus, and for the first time went cross-country skiing. An other trip will include a working dairy farm in the Amish country in Pennsylvania. We work to enhance the children's understanding of their own culture by attending events at the African Art Museum and having African Americans come and share their experiences, gifts, or talents.
We take the moral/spiritual developments of the child very seriously. Kids need a spiritual foundation that will enable them to make sound, responsible decisions in the future and, ultimately, demonstrate love and concern for their communities. We use Christian principles as a base and encourage the kids to adopt them in everything we do here. These principles help to resolve conflicts and build self-esteem; they teach the benefits of abstinence and encourage the children to be concerned for one another. Bible study is offered for all ages, but the children are not required to attend in order to stay at
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