Education is Death

Standing on the front steps of Asheville High School are graduates (L-R), Mr. Eric “PJ” Sams, Mr. Jade Napier, Dr. Gordon Grant, Principal of Randolph Learning Center, Ms. Jessica Marshall, Mr. Tony Careccia, and Mr. Desmond Burrell.

By Eric “Big E” Howard, MSW

“Education is death, [death] by giving up on certain prejudices and pre-judgments, and setting loose. Death must occur by giving up on something and by cultivating one’s soul in order to make something new grow.” So explains Dr. Cornell West of Princeton University.

As of June 10, 2011, five students from Asheville City Schools’ Randolph Learning Center will be rewarded for the new growth they have cultivated in themselves when they become the first graduates of Asheville’s alternative public high school.

Through hard work and against seemingly insurmountable obstacles, they have achieved their shared goal of becoming high school graduates, and they will proudly take their rightful place alongside the Asheville High School senior class as they receive their diplomas.

RLC’s first graduation is so special because the achievement took
tremendous effort from staff, students, and their parents as well as
their community partners. We congratulate Randolph’s principal, Dr.
Gordon Grant, and all the teachers, students, staff and the Randolph
Learning Center community partners who stuck in there and believed in
the goal of helping young people become North Carolina high school
graduates.

Dr. Grant explains that this accomplishment was not an easy feat
because, he says, “The students had so many personal obstacles to
overcome.” In addition, the school itself had to overcome many negative
perceptions to reach this point.

But he had both vision and determination, which he shared with me. About
four years ago, Dr. Grant showed me a New York Times Magazine article
about a football player named Michael Oher. Oher, who was featured in
the movie The Blindside, was considered a “lost student,” but by the end
of the movie he had transformed into a college graduate. The film, of
course, tells only part of the story, but the article describes the many
people who contributed to this young man’s life.

Knowing I was a huge football fan, Dr. Grant also understood that this
article would be pertinent to my role as social worker in the school,
because it shows how much it takes to make a successful student. He
turned to me and said, “I want this to happen in this school about five
years from now. We can do this.”

Dr. Grant’s vision has proven true. As a school and a community, we have
done this! And everyone who took part in bringing his vision to reality
has grown by being a part of something wonderful. I cannot describe my
own thoughts and feelings about this remarkable institution, but you can
share them; just make an opportunity (and an appointment) to ask Dr.
Grant what it takes to cultivate a successful student when all you can
see before you is a series of impossible barriers.

On June 10 Dr. Grant will congratulate his first graduates as they walk
across the stage and receive their diplomas. A part of us will die that
day—our despair, or expectation of failure, will have been put to death
by the hope we have cultivated. These and future Randolph graduates will
now have a chance to set loose their prejudices and pre-judgments. They
will have an opportunity to cultivate their own souls and make room for
new things to grow.

Editor’s Note: At press time it was announced that Dr. Grant has been
appointed principal of Hall Fletcher Elementary School for the coming
school year, and Randolph Learning Center will change to an education
program rather than a separate school. RLC will be led in 2011-12 by
Assistant Principal Fletcher Comer, currently at Ira B. Jones Elementary
School.