Combs Elementary School Offers Support to Oprah's South African Leadership Academy With First International Service Project
May 25, 2004 - Inspired by Oprah Winfrey’s plan to establish a leadership academy for girls in South Africa, students at Combs Elementary have begun studying South Africa to determine the best way they can help.
Combs is Wake County’s first leadership magnet school and has drawn national praise for its focus on Stephen Covey’s “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.”
Combs has offered Winfrey, the television talk show host, its insight and support in creating a leadership academy and has offered to serve as a sister school to the school Winfrey has proposed. A committee of parents was formed to make the overture to Winfrey and to begin educating Combs students about South Africa.
A week-long initiative culminated with South Africa Day last Friday, May 21 at Combs.
Students enjoyed a day filled with performances and lessons from a South African- style dance troupe, as well as South African music, food, and guest speakers who spoke about South African culture. Assistant Principal Gailya Winters was among the staff and parents dressed in South African attire. Winters wore a colorful South African head-wrap.
The celebration ended the school’s first international service project, “Coins for South Africa: Leaders Helping Leaders”, where students collected change to donate to Oprah’s South African Leadership Academy. Principal Muriel Summers said they hope to make it an annual project.
Building up to Friday’s events, teachers integrated lessons about South Africa into their classrooms to help students feel a connection to the students they hope to help. One fifth-grade class used the Internet to gather facts about South Africa and create a “fact-board” to display what they had learned. Another lesson involved comparing the population of South Africa to the population of Raleigh.
Fifth-grader Matt Lower said he believes their efforts will not only help provide uniforms for South African school children, but will also help to inspire the South African government to build more leadership schools. “I hope we will inspire other leadership schools in our own country to get involved too,” he said.
Parent Coordinator Gail Gonzalez-Johnson said that the week’s activities and service project goes along with the school’s attitude of celebrating diversity.
“It would be a real disservice if the children come away thinking, ‘Oh these poor kids from this poor country, let’s give them money’. Instead, they also realize that South Africa is a beautiful country with a beautiful culture,” Gonzalez-Johnson said. “ This is one of the exciting ways that Combs maximizes diversity.”
Combs faculty and parents learned about the proposed South African leadership academy from Winfrey’s appearance on the ABC News’ show Primetime where Winfrey talked with journalist Diane Sawyer. During the week, students watched segments of the show that aired in December 2003 to learn more about Winfrey’s concern for South African children and vision for the leadership academy.