UEI's Carter G. Woodson Middle School Dedicated
Student motto:
“Lead Yourself, Lead Your School, Lead Your World”
Students, the community and University and school leaders joined together on October 29, 2008, to dedicate the Carter G. Woodson Middle School, the newest campus of the University of Chicago Charter School.
The school is named for one of the University's first African American graduates, Carter G. Woodson, the scholar and teacher who founded the celebration that became Black History Month, which is commemorated every February across the United States. The school dedication coincided with the 100th anniversary of Woodson's graduation from the University of Chicago with an A.B. and A.M. in history.
The school, located at 4444 S. Evans Ave. in the Grand Boulevard community, serves students in grades six to eight and is operated by the University's Urban Education Institute. It focuses on providing its students with a rigorous and engaging transition from middle to high school. Like all four campuses of the University of Chicago Charter School, Woodson's goal is to prepare all of its students for college.
Read University news coverage about the dedication and watch a video of the event, including comments from students; Jared Washington, director of the school; University of Chicago President Robert Zimmer; James Crown, chair of the University of Chicago Board of Trustees; and Pat Dowell, Third Ward Alderman.
Student poem commemorates Woodson dedication
Change is Here
by Woodson eighth grader R'mani Haulcy
Mosea Harris, R'mani Haulcy, and Serenity Hughes at the dedication.
Open your eyes. Do you see what I see?
Change is here. My people are finally free.
My skin has gone from being worth nothing at all to being worth gold, because finally, history has been made by a black man whose words aren't about jail or what drugs he's sold.Change is here.
I once had a dream that one day soon, my black face wouldn't be represented by the fool on the news, who pierced the skin of our brothers and sisters with the bullets of a gun that he thought was cool.Change is here.
My feet are no longer shackled and my eyes are no longer filled with tears.
Our world is changing for the better and being African American might just be considered okay this year.Change is here.
We will soon have a black president. He is the change that this world needs and he is one of the many fathers of our nation.Change is here.
And I don't think you understand what this means. This means that brown is now a color that reminds people of power and intelligence instead of drug dealers and other negative things.Change is here.
I feel beautiful, powerful, intelligent and magnificent because I am a strong African American woman and I know that this can finally be seen in a positive way.Change is here.
Please note: Do not reprint without crediting author R'mani Haulcy.
Watch a video of R'mani Haulcy reading her poem.
Woodson student delivers dedication speech
Mosea Harris at the Carter G. Woodson dedication.
"Good Evening my name is Mosea Harris. I'm an eighth grader here at Carter G. Woodson. Last year I was on the student leadership team that helped to design this school and I am very pleased with the results.
"What I really like about my school is that I don't consider it a school but rather a small learning community, and the field trips are actually learning excursions. I believe that Carter G. Woodson has been helping to provide me with knowledge on how to go off into the bigger world as both a proud African American male and also a competent student. Carter G. Woodson has a strong bond between its teachers, parents, and students. Woodson teaches its students leadership. This is an important quality because there simply aren't enough leaders in the community.
"Besides the fact that we have such a large facility, and we have a lot of technology and resources, there are other aspects of this school that make us excellent. There are internal aspects of the school that demonstrate the qualities, characteristics, and morals of the students who learn here, and the teachers who teach here. Everybody here takes education seriously. The students assume the responsibility of leading their own educational journeys. We understand that in order for us to be successful we must be responsible for our own learning. The teachers are facilitators. Instead of being a traditional teacher that reads from a textbook and assigns homework, the teacher allows the students to in a way lead the curriculum. The teacher simply facilitates classroom discussions and keeps them on track.
"Carter G. Woodson is a school only for a certain caliber student, and that caliber is excellence. For us, success is inevitable. It is a destination we simply can't escape.
"We face the inconvenient truths about our country, our world, and ourselves. Whether those truths would be the Al Gore truths of global warming, the Jesse Jackson truths of race in America, or the truths of the true essence of the American government. Although we do face certain truths about the world around us, still we are able to express our opinions so long as they are backed with fact.
"As I approach the coda of this evening's disquisition, I would just like to reiterate that this is a school of preeminence. My peers and I, and the administration, teachers, and staff really value our school because we believe education is the key to success, and we are a school of success. I hope that as you tour Woodson today you would share the same feelings of value as we do. I hope you observe the eloquence of our community, and the lucidness of the students. Thank You."
Watch a video of Mosea Harris delivering his speech.
