Contributed by Prof. Laurie McMillin
Jabali Sawicki ’00
“Jabali left Oberlin in 2000 with a degree in Biology and no set plans. But he knew he wanted to teach... At the age of 27, he became the principal of Excellence Charter School in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.”
![Wearing an audio headset, Jabali works with a couple of school-age boys](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/content/story/image/jabali_sawicki_00.jpg)
Some of you might know Jabali Sawicki. His photograph graced the cover of the FYSP catalog for 2006-7. He’s the one at the top, looking out on the world with a mixture of confidence, determination, and amusement. Those of you who were around here in the late 1990s might remember Jabali. He was the guy who traveled nowhere without his boom box; naturally enough, the boombox came with him when he marched for graduation.
Jabali left Oberlin in 2000 with a degree in Biology and no set plans. But he knew he wanted to teach, and pretty soon he was throwing himself into the question of how to best educate boys - particularly minority and low-income boys. There’s lots to do: one study notes that more than 50% of African-American males drop out of high school and only 8% finish college.
Jabali was never one to do anything halfway; whatever he takes on he does with heart and mind and energy fully engaged. At the age of 27, he became the principal of Excellence Charter School in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Now in his fifth year, Jabali leads the charge for the 300 scholars there; every year the school adds another grade level, and thus more boys. The boys at this school all study in classrooms named for their teachers’ alma maters; scholars in the classroom led by Caleb Miller ’03 have “Oberlin” on their door.
While state test scores don’t tell the whole story at any school, they do tell a promising one at Excellence. In 2006-07, 92% of the third grade class scored advanced or proficient on the New York State reading exam and 100% scored advanced or proficient on the math tests. The percentages for boys and girls statewide were 25 and 15% points lower respectively. Jabali has said that he sees educating lower-class black boys as “the new civil rights movement.”
(See also “Teaching Boys and Girls Separately,” The New York Times Sunday magazine (March 2, 2008), where Excellence and Principal Sawicki were featured.)
Tags:
You may also like
![With a waterfall in the background, Miranda stands by an informational sign headlined Healthy Habitat.](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/miranda_fisher_12.jpg?itok=dcR3uB_V)
On an interdisciplinary education
“Learning isn’t just about memorizing static content for a specific class; it’s about shattering the boundaries of a subject and seeing how you can apply its content in different contexts.”
Miranda Fisher ’12
![College student volunteers and elementary-age students all wear matching SITES tee-shirts.](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/kim_faber.jpg?itok=RB2DnfER)
On Oberlin’s SITES program
“What began as one mom’s hope to have a language program for her 5-year old son is now providing the opportunity for every elementary-school child in Oberlin to experience another language.”
Prof. Kim Faber
![Professor Faber addresses a group.](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/sebastiaan_faber.jpg?itok=iReq7_81)
On an Oberlin education
“One of the most important things you will learn here is to express yourself, to engage in dialogue, to respect others’ ideas, and to allow them to change your own. ”
Prof. Sebastiaan Faber