Therefore, education in
general, and higher education
in particular, must aim to
provide, beyond the physical,
food for the intellect and soul.
- Haile Selassie
`
HABESHA Lionheart Program
Program Director: Sean Irving.
Goals
LIONHEART employs character development, academic coaching, and community engagement to inspire, improve and empower African American males in Atlanta Public Schools. This program is designed to train participants how to think critically and strategically, work collectively, set and achieve goals, communicate effectively, and take responsibility for their education and their communities. LIONHEART utilizes a culturally relevant multi-media curriculum to prepare high school students to mentor and teach elementary school students while providing academic support services to both groups. The brotherhood that is created motivates all participants to become strong, responsible, educated men.
Objectives
Academic Enrichment
Cultural Awareness
Character Development
Social Responsibility/Engagement
Program Description
LIONHEART prepares boys of African decent, in both high school and elementary school, to achieve personally and academically. First, we focus on the personal and academic development our high school participants (HSP). Then, we train HSPs to support the personal and academic development of our elementary school participants (ESP). LIONHEART offers engaging after school sessions, academic coaching, mentoring and mentorship training. LIONHEART also offers other exciting and challenging activities that include field trips, ropes courses, community presentations, etc. Our goal is to provide HSPs with the strategies and tools for success while challenging them to model success for ESPs.
Here are a few of the issues we address:
Academic skills development
“Big Brother” Training
Identity development (Man, African)
Brotherhood & Fatherhood
Collective work & responsibility
Principles (honor, responsibility, discipline, respect, unity)
College/Career preparation
Media awareness
Stereotypes
Violence
Crime and Prison
Drugs
Male/Female relationships
LIONHEART also provides Academic Coaching to participants. We help participants set academic goals for themselves, monitor the grades of participants, and will model, for participants, positive communication strategies with school staff. In addition, we will work with participants to set a personal goal of their choice, create an action plan for achieving the goal, establish a network of support for achievement, and follow up with the participants progress. Although the Academic Coaching strategy will focus on the elementary school participants, our high school participants will also receive Academic Coaching services.
