BUFFALO, N.Y. — Seventy-five Buffalo Public Schools students are back from Puerto Rico after a week-long trip. They went to Puerto Rico for a life-changing educational experience through a nationally recognized program called "Our Story Project."
The group toured different places like Old San Juan, El Yunque rainforest and Public Square of Ponce (Plaza las Delicias.) They also went to Puerto Rico's most well-known beach, Luquillo Beach. Students learned about various topics, including Afro-descendants living in PR, Pre-Taino and Taino cultures of ancient PR. They also had Spanish lessons throughout the trip.
Students are now getting ready to share what they learned to their classrooms and presenting a presentation to their district's board.
Our Story Project is an after-school and Saturday academy program that gives learning opportunities to Buffalo Public Schools students. It started in 2016 by Dr. Fatima Morrell, PhD. She is with the district's Office of Culturally and Linguistically responsive initiatives.
Dr. Morrell and her team were convinced that a contributing factor to the disproportionate graduation rates for Black and Latinx students in their districts was a result of students not seeing themselves bring represented- historically or within the curriculum.
That's why this program has been created.