It seems like not that long ago when Toronto was abuzz with controversy over the proposal of the city's first Africentric School.

Although the Africentric School was part of four new alternative schools in Toronto that opened this fall, its proposal was a testy subject from inception. Critics feared that the creation of such of a school would snowball into 1950s U.S. style segregation; while supporters felt this was a ne-cessary step to combat the city's 40 per cent drop out rate among black teens.
In Toronto, opinion pages of local papers were filled for months with views from both sides fiercely defending their stance. Despite the controversy, Toronto's Africentric School isn't the first of its kind; there are many schools in the United States that have adopted this curriculum and Nelson Whynder Elementary in North Preston, Nova Scotia has also taken on a similar Afri-centric curriculum. Still the issue proved to be so heated that even Dalton McGuinty, the premier of Ontario, weighed in on the issue, saying that he did not approve of Toronto's Africentric School and that the Ontario government would not finance it.

But now after months of intense debate, this September, the city of Toronto opened its first Afri-centric School in an unused wing of Sheppard Public School, in the city's northwest end. Shep-pard P.S. has been open for years but due to the closure of a nearby military base in past years, the school's population dropped from about 1,000 students to approximately 300; the Africentric School will now boost the student body to nearly 500.

Although most people remember recent events, the road to the Africentric School was a long fought one that some believe started in the early to mid '90s when a proposal called "Towards a New Beginning" suggested that predominantly black schools in Toronto's six municipalities at the time should adopt a "black-focused" curriculum. That idea was shot down because people felt it would draw black students out of other schools, thus creating an all-black school, leading to segregation. Ideas like this were brought up repeatedly and shot down for similar reasons while alternative schools for LGBTQ students and aboriginals received the green light. The cause seemed unattainable until recently, when the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) approved the Africentric School idea in early 2008 by the narrow margin of 13 to 8. Still this was not a guarantee that the school would become a reality; it would need 40 students to open its doors and in December of 2008, newspapers began to report the future of the school was in doubt as only a fraction of that number was enrolled. But surely enough word got out and by the time it was scheduled to open in September of 2009, 115 students were registered.

Come opening day, the school's students -- who came from all over the Greater Toronto Area, some even traveling from as far as Brampton, Mississauga, Etobicoke and Scarborough -- were greeted by speakers, steel drum performances and media from across the city looking on. By the end of the day, the evening news had glimpses of the colourful classrooms with pictures of Bob Marley, Martin Luther King Jr. and Oprah hanging on the wall, the same classrooms these child-ren would be spending the next school year in.

While in the media spotlight, the school's principal, Thando Hyman-Aman, spoke passionately about the school's potential. Hyman-Aman, was seen as highly qualified for the job as she has been with the TDSB for 15 years, a radio host for 89.5 CIUT FM's "The African Woman & Family", a university teacher, a moderator for the Spelling Bee of Canada, a singer and a parent of a student at the school. Hyman-Aman operates the school with teachers Ivan Dublin, Marina Hodge, Nadia Hohn, Heather Mark, Dexter Morris, Leah Newbold, Agatha Paul and librarian Veronica Sullivan.

School is in session for the 115 Students of Toronto's Africentric school and by now the warring words have cooled. It is safe to say that all those on either side of the debate want to see it suc-ceed as the future of these children are now in its hands.

Words By: Dexter Brown