A Look Back at Key Events in Black Higher Education

AVID students from South Middle School in Lawrence, Kansas, celebrated Black History month by creating an interactive Black History Education Wall, which displayed more than 65 people, places, and events that were important in the fight for African American higher education. They created questions for each poster on the wall in a Google Form. The whole student body was encouraged to answer the questions throughout the month using a QR code, earning them school cash (Cougar Bucks), and a prize went to the students who answered the most questions.

Shari Flakus, an AVID Elective Teacher and the AVID Coordinator for South Middle School, worked with her team to make the project a success:

"Our principal encouraged us to do something for Black History Month. I wanted to somehow make a connection with AVID, so I decided to focus on higher education facts. It took me a while, but I found the perfect website which was a springboard for the interactive wall. With the help of our learning coach, the project ended up being a schoolwide, month-long event which aligned with our district and building goals. This is the fourth year of AVID at our middle school."

The whole school was left inspired. Aiyana Azure, an AVID student at SMS remarked, "The wall showed me what black people went through to get an education. They taught me to never give up."

Ms. Flakus was gracious enough to share details of her lesson with us here!

Great work, South Middle School team!

What has your school done in honor of Black History Month? Tell us in the comments.