South Philly Review

On a recent spring morning, all 732 children of the Independence Charter School (ICS) processed from their new building on the corner of 16th and Lombard streets -- in grade order -- to fill up the space of their recently constructed Kaboom! playground. The younger students were seated in consecutive rows one behind another, while some of the older children dispersed on the bridge and stairs. Standing on the wooden stage at the center of it all, Principal Stephanie Bungard was anticipating the call. It was during this announcement ceremony that the school's CEO and founding principal, Jurate Krokys, phoned in from New York City to congratulate the students, staff, administration and teachers for winning the Goldman Sachs Foundation Prize for Excellence in International Education. Krokys, along with several original board members and middle school students were at the Asia Society's New York headquarters to accept the award.

"It's an accomplishment and an affirmation," Krokys said. "I think the kids of Philly deserve a great world-class education and opportunities for great public schools."

The competition, which was first launched in 2003, recognizes outstanding achievement in schools and educational organizations that promotes cultural awareness, world history and a global curriculum as essentials in the development of the next generation of young Americans. ICS is the nation's first charter to school to win this prestigious honor, which included a $25,000 check. According to Bungard, the capital received will be used to enhance three different aspects of the school community.

"We're going to use the money first to explore the idea of establishing a regional institute focused on global education in urban public schools," she said during the announcement ceremony.

The ICS community has been preparing for this award since its '01 inception. Each year, they inched closer to the grand prize, which included being a finalist the last two years.

"We have been trying to get this since the beginning, it's something we wanted and we kept getting closer," J. Anyabwile Banko'le, a parent and board member for the past four years, said. "Receiving this award gives us recognition as one of the best schools not only in Philadelphia, but in all of America."

To several parents, this prize is not only verification of what the school has been striving for, but also an incentive to maintain these efforts. "

The recognition is validation and the prize allows us to improve our programs, to continually improve the work we're doing," parent Dawn Ang said.

ICS first opened just five days before the September 11 attacks seven years ago, which is ironic according to Bungard. When they were just beginning an innate focus on multiculturalism and opening up to the world, most individuals were doing the exact opposite at that time. Since then, the school has grown and continued to nurture the world's cultures. Yet, while still in its infantile stages, many believe there is more to come.

Fifteen out of the school's 50 teachers are native Spanish speakers from countries such as Columbia, Argentina and Spain, while several more are bilingual. By the time students graduate, they too will be bilingual, as part of the school's curriculum includes two second language acquisition programs where students immerse themselves in languages such as Spanish, Japanese and Arabic while learning world culture and history at the same time.

According to Krokys, after viewing the Goldman Sachs Foundation application and its various areas of achievement, the administration used it to set the bar of standards they hope to maintain in regards to community partnerships, language integration and subject matter as well who the kids are and will ultimately become after graduation.

Krokys said he hopes this award can act as the school's template for success in the future. A portion of the money will be used to improve professional development of their teachers to be more focused and knowledgeable about global education. Finally, some funds will be given back to the students, who worked so diligently at their studies to achieve this honor, in the form of increased after-school programs.

"It's a good opportunity for everybody to join in, for the children to see and recognize their personal contributions because nothing could happen without them," Banko'le said.