PEACE Academy, Georgia's first Afrocentric charter school emphasizes culture, community and state standards
You can feel the energy of PEACE Academy Charter School as soon as you pull up for morning drop off. Students are greeted by upbeat music and smiling teachers who call them by name as they enter the building.
Inside the school, an African drum is played while students clap along to the beat. It's PEACE Academy's version of Ubuntu. The gathering allows students to center themselves, share a Black history moment, birthdays and affirmations.
"Ubuntu essentially is an African proverb that stands for 'I am because you are,' and so it's the idea of being a whole community made of individuals," Aja Blair, the school's director and principal, said.
"PEACE Academy is the only Afro-centric charter school in the state of Georgia," Blair continued. "There are several other charter schools out there. There are several schools with a large African American population, but we are the only ones who have been approved by a state charter authorizer to have our own curriculum."
The school teaches state standards and also includes cultural studies. You'll find students referring to faculty and staff as "aunty" and "uncle," de-emphasizing Eurocentric terms for elders like "Mr. and Mrs."
"Leaning into phrases like aunty, uncle, baba, bebe, mama…all of those things in a very short, simple way, bring in that Afrocentricity," Blair said.
Ebony Keys is the founder and executive director of PEACE Academy. She hand-selected Blair for her role after watching her do almost every other position in the building, from operations to teaching. She's affectionately called "Aunty Aja."
"She really cares about people," Keys said. "She cares about the students. She knows every single child's name."
Students have developed a bond.
"I like my principal because she's really funny and she like follows a lot of trends and makes the kids laugh," Skylah Akuoko, a fifth-grade student, said.
Kindergartener Clyde Jones said if he must choose, his favorite thing about "Aunty Aja" is her commitment to daily affirmations.
"I am the only person like me," Jones said. "That's a part of it."
That's the last line students read every day because Blair never wants to them to forget it.
"Model what it looks like to be your whole self and academic," Blair said.
PEACE Academy is expanding and will add another grade level each school year until they reach 8th grade.
