By Glenda Cadogan

Standing at the foot of the slave castles in Senegal, a 14-year-old boy from Brooklyn broke down in uninhibited tears. Not abnormal. Such has been the experience of grown men and women who have visited the popular West African tourist site. What made this incident momentous is that the young man was what some would describe as a “troublemaker”—the kind of child with a questionable future unless there were serious intervention. A student at the Benjamin Banneker Academy in Brooklyn, the boy was on a school trip with more than 20 other students. They all looked on in awe at the scene before them and when they returned to New York and to school, the boy who wept was a changed student. He made a complete transformation; he settled down into his class work, his grades improved and he eventually graduated and moved on to college. In some other school, this young man might have been yet another statistic, but not at the Benjamin Banneker Academy for Community Development. At this Brooklyn school, failure is not an option. To be sacrificed to the lords of the streets, any of the 900 “lambs” enrolled at this school must first break through a Rock—Daryl Rock, that is. Rock, the school’s longtime principal, rules with an iron fist, a cool head and a warm heart.

Principal Rock has set a towering standard of excellence for the 15-year-old school. He demands as much, (if not more) from the 50 teachers on staff as he does from his students. “There is absolutely no reason why our kids cannot be successful,” he says. “If they are not, then it is because of the adults in the building. That’s our philosophy at Benjamin Banneker. We do not use the conditions that some of these kids live in as an excuse for failure.”

That’s why to some, Banneker is more than just a high school—it’s a village. Indeed, the school is a veritable academic village that epitomizes the African idiom— “it takes a village to raise a child.” And so, with a bold and beautiful African-themed school, Banneker is a fortress for the young and the restless, which nourishes their minds as well as their souls.

Situated in the Clinton Hill section of Brooklyn, the school is housed in the renovated Drake’s Cake Factory building. It boasts a 96.9 percent average graduation rate over the past seven years and last year was second only to Brooklyn Technical High School in graduation rates in Brooklyn. So from day one, Banneker students—grades 9-12—are clear about expectations. Though the school’s curriculum is academically challenging, the atmosphere is warm and welcoming. Pictures of African American legends in every field of endeavor line the walls, and teachers talk to students with love and respect. Principal Rock would have it no other way. In fact, it is a key element in a four-part parcel of conduct, which Principal Rock says makes success a habit.

“First, kids must have good teachers,” he says.. “Nothing else is more important. Kids need teachers who are caring, understanding and have a stake in their future.”

With determined effort over the years, Principal Rock has been able to make it clear to the Board of Education that there is no room for “bad” teachers at Banneker. In instances where there were teachers sent to his school who were not a cut above the rest, he resisted. Now, each teacher at Banneker is selected.

The second most important ingredient for success according to Rock, is that kids need to develop a good work ethic. “One of the things we try to instill in our students is that they need to work hard,” he says. “Kids need to know that many of the things they want in life would not come easy. So our kids work hard.”

Every Saturday, close to a third of the school’s population is in school taking Advanced Placement courses or other special classes—of their own volition.
Pride in oneself is the third ingredient in the Banneker success formula. "We try to have kids take pride in who they are and learn the history of how we have struggled," says Principal Rock. “They need to know their culture and be proud of their history.”Every year, a contingent of students from the school is taken on a familiarization trip to Africa.

Evidence of the successes of African Americans is present everywhere in the building, and there are the intangible and equally powerful statements of ethnic pride made by teachers who walk and talk the part.

Finally, maintaining an atmosphere of trust is vitally important in this village. “Our aim has been to develop a family type atmosphere at the school,” says Principal Rock. “It is one that makes our kids feel safe and glad to be here. By maintaining this approach to learning, we have had some successes.” Instead of a PTA, the school encourages a “Kinship Association” that includes grandparents and other relatives.

With the measured academic successes of Banneker, the school is one of the most sought after institutions of education in Brooklyn. Rated by watchdog groups as a five star school, Banneker graduates attend some of the finest colleges in the country including historically black colleges such as Morehouse, Spelman as well as Howard University. Already this Spring, five of Banneker’s brightest minds have been accepted to Cornell University and Principal Rock boasts that more placements to this prestigious school are anticipated.

An African proverb reminds us that if we can see further ahead it is because we stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us. The Benjamin Banneker Academy for Community Development bears the name of a man who stood up and expressed a vision of social justice and equality in his time. Celebrated as the first African American scientist and mathematician, Benjamin Banneker was a man who was undeterred by his race and his age. Therefore, the students at this school are conscious of the fact that they are a privileged lot. Not only are their futures guarded by a “Rock,” but they also stand on the broad shoulders of a man who lived a life of extraordinary achievement and each day, the spirit of this African ancestor is elevated as Banneker students rise up to be counted as some of the brightest minds in Brooklyn and beyond.