Joy Washington-Morgan, a Read 180 and LANGUAGE! teacher at Glen Oaks High School, wanted to empower students by widening the scope of educational opportunities for them through exposure to different cultures.  Her dream is coming true as a group of students leaves at 8 a.m. Monday, March 29, to begin their trek to Cozumel, Mex., via a cruise ship. 

It’s all part of the student club Washington-Morgan created at Glen Oaks High – Klub EMBRACE (Empowering Minds Believing Rethinking Academic & Cultural Experiences).  Its main goal is to teach students how to solve problems independently while exposing them to different cultures.  Many of the students who are going on this trip have never been out of Baton Rouge or Louisiana, much less the United States.  A total of about 27 people (17 students) are participating in the trip.

“I am paid to educate; to serve a ‘gift of life,’” she said.  “I can do that to a fuller extent with Klub EMBRACE.  The goal of this enrichment event is to give children that ‘gift of life’ through a real-world experience.  We intend to use a variety of curricula and immerse students in real-life situations using Reading, Spanish, English, Math, Science, Social Studies and computers.”

After a brief stay in New Orleans, students will board a Carnival cruise ship fittingly named the Triumph.  The group returns Saturday, April 3.  Following the trip, students and staff will create an electronic portfolio of the experience and share it with the community and other students in this district.  Payment for the trip will be made partly by individuals participating and partly through donations and fundraisers.  Students, staff and volunteers locally and in New Orleans held several fundraisers to help offset the cost.  The cost is about $600 per person.

“I was inspired to create Klub EMBRACE after one day sharing my vision that people learn best through travel,” Washington-Morgan said.  “This year, I was supported and encouraged by principal Wilbert August Jr., who allowed me to work independently with a small group of students at Glen Oaks High School.  In the end, Klub EMBRACE found success through connecting a New Orleans community to the Glen Oaks community.  Klub EMBRACE is a place where we believe in the art and craft of teaching, where we believe in the good that each child offers our school and where we believe in the values a Glen Oaks High School education provides.”   For more information, call August or Washington-Morgan (jwashington1@ebrschools.org) at (225) 356-4306.