TOUSSAINT L’OUVERTURE HIGH SCHOOL
FOR ARTS & SOCIAL JUSTICE (TLHS)

Founders:
Diane Allerdyce, Ph.D.
Chief Academic Officer (CAO)

Major Joseph M. Bernadel, U.S Army (Ret.)
Chief Operating Officer (COO)

School location:
1325 Gateway Blvd.
Boynton Beach, FL  33426

Mailing address:
777 E. Atlantic Avenue, Suite 242
Delray Beach, FL 33483

(561) 738-9800
(561) 738-9854 fax

Email: DianeAllerdyce@aol.com
www.toussaintlouverture.org

WHAT IS TLHS AND WHO ARE ITS STUDENTS?
Toussaint L'Ouverture High School for Arts & Social Justice (TLHS) is an innovative charter high school in Delray Beach, serving 175 students in grades 9-12. Admission is open to all age-appropriate students in Palm Beach County. Our students come from diverse socio-economic groups and represent the demographics of our community. We are a tuition-free, publicly funded institution.

WHAT ARE THE SCHOOL'S MISSION AND VISION?
Our mission is to provide motivated students of diverse ability levels a unique secondary school experience using arts as a vehicle for social justice and individual change. Our vision is to help youth acquire the skills they need to be successful in college and/or work and to have a voice in cocreating a world they can believe in.

WHAT ARE CHARTER SCHOOLS?
Charter schools are public schools. However, they are exempt from some rules and regulations governing other public schools. But the State and the Local District holds charter schools accountable for academic achievements and financial management.

HOW DID THE SCHOOL GET STARTED?
TLHS is the offspring of Center for Education, Training, and Holistic Approaches, Inc. (CETHA), a non-profit organization formed in March 2000 and incorporated in June 2000. The organization was founded by Joseph M. Bernadel, a retired US Army Officer, and former Lynn University professor/poetry therapist Diane Allerdyce, Ph.D., to provide multilingual, inter-generational, and culturally sensitive training and education that address all aspects of the whole person (intellectual, emotional, practical, physical). They teamed up with Dr. Deri Joy Ronis, therapist and conflict resolution educator, to begin to offer programs to people of all walks of life, for the purposes of promoting social justice in our community and increasing the social/economic parity of the people of South Florida.

WHO WAS TOUSSAINT L'OUVERTURE?
The name Toussaint L'Ouverture refers to the brilliant liberator of the Haitian people, who fought for equality between the slaves of Haiti and the French Colonial Empire. Toussaint L'Ouverture (1743-1803) prepared the way for the independence of Haiti in 1804. Although he did not live to see that victory, his name represents the aspirations of people everywhere seeking freedom and justice. We have chosen the name to promote social equality in our community and to honor the significant contributions of the Haitian people. Just as a school named for Thomas Jefferson or George Washington represents leadership and equality without indicating any racial preference, we embrace the name Toussaint L'Ouverture to demonstrate the very concept of social justice. Likewise, students will be recruited from all ethnicities, nationalities, race, ability level, and gender.

WHAT IS SOCIAL JUSTICE?
The term "social justice" refers to equality, democracy, economic opportunity, intellectual freedom, environmental protection and human rights.

WHAT IS THE ROLE OF THE ARTS IN PROMOTING SOCIAL JUSTICE?
Throughout the ages, the arts - visual, literary, dance, music, media, and theater - have played an important role in education. Numerous studies document the success of arts-based educational initiatives in addressing the educational, social, and other needs of students from all ages. For example, "A Stanford University study released two months ago found that young people who work in the arts are four times more likely to win academic award, eight times more likely to receive a community service award, three times more likely to win a school attendance award and four times more likely to participate in a math or science fair" (http://www.aforum.com/). The value of the arts for our school, which will target a diverse student population, is especially significant. The arts will serve as a vehicle for bringing people together, using multiple intelligences and accessing diverse learning styles.

WHO ARE THE FACULTY AND STAFF?
All our teachers are passionate, qualified educators. They are certified in the subjects they teach and have skills in one or more visual and/or language arts. Teachers are chosen for their willingness to be part of a collegial team dedicated to developing a stimulating learning environment utilizing visual and language arts. They are creative and flexible, and provide individualized instruction, plan cooperative learning experiences, and create interdisciplinary approaches in their classes.

WHAT IS THE ROLE OF PARENTS?
We believe that parental and community involvement in education is the foundation for increased academic, artistic, and social achievement of children. One of the tools with which we will promote this kind of involvement is through a web site that will be maintained for this purpose. It will include information on daily homework and other assignments, as well as updated information on community service activities and opportunities. Students will be integrally involved in the design and maintenance of the school's web site. In addition, there will be regular meetings, open forums, and other opportunities for parents, siblings, and members of each student's extended family, and the community to participate in a wide variety of ways.

WHAT MAKES TLHS UNIQUE?
Florida's State Standards and Benchmarks describe the knowledge and skills the students will have upon completing particular course work. While we adhere to all of these standards and strive to exceed them, what makes us unique is the way we do this. At TLHS, instruction is highly individualized. Our school assists every student to reach high levels of achievement and competence in the arts and in the other subjects and skills essential to success in school, life and work. It is our goal to help make each young person succeed with his/her education and foster the talents in each individual.

To achieve this, we meet each student as his or her own ability level, whether high or low upon entry, and work with that student to meet our goals. Another distinguishing element of our teaching is our hands-on approach. While direct instruction is still an important teaching strategy, the research indicates that adolescents learn best through interaction and active, hands-on learning. At Toussaint L'Ouverture High School, teachers expose students to the connections among and between subjects. For example, students may participate in such interdisciplinary activities as community gardening, business partnerships, grant-writing, and public performance production. Each activity is designed to teach an array of skills and ideas that they can then apply to real life.

WHAT ELSE MAKES OUR SCHOOL DIFFERENT FROM EXISTING PROGRAMS?
TLHS employs a unique emphasis on the integration of arts-infused educational initiatives as the vehicles for social change and individual growth. Through our innovative teaching techniques that address all aspects of the student from intellectual to social and artistic, we help each student to reach his or her goals. Interdisciplinary approaches to the arts as forms of community service augment the core curriculum in a way that stimulates young minds and motivates young people. Leadership training and conflict resolution are additional components of the curriculum that we use to help students acquire the tools they need to become co-creators of a world they can believe in.

We are committed to improving the quality and performance of the students in each project, endeavor, and subject they pursue. We believe that the arts play crucial and multiple roles in doing so. In addition, by instructing students in non-profit management and traditional business practices, students will be equipped to take their interest in social justice through the arts into society and, if they desire, to make a living at doing so in the future.

WHAT IS THE EDUCATIONAL FOCUS OF TLHS?
Curriculum is based upon and complies with Sunshine State Standards, the meeting of which is the standard for promotion to the next grade level. In all of the ways mentioned above, students are exposed to a wide range of subject areas and various teaching techniques. Courses include all minimum requirements, as well as a wide range of electives. For example, classes in leadership and community service are electives that complement and augment the core curriculum.

The arts not only supplement academics; rather, they are employed as part of the core curriculum and studied for their intrinsic value and significance as well as in their relationship to other school subjects. The arts also enliven school culture and engage the wider community in the life and learning of the school. Using the arts for social justice teaches students responsibility to their community and commitment to society.

Among the most exciting projects in which students, their families and the community may choose to become involved is the creation of an on-site museum or gallery at the school. This enhancement will further the mission of the school by providing a way to acquire, preserve, research, display, and interpret the art, history, and culture of the immigrant in the international community, focusing on South Florida. In addition, the museum will enhance the school's theme of social justice through the arts by providing a cultural resource for families of immigrants to the US, promoting cultural pride within various ethnic-American communities, and educating the general public with regard to the varied ethnic presences in our area and their contributions to the US and the world community. Both of our principals are certified national trainers for the Anti-Defamation League's World of Difference® programs.

HOW IS THE SCHOOL FUNDED?
Charter school law provides for funding of charter schools through the State, distributed through the school district. Charter schools are "public schools of choice," and as such, are funded according to the FTE (essentially the number of students enrolled in the school).

In addition to the amount received to educate each student, a charter school receives start-up funding in its first two years, as well as a separate amount per student per year in capital outlay costs. In addition to state funding, we need to raise monies through associations with industry, businesses, foundations and other non-profit organizations, as well as membership drives. Our greatest financial need is for our facility and expansion. We seek both public and private donations to assist in this endeavor.

HOW CAN MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY GET INVOLVED?
As with all non-profit organizations, we will welcome and depend, in part, on the generosity of volunteers, donations, and both private and public sources of funding to augment the funding we receive from the State. There are numerous ways in which members of the community can help: by joining an inter-generational advisory council, raising money, distributing information, and performing a variety of clerical and other tasks. TLHS will live up to its name by engaging people from all segments of our society in the pursuit of educational excellence.

HOW CAN YOU HELP?
TLHS welcomes and depends on the contributions of the community. Volunteer opportunities include mentoring, tutoring, sharing a skill or a story with our students, performing office work or donating expertise of any kind. We also appreciate donations of materials, from school supplies for our students to cleaning and office supplies and equipment. As a small charter school, we are also in need of monetary contributions of any size.

For Information or to Enroll contact:
Ms. Mandy Freedman, Principal

(561) 738-9800 or (561) 376-1089 (cellular)

MandyTLHS@aol.com