A4 leads six summer programs for pre-K through 12th grade African American and Black students

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Students are spending their summertime surrounded by students and unit who look conscionable similar them.

While they're gathering their world skills, they're besides gathering assurance successful who they are.

Nyah Ritter worked connected her penning skills portion sharing with classmates what she enjoys eating for meal connected Saturday mornings.

"English muffins with a sausage patty and food connected it," Nyah said.

The soon-to-be 2nd grader is taking portion successful the summertime speechmaking program.

It's offered and led by the Fresno Unified African American Academic Acceleration program, known arsenic A4.

This is Nyah's 3rd summertime successful the program, and she's doing truthful good that she'll beryllium heading to Manchester G.A.T.E. successful the fall.

She says portion she likes the class, she's besides grateful for her teacher and classmates.

"Because I get to conscionable different radical that are similar me," Nyah said.

The A4 programme was launched successful 2017 to adjacent the spread successful world outcomes betwixt African American students and different demographic groups.

The archetypal summertime speechmaking programme was launched successful 2018.

That programme has present expanded and, for the archetypal time, determination are six classes being offered to astir 400 students, including Math Camp.

A4 Executive Director Lisa Mitchell, Ed. D. says she hopes students are excited to beryllium successful spaces with radical who affirm them.

"They're learning astir themselves successful culturally applicable materials. We person books wherever they tin unfastened a publication and spot themselves successful it," Mitchell said.

One of the places it's casual to spot is successful Cammie Southern's Kinder Readiness class.

Books person characters that look similar the students.

Kids recite the Black nationalist anthem.

"Academic and civilization -- truthful the champion of some worlds," Southern said.

While students larn the skills they request to beryllium palmy successful kindergarten, they're besides learning astir who they are arsenic a person.

Southern says she hopes that helps transportation them done to beryllium a palmy postgraduate with honors 1 day.

"When you physique a kid up culturally and fto them cognize who they are, past each of the greatness comes retired of them and past you're capable to conscionable thrive," Southern said.

The programme has already seen a batch of advancement but successful bid to continue, to turn they're hoping for much assemblage concern and enactment wrong the district.

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