Grantee Profile

Border Crossers

Students from sister-schools in Morningside Heights and the Upper West Side at a Border Crossers Meet-Up (click image to enlarge).

As a teenager, Sachi Feris immersed herself in new cultures by participating in international exchange programs. In college, she recognized the irony of focusing her attention on exploring diversity abroad, while growing up in New York City she hardly left the microcosm of her prosperous Jewish community. She realized that many New Yorkers shared a similar experience. Sachi founded Border Crossers in 2001 to break down the segregation in New York City public schools that keeps communities apart. "I feel it is my responsibility to help diminish barriers and give students the tools to dialogue across difference and become allies for change."

In New York City, students live and attend school in neighborhoods that are blocks away, but miles apart in access to resources. Border Crossers, a North Star Fund grantee since 2005, empowers public school students from diverse backgrounds to break down barriers based on race and class. They form ongoing relationships between students from sister-schools to explore the concept of borders through a creative social action-based curriculum. "The legacy of segregation will never be undone without organizing communities to see the great benefits of coming together," says Sachi, the Director of Border Crossers. "Children on both sides of the divide see it, feel it, and are harmed by it."

Students work on a group activity about homelessness and what home means to them (click image to enlarge).

Since their founding, Border Crossers has worked with over 1,000 youth. They currently work with four Manhattan elementary schools that are partnered in two sister-school teams. The sister-schools are geographically close to each other, but the demographics of the students are quite different. The groups take turns meeting at each other's schools and also hold programs at different community locations.

"Through Border Crossers we get to meet new people that we might never get to meet in our entire life," says Alice Westerman, a fourth grader at P.S. 40 in Stuyvesant Town. "I didn't expect the other students to be so different. But we learn from each other, and once we get to know each other we become friends." At Alice's school, 76 percent of the students are White and Asian. However, at her sister-school, P.S. 34 in Alphabet City, 92 percent of the students are Black and Latino.

By bringing students into different neighborhoods, Border Crossers also makes students more aware of their larger community. "Border Crossers sparks a new curiosity among students about life outside their own neighborhood," says Joanna Spanos, a fourth grade teacher at P.S. 34.

Alice Westerman with students from P.S. 40 and P.S. 34 (click image to enlarge).

By building cross-border alliances, Border Crossers sparks a dialogue between students and educators about complex issues such as inequality and discrimination. "I was surprised that even though P.S. 40 is only seven blocks away, our schools are really different," says Alice. The students from P.S. 34 also observe differences with their sister-school. "My class noticed that P.S. 40 has a bigger yard and more materials in the classroom," explains Spanos. "They asked me, 'Why do they have more stuff than we do?'"

Border Crossers also creates a space for students to recognize personal differences. During a Meet-Up between two second grade classes from P.S. 34 and P.S. 40, students were asked to complete the sentence, "Something that surprised me today..." One blond boy quietly said, "My pen pal's skin color." A Black student then said the same thing. The boys explained that they expected their pen pals to look like them. "Naming and discussing their differences is the first step towards creating change," explains Sachi.

In addition to building relationships between students, Border Crossers organizes programs to engage parents and community members. Students, teachers and families from sister-schools volunteer together at local community gardens. Spanos views the community events as an opportunity to break down misconceptions about her students. "After meeting my students, parents from P.S. 40 were surprised that these are kids who live in public housing."

Students and senior citizens from the Lower East Side participate in a poetry workshop (click image to enlarge).

Border Crossers develops student leadership through social action projects. Through a partnership with Penny Harvest, students from P.S. 40 and P.S. 34 decided to support a local group of elderly people. They organized a multigenerational poetry reading and plan to hold future events. According to Spanos, "Students learn about community needs and how to work with others to take action." Sachi acknowledges that while taking social action in elementary school looks different than when you are an adult, the process is the same. "Identify a problem and do something about it," she says.

Support from North Star Fund has helped Border Crossers to grow and strengthen their work. "Being funded by North Star Fund defines and gives legitimacy to our work," says Sachi. Being welcomed into North Star's community of activists and organizers has enabled Border Crossers to recognize the critical role community organizing plays in their own work.

Sachi's intention is that students will complete Border Crossers with the skills and inclination to reach across borders, seek out diversity, and create change in all aspects of their lives. "Students will take these skills with them wherever they go in life--to the South Bronx as a community organizer, or to the halls of a Fortune 500, both in need of responsible and ethical action."