African Leadership Academy

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The African Leadership Academy (ALA) is a residential, secondary institution located in the outskirts of Johannesburg, South Africa for 15–18 year-olds, from all 54 African nations and around the world.

Founded in 2004 by Fred Swaniker, Chris Bradford, Peter Mombaur, and Acha Leke,[1] ALA officially opened in September 2008 with an inaugural class of 97 students.[2] To achieve this goal, ALA teaches a two-year curriculum in African Studies and Entrepreneurial Leadership, as well as the usual academic core subjects.

Contents

[edit] History

The founders of ALA, around 2004 launched Global Leadership Adventures, a summer program that would be a precursor to ALA.

In 2006, Swaniker and Bradford were recognized, by Echoing Green, who described them as two of the 15 best emerging social entrepreneurs in the world.[3] In 2007 the initial campus was confirmed, and Christopher Khaemba was announced as the inaugural Dean of the School.

[edit] ALA campus

At the Academy, students share a dormitory.

[edit] Admission process

[edit] Selection criteria

The African Leadership Academy uses five criteria for admission:[4]

[edit] Curriculum

[edit] The Academic core (A-Level)

The academic core combines interdisciplinary study in the first year with tailored study, according to individual interests, in the second year. At the end of the second year, students take exams in at least three subjects at A Level.[5]

[edit] Leadership, entrepreneurship, and African Studies

In the interdisciplinary African studies curriculum, students study hunger eradication, health care provision, economic growth, and conflict resolution.

[edit] The Culminating Project

The Culminating Project requires the student to utilise the knowledge and skills gained over two years on campus. Each student designs, implements and presents a culminating project intended to have a lasting impact on an African community.

[edit] Academic success

[edit] Faculty

[edit] Inaugural Dean of African Leadership Academy

Dean Christopher Situma Khaemba was previously Principal of Alliance Boys’ High School on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya. A former military officer and physics teacher, Khaemba has served as a school leader for the past 12 years.

[edit] Faculty members

Faculty members go through a process that includes multiple interviews, academic background checks, and verification of personal and professional references. After the first round of interviews, the prospective teacher conducts a mock lesson in the presence of students and two faculty members. This is followed by a final round of interviews.

All faculty members are graduates from universities; most notably Harvard, Yale, Cambridge and Stanford;[6] and have previously taught at leading institutions.

[edit] Student life

[edit] Athletics and fitness

All students are encouraged to participate in an athletics or fitness activity.

[edit] Student clubs and organizations

Students participate in a variety of clubs, and each student is expected to create or run either a "Student-run Business", an "Original idea for Development", or a "Community Service Project".

[edit] Student run businesses (SRBs)

The student run businesses only operate on campus, and include:

  • Rub-a-Dub-Dub - laundry service
  • AgroExperts - Supplies chickens and eggs to the dining hall
  • Chani's Café - gourmet snacks
  • Pretty Peacocks - Hair and Beauty Salon
  • Midas Touch - Men's grooming
  • GigaVault - student-run bank
  • Footprints - merchandising - t-shirts, coffee mugs, etc.
  • Duka Bora - tuck shop
  • Papa Mustafa's - a pizzeria
  • iALA - ALA's own student-run tech support group (internal)
  • ALAMedia - ALA's media network (external)
  • Ten50 - student-run on-campus barbershop and hair salon

[edit] Community service projects

ALA students are involved in local schools and communities through Community Service Projects (CSPs). Projects include tutoring programs on campus and community clean-up campaigns. CSPs tend to be multi-year projects that get managed by successive students.

Current CSPs include:

  • Farm enlargement and roadside market outlet design
  • Biodiesel production for sustainable electricity
  • Library redesign and management for a poor school
  • Recycable art - art from trash project
  • Creche education program - reading and colours
  • Youth gardening project - building vertical gardens so that schools can feed their students
  • After school soccer league for at-risk youth
  • Day care redesign and development
  • Youth empowerment Finding the Good in Us

[edit] Original Ideas for Development

Original Ideas for Development (OIDs), are projects that have a wide scope and run beyond the students' time at ALA. Current OIDs include:

  • GSIE [7] - Global Strategy on Inclusive Education - helping children with disabilities gain access to education
  • HACA - cancer awareness campaign
  • Baobab - capturing oral histories online to preserve and facilitate cross-cultural understanding
  • Greendorm - environmentally friendly living on campus (internal)
  • Almas (formerly Nique) - using a beauty creme to fund the creation and distribution of an anti-malarial creme
  • MathmaHelp - production of educational math DVDs

[edit] Supervised trips

Students explore the local community, Africa, and the world,[8] by participating in an excursion program. Outdoors enthusiasts participate in weekend hiking trips in the Drakensberg mountains and longer excursions during holiday periods, while scientists may apply to attend the American Association for the Advancement of Science conference in the United States.

[edit] Gap year students

The Academy offers high school students, from around the world, the opportunity to spend a term abroad or gap year. The gap year program is a 10-month pre-university program, in which students design their own service project. Students also have the opportunity to learn an African language and gain an understanding of Africa’s challenges and opportunities.

[edit] Summer Program

The Academy offers high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors, from across the world, the opportunity to apply to spend three weeks of their summer as Global Scholars.

[edit] Advisors

As well as the Board of Governors, the Academy’s Board of Advisors is composed of African and global luminaries in business, leadership development, secondary education, and social entrepreneurship. The Advisory Board provides strategic input and guidance to the ALA management team.

[edit] African Leadership Foundation

The African Leadership Foundation is a USA 501(c)(3) non-profit foundation that supports the African Leadership Academy and the next generation of African leaders.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Official Site
  2. ^ Mission Statement
  3. ^ Echoing Green
  4. ^ Admission Requirements
  5. ^ CIE website
  6. ^ Stanford University
  7. ^ GSIE site
  8. ^ Financial Mail

[edit] Additional sources

Portal icon South Africa portal
Portal icon Schools portal

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