Longtime MPS educator bringing HBCU tour to Marshall High School students
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Posted By: S. Moore on January 18, 2023 MILWAUKEE — Inside Marshall High School's college and career center, students are preparing for their next steps. Senior Javan Elder is finishing up his college applications, which include a number of Historically Black Colleges and Universities or HBCUs; schools he admits he knew little about. "At first, I would never consider it because I just like, it's never been brought up to me," Elder said. "It's never been like in a picture." Billijo Saffold is a longtime Milwaukee Public Schools teacher. In the early 2000s, she became known around the district for her HBCU tours, taking students to visit the campuses of HBCUs like Morehouse, Tuskegee, Fisk and more. "I started thinking there's got to be a way to let kids get on campus, experience, you know, what these campuses are like before they go to school," said Saffold. It's been 10 years since Saffold's last HBCU tour. Now she's gearing up to bring it back and bring the opportunity to students at Milwaukee's Marshall High School. "Getting to visit an HBCU campus gives those students that opportunity for exposure to see, 'Look, there's a whole campus of students primarily who look like me, and if they're doing it, I can do it, too. If they're being successful, I can be successful,'" Saffold explained. Right now, Saffold is working with the MPS foundation to raise enough money to send about 50 kids on the tour this year, and she's hopeful this is just the beginning. "They hear the history of their institutions and the great people who have gone there, say, Martin Luther King at Morehouse, Camille Cosby at Spelman," Saffold said. "It just turns on the possibilities in a whole different way," she said. Saffold is trying to raise about $65,000 through a number of grassroots efforts and fundraisers. A donor to the MPS foundation has agreed to match donations up to $32,500. To learn more about this upcoming trip and fundraising efforts, reach out to the Milwaukee Public Schools foundation by clicking here. If you enjoyed this article, Join HBCU CONNECT today for similar content and opportunities via email! |
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