School at Blair Grocery

Hidden several blocks from the fast moving traffic of Claiborne Avenue in one of the most devastated regions of post Katrina New Orleans, the School at Blair Grocery stands in the same two story building once housing a family run food store from which it gets its name.

The school – which also functions as a budding farm, and community center hosting after school art programs – and its founder Nate Turner are mirroring the actions of the previous inhabitants in that they are trying to secure the survival and progression of this somewhat forgotten neighborhood.

“Leveraging sustainable community development,” says Turner, “under these conditions is extremely difficult, the social fabric and building blocks are so frayed and worn that most folks are pretty overwhelmed just trying to get by. As a result there are numerable gaps, areas where things are really just falling apart. More than 70% of the houses are abandoned, there is no high school in the neighborhood, the land looks like a jungle, there is no healthy food in the area, and there is really nothing for young people to do down here. We’re really starting from scratch. It’s going to require thinking outside of the box.”

Turner, a New York City high school teacher from Minnesota, came to New Orleans after Katrina with the objective of tutoring teenagers. While he currently mentors five students (who otherwise would not be receiving an education), he is also ushering a movement to rebuild this area of the city labeled the “Lower Ninth Ward” to what it once was.

“Our School at Blair Grocery is creating a resource rich safe space for youth empowerment and sustainable community development,” says Turner. “We must have safe spaces for youth to take risks to transform themselves. We must increase their overall literacy by building skills, abilities and confidence including their sense of efficacy: they must know how to access resources that build stronger communities and they must recognize themselves as valued participants in community building efforts. We must bring youth to the table with a developed and articulate vision of their own creation to act as agents of social change. We must understand that anyone who is not speaking to the youth in our community is not truly speaking to our community.”

School at Blair Grocery Initiatives:

• Maintaining a student-led urban micro farm complete with vegetable gardens, composting, and farm animals
• Hosting weekly neighborhood farmer’s markets featuring produce from local growers and the students’ own community garden
• Taking part in the Build Our Village Program where students learn the theory as well as the practical aspects of home building and construction
• Providing an Afternoon Activity Center for neighborhood children to participate in outdoor activities, street beautification, and art projects
• Offering educational classes such as Food Justice, New Orleans History, Urban Communities, and Public Health

“When I was in school,” says Turner, “I remember settling into the daily routine of school starting 8:10 each period lasting 52 minutes and knowing the exact second on my watch when the bell would ring and I’d be liberated from Ms. Hedley, Mr. Goldstein, or Mr. whatever his boring class was. School was a chore that I didn’t understand the necessity of and no matter how many times I asked, no teacher ever gave me a clear answer as to how the things we were learning would one day be beneficial to me. For these students at our school who come from the same basic mindset, we do all that we can to ensure that school is relevant, truly educative, and as fun as we can possibly make it.”

THE IMPORTANCE OF PARTNERSHIPS

According to Turner, a key component of success is working together in the sense that if individuals and organizations don’t, it could be the biggest hindering factor of attaining given goals.

“The Lower Ninth Ward,” says Turner “is part of the city of New Orleans, and we should take leadership in facilitating community building and cooperation around sustainable communities.”

Contact

Website: School at Blair Grocery