Fatimah Ali: What the charters do right

WHILE ethical conflict-of-interest questions continue to swirl around 13 Philadelphia public charter schools following a scathing investigative report by City Controller Alan Butkovitz, I'm concerned that the accomplishments of several of the institutions might get swallowed up by the controversy.

But first - full disclosure: I once served on the board of directors for Harambee Charter School, where authorities recently shut down the private Club Damani, which operated in the lunchroom after school hours. (From what I know, the club and the school never crossed paths.)

Ralf Stevenson, a friend who taught at Harambee for six years, says the lunchroom that doubled as a night club was considered a sacred space during the day because it had enough room to house the entire school population for the daily recitation of the school's principles.

And despite the admittedly dicey situation, during school activities, he told me, there was never any indication of alcohol.

The space is immaculate, with a kitchen that provides daily nutritional meals, a real comfort to both staff and students at a time when the food offered by many public schools is considered inferior.

The administrators of any Philadelphia public school, whether run by the district or a charter operation, are always between a rock and a hard place because they are chronically underfunded, which hurts both students and their teachers.

Almost all school buildings are underutilized, and a charter like Harrambee can always use some rent money. OK - maybe not an operation with alcohol, but why not use schools as profitable community centers at night?

Unfortunately, the spin on the Harrambee story is in danger of distracting from the fact that the school is full of students receiving a solid education provided by a community of committed good people, who really care about the children's personal development.

I'm not taking anything away from Controller Butkovitz's revealing report, but I'm surprised that it took so long for officials to catch up to a catering and drinking operation that was no secret.

And, for the record, friends tell me that Club Damani was an asset to the neighborhood - a place where professionals could socialize, and do it long after the schoolchildren were gone, in a neighborhood that has few public venues for adults to find entertainment. And during the day, the space continued to serve its students well, their school the richer for it.

When Harambee Charter's founder, the late John Skieff, first asked me to join his board 10 years ago, I had long been impressed by his efforts. I watched him build Harambee Institute, and saw his commitment to offering cultural-enrichment events to help build the awareness and self-confidence of black children.

It was an honor to join the board of his school, but when I became aware of his plans for the building, I knew it was only a matter of time before they hit the wall. I ultimately left the board.

It may not be politically correct to say so, but, in reality, hosting alcohol after hours at school fund-raisers isn't much different than the acceptable tradition of the beef and beer or bingo nights frequently held in Catholic schools.

When Skieff died suddenly about a year ago, we lost a committed educator who dedicated his professional life to providing an African-centered education not found in mainstream public schools. Part of his legacy is Harambee's teaching approach that integrates math and science with African history, self-knowledge and personal roots, and gives students a sense of pride not always found in traditional classrooms.

Today, when you walk through the halls of Harambee, you find confident and respectful young people who are nurtured by learning the truth about the contributions of Africans to Western civilization.

AFRICAN-centered charter schools generally have higher expectations for their students, says Imani Education Circle Charter CEO Francine Fulton. Recently, Imani won one of three prestigious TAP School of Promise Awards from the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching, which comes with a financial prize of $5,000. The real test of any school's success is how well the children perform academically. It pains me to see any charter school where students are performing well tarnished by other factors.

Fatimah Ali is a regular contributor to the Daily News, and blogs about food at healthysoutherncomforts.com.