ABOUT OUR SITE AND AEQUORA
Our Aequora site is located at The Sisulu-Walker Charter School of Harlem. Sisulu-Walker has a robust after-school clubs program, and the Latin Club has become an integral addition. At Sisulu-Walker, we are proud to partner with The Paideia Institute and offer Aequora as an after-school program.
Aequora is a K-8 curriculum focusing on literacy education via Latin. At Sisulu-Walker, we have chosen Aequora because we believe in the benefits of a classical education. Through The Paideia Institute’s Aequora curriculum, our volunteers harness the classical languages’ power to improve literacy, cultural understanding, and equity in education — all while making the ancient Mediterranean world fun and accessible to students of all backgrounds.
Aequora is shaped by a belief that everyone should have access to Latin and by a vision of Classics as an inclusive, diverse, and socially engaged field. To learn more about The Paideia Institute’s Aequora program, its groundbreaking curriculum, or how we can work together, click Partner with Us.
HOW WE TEACH AEQUORA
We currently have ten students, all of whom are very enthusiastic about Latin language and Roman culture. Though they have not had any prior experience with Latin, the students are nevertheless eager to master the basics of the language. Several students are familiar with Spanish, and they were excited to see the similarities between Latin and Spanish. The Aequora curriculum aptly builds upon Sisulu’s curriculum. For example, the students have loved learning about Greek myths, as they have been reading about them in their English classes. They have also enjoyed looking at maps of the Roman Empire and comparing them with the present day maps they have been studying in their geography classes. Aequora at Sisulu-Walker meets every Friday from 4:30-5:30. To volunteer at our Aequora site, please click on the button below.
SITE COORDINATORS
Our site coordinators, Isabella Smeets and Lydia Palmer, are both students at the Nightingale-Bamford School. At Nightingale-Bamford, Aequora offers great volunteering opportunities to students, under the supervision of Damaris MacLean, the Director of Global Partnerships and Community Engagement. Click on the pictures below to learn more about Lydia and Isabella!