It's not too hard to smile walking down hallways painted with accents of Tiffany blue.
There’s a contagious energy inside the walls of Brooklyn Emerging Leaders Academy, better known as BELA. And yet, there’s also an unmistakable, calming sense of family. The all-girls high school calls it the "sisterhood."
Adorning the walls are posters featuring silhouettes and quotes from powerful women of color, serving as daily inspirations for the students, who are also predominantly young women of color.
"I love that at BELA, a Black girl can be into anime," says Dean of Curriculum and Instruction Tyler Griffin ’13. "I love that a Latina girl can be into baking. I love that they can get really into trying to figure out chemical reactions or are actually able to create the image they have in their head through 3D printing."
The Tiffany blue throughout BELA? Griffin helped paint it. In fact, he was hired to be one of the founding members of BELA’s leadership team when the school opened in 2017.
As the dean of curriculum and instruction, Griffin designs all of the school’s curriculum and the professional development for its teachers. The core literature they study comes from writers of color, like Things Fall Apart and Their Eyes Were Watching God. They still read the books that are often covered in standardized tests like the SAT; however, they become supporting texts.
"We wanted the stuff they’re reading to relate to their identity a little more—to look like them a little more," Griffin explains.
BELA’s curriculum is also STEAM-focused—science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics.
"I would say that 60 percent of the content I work through is STEAM-related," he says. "The other 40 percent is thinking about how we can look at the other disciplines through a STEAM lens. That’s where my liberal arts experience from Wabash comes in.
"I am so thankful that Wabash made me take Professor Eric Wetzel’s three-hour biology lab. I struggled like hell, but I am better for it. My liberal arts education made me explore so many different disciplines that it ignited a lifelong journey of intellectual curiosity."
Griffin came to Wabash from Arlington High School in Indianapolis. He didn’t know he wanted to go into education at the time, but he knew he loved being in the classroom.
"The classroom was my safe haven growing up—a sanctuary. During those times when the lights had been turned off at my house or when things were tumultuous at home, I would stay in Ms. Davis’ classroom and do my homework until 7, 8, 9 o’clock at night. And not just homework for her class, but for all of the classes I had fallen in love with."
Griffin began his teaching career in Atlanta, where he worked for five years before learning about BELA. He’s been in Brooklyn since, helping create sanctuaries inside BELA classrooms.
At the end of every school day, Tyler joins the girls for supper at 4 p.m. BELA provides three meals a day for all of its students, and everyone eats together. After supper until they go home at 5 p.m., they either have office hours—something Tyler says is "very much a Wabash thing"—or what’s called "Grow Time."
"Some girls are DJing, some are learning to code, and some girls are perfecting their baking skills," Tyler explains.
"Whatever troubles they’re dealing with, I want them to come into this place and feel loved," Tyler says. "Some of them are leading very adult lives. But every day, they know they’ll come in and be greeted with a smile—rain, sleet, or snow.
"A sanctuary is also a hallowed place. When you walk into a church, a temple, a mosque, you are walking in a certain way, being respectful, and respecting the customs. As much as we love these girls, we also have high expectations for them, which includes going to college."
This year BELA graduates its first class of 60 students. They will attend institutions including Cornell University, Columbia University, Bard College, NYU, Syracuse University, Boston University, Sarah Lawrence College, Spelman College, and Wellesley College.
"My curiosity grows here every day. When I’m in the classroom or talking to them, I’m learning alongside them. I love these girls, and the joy I get from them is what makes me love my job."