Haley Elementary students learn about African-American maritime history

BOSTON – The Haley Elementary School in Roslindale is helping to develop the next generation of Boston boaters, with an innovative year-long expeditionary learning curriculum to teach fifth grade students about the city’s rich maritime history. In the fall, students explored Boston Harbor and the Harbor Islands by sailboat. This summer, they built their own rowboats through Boston Family Boat Building. And this spring, the young scholars are learning about African-Americans’ role in maritime history.

This week, several special guests visited fifth grade classes to describe the contributions of various African-Americans to the history of the high seas, including:
· Olive Henson Fulton, niece of Matthew Henson, one of the first explorers to travel to the North Pole;
· Maria Mendes, granddaughter of Henrique Mendes, Captain of the Ernestina, one of the last vessels to bring Cape Verdean emigrants to the United States;
· Theodore Walcott, a veteran of the merchant marine during World War II and the Korean War;
· Jackie Cox-Crite, widow of Allan Rohan Crite, Boston South End artist and draftsperson/illustrator at the Charlestown Navy Yard; and
· Chuck Shaw, whose family operated a ship chandlery on Atlantic Avenue in Boston during the late 19th and early 20th century.

The Haley Elementary School serves approximately 275 students in pre-kindergarten through grade 5. In September, it will become one of the city’s newest pilot schools.

CAPTION: Tomell Kelly (foreground), a fifth grade student at the Haley Elementary School, listens to Olive Henson Fulton describe the life and accomplishments of her uncle, Matthew Henson, one of the first explorers to travel to the North Pole.