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Perhaps now more than ever, the youth in Philadelphia are begging to be heard. One person who has been listening intently is Jordan A. Harris.
“I advise the mayor and other stakeholders on issues with youth and young adults throughout the Philadelphia area,” Harris, the Philadelphia Youth Commission executive director, said. “The issues change from time to time, some stay the same — youth violence is always an issue and it was heightened this summer with what folks called ‘flash mobs.’”
To combat that growing problem, Harris, who has held the position for more than a year, focused on alternatives rather than enforcement.
“I personally think that, while some will give credit to the enforcement perspective, I think providing young people with positive opportunities will help us curb violence,” Harris, who resides at 31st and Reed streets with his wife, Amber, said. “They are looking for things they can do, how they can get involved.”
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation recently awarded his office a $30,000 planning grant for a youth-engagement challenge in South Philly, in which the youngsters would identify and find solutions to neighborhood problems. The office is awaiting word on a $350,000 grant to implement the project.
“If we don’t provide young people with those opportunities in a positive light, people will provide opportunities, but those opportunities will be negative ones,” the 27-year-old said.
Named as one of The Philadelphia Tribune Magazine’s “10 People Under 40 to Watch in 2011,” Harris supplements his work on the commission with positions as the board president at the Lincoln Day Education Center, 1839-43 Ellsworth St., and co-founder of Youth Action, which advocates for youth and has provided more than $25,000 in scholarships.
“South Philly has invested so much in me from the football program [Nu Sigma Sharks based at Chew Playground, 18th Street and Washington Avenue] I played in when I was a preteen to the enrichment program [Sigma Beta Club] I took part in high school to the community members that looked out for me to the community church [Grace Tabernacle Outreach Ministries, 1739 S. 17th St.] that sent me to college with towels and paper and pens,” the 17th-and-Dickinson-streets native said. “I see how folks want that same opportunity.
“I didn’t see myself in education, but what I saw was education was the key to success. I took it up as a fight, as a struggle, to help the young ones in my community.”
Harris attended G.W. Childs, 1599 Wharton St. — then at 1541 S. 17th St., and Girard Academic Music Program, 2136 Ritner St.. While he stresses he was afforded opportunities that other neighbors were not, he also makes it clear his story is not unlike the rest of his community.
“I didn’t come from a perfect household. My mother was a single parent. I know my father, we have a good relationship and I love him dearly, but my father had demons to deal with on his own when I was young and he wasn’t always there, like other South Philadelphians that had those struggles,” he said.
Harris was in situations that many of the community members that seek his assistance find themselves in today.
“In my preteens, my mother [Karen] lost her job and she was out of a job for a few years. We spent a little time on public assistance,” Harris said. “This is why I came back, as well, since one of the things that got us through was a sanitation worker that lived across the street from me. He took it upon himself to spend time with me. If he went to a baseball game with his son, he’d buy an extra ticket.”
Support like this from his neighborhood meant that after graduating from Southwest’s Motivation High School, Harris went straight to Millersville University.
“Whenever people ask about the education I received, it’s hard to judge because that’s all you have. When you’re in the system you may think, ‘I got an decent education,’ until you go to college and you’re paired up with folks all across the nation,” he said. “I had to go through a summer program to get my skills to a level where I could take college-level courses in the fall.
“I saw people like me in all these different urban school districts … and I realized the education you get in Philadelphia is different than someone in Upper Merion and that shouldn’t be the case.”
Studying government and political affairs with a minor in African-American studies, Harris still was not sure how he wished to use his learning post-graduation.
“I always knew I wanted to help folks,” Harris, who graduated in 2006 and held a mentorship program at Edwin Vare School, 2400 S. 21st St., upon returning home, said. “The thing that happened was that I was offered a job as a fourth-grade teacher at a Christian school [in Germantown]. I started teaching there and really liked being a teacher. Fourth grade wasn’t the best age group for me and I wound up switching halfway and teaching middle school social studies.
“… I enjoyed going into a classroom everyday and teaching a young person something they didn’t know and giving them the tools they needed to learn on their own. Seeing young people on a daily basis whose futures were in my hands [made me realize I wanted to work in education].
Harris remained a teacher while also furthering his own knowledge base by completing a master’s degree in education at Cabrini College before moving to the School District of Philadelphia in 2009, where he worked to ready youths for college as well as combat truancy.
“At one time, there was a statistic that on any given day, 15,000 students could be missing school, be truant. It was a major issue and it’s still a major issue,” he said. “I coordinated an anti-truancy program called, T.A.C.K.L.E. Truancy. It was about 20 young people from across the district that helped develop what the campaign would look like.”
Harris was sold on teaching, but he also wanted to be able to affect education reform. When the director position opened, he applied and has been overjoyed to be on the commission while also pursuing a doctoral degree in education leadership from Neumann College. Being a part of this reform in his native neighborhood is the most integral piece of the puzzle.
“I think the first thing is that my heart never left [South Philly], I was just in school … I also know this isn’t about me. My education wasn’t about me, it was about my grandmother [Claudette], a retired schoolteacher for 32 years. To see what I can do so she can walk down the street and not be afraid of gun violence,” Harris said.
“… I came back for the 3- and the 4-year-olds that want a quality education because I got mine and I was fortunate. This is why you come back. It’s not just about you, it’s about what can you do for others.” SPR
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