In 1995, Sankofa Shule, formerly a college preparatory public school academy, began operation as a charter school in Lansing, Michigan. The school had an Afrocentric, experiential, non-graded, departmentalized, individualized focus. With this new approach to education, we began a search for materials to use in the classroom, but there were none to be found. Therefore, we began to develop curricula to meet the needs of the students and the goals of the academy. The first year of operation centered on a language arts curriculum and the mathematics curriculum began the second year. By 1998, the primary mathematics curriculum, African Mathematical Genius, Giri So was ready for publication. This was the beginning of The Sankofa Publishing Company.

The Sankofa Publishing Company publishes Afrocentric materials for instruction that can be used by parents, teachers, administrators, students and schools. The strategies used are based on the West African Dogon people of Mali. The Dogon principles utilize four words for teaching which are Giri So-the front word; Benne So-the side word, Bolo So-the back word and Sodayi-the clear word. Sankofa uses these words in strategies for teaching by emphasizing rote memory and repetition for the front word; recognition of patterns and reciprocal operations for the side word; transference and abstract meaning for the back word; and, internalization and practice for the clear word. These strategies are taught using experiential, multi-sensory, multi-modal, multi-cultural, and multi-dimensional techniques. Ethical principles of MAAT (truth, justice, righteousness, order, balance, harmony and reciprocity) and the Nguzo Saba (unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith) are stressed in every subject matter area to promote a holistic educational philosophy. The combination of all of the above have produced curricula that work for all students but most importantly for African American students.

Sankofa has been hailed by U.S. News and World Report,( April 27, 1998), as one of the educational powerhouses of charter schools in the United States. The school was featured in The Wall Street Journal (Wednesday, February 7, 1996) and in many other articles, studies and newspapers. The results of the standardized Metropolitan Achievement Test have risen from 70% below the 50th percentile at the beginning of the first year to 60% over the 50th percentile in three years. With these statistics and acclamations, there is clearly a need for the materials published by The Sankofa Publishing Company.

After the first two publications a consulting team consisting of three former staff members of the school began training teachers, parents, administrators, students, and concerned citizens in numerous school districts, individual schools and conferences. The three members of the team have over twenty-five years of successful teaching experience. These teachers are not college professors who merely teach a philosophy untried. The Sankofa Publishing Consultants actually teach what they preach. In a training conference in Atlanta, Georgia, the team was given a group of fifteen students from the area to demonstrate lessons from the curriculum. With only ten minutes to develop rapport with the students, a demonstration of multiplication, fractions, decimals, percent, algebra and geometry was presented by the students under the direction of the team. After a standing ovation for the students most members of the audience were surprised when they found out that these were students from Atlanta and the team had never seen them before. The audience had assumed that the students were from Sankofa and that they were trained by the team. That demonstration proved the curriculum works with all students and that the consulting teachers are excellent. The team is available for consulting and training for workshops, conferences, teacher in-service, professional development, and weekend seminars.

1. African Mathematical Genius Volumes 1: Giri So
2. African Mathematical Genius Volumes 2: Benne So
3. African Mathematical Genius Volumes 3: Bolo So
4. Heshima to Hotep: Ten Steps to Educational Excellence
5. KMT: Our African Heritage

June 2002 is the projected sale date for the language arts curriculum. Begin your order with Heshima to Hotep and you will not be disappointed. Then call our consulting team to train your teachers. We guarantee results.