The Abell Foundation steers the boys away from their neighborhood schools, placing the top students into City College High School and most of the others into parochial St. Frances Academy, tuition free. But the boys still must renegotiate their lives outside school, where many of their friends have dropped out and become involved with drugs and crime. For some, this may be impossible, says Sister John Francis Schilling, who as principal of St. Frances has watched 18 Baraka boys try to readjust to life in Baltimore. Her school is located in one of the city's most crime-ridden neighborhoods. Most of them are the first in their families to apply.
Schilling agrees that Baltimore needs a boarding school, but wants it located in the city.
The boys have to learn how to deal with this environment. Her doubts about Baraka are shared by some members of the Baltimore board of education, which is sending two of its members to Kenya in November to evaluate the school and recommend whether to partly fund it in the future. If the board declines, Embry says, his foundation will close Baraka. If the city does make a long-term commitment, Embry says, he will look to open more such schools in places where expenses are low. Brandon would like to see more Baltimore kids go to Baraka.