The front lawn of the former Germantown High School (GHS), now The Annex, will serve as a blast from the past when it transforms into a class-reunion-style event for one afternoon only this Sunday.
Behind the gathering is GHS alumna Taja Morris, who has fond memories of the school, from chilling in the stairwells to learning in the classrooms. She says that while the school garnered a bad reputation in its later years, there’s always an upside.
“So many great people that came out of Germantown are giving back to their same community… and it’s a historical place,” the alumna shares.
Beyond the memories, Morris founded her business, Sisters With an Agenda (SWA), when she went back to work for the school under AmeriCorps in 2008.
The organization initially focused on serving youth through education and mentorship, but later shifted its emphasis to amplify the mission, message, and stories of small, women-owned businesses. The org does this through workshops, Sister Circles, personal development, and more.
The “reunion” is SWA’s Second Annual Community Day, an event designed to fulfill its mission of amplification by offering a fun experience for community members, as each vendor has been asked to have an interactive activity.
“I try to find different ways for us, as businesses, to connect with our audience,” Morris says. ”And creating a lasting memory is a way for [consumers] to double back.”
The event is thrown in partnership with two other GHS alumnae, including Shakera Frazier of Keys to Success Learning Center and Maya Malcolm of the Belfield Advisory Council.
The event will also offer food, music, giveaways, and a cheerleading performance by Mastery Pickett Cheerleaders, as well as a community award giveaway to local leaders such as Victoria Best, Mazzie Casher, Haneef Hill, and the late Deborah Gary, Morris’s aunt.
The intended audience? Any Germantown Bear (the school’s mascot) and Germantowner alike.
The SWA founder says that while older classes of alum groups are more active, it’s harder to find and connect with folks from the school’s final years, who she hopes have received the invitation to be part of the celebration.
She has also done outreach and gotten the support of numerous local groups and organizations to ensure the message reaches them and the broader Germantown community.
It’s also a way for her to connect with former families of the schools she’s taught at and provide the space to help foster new community connections. Last year, the gathering was held in front of the Please Touch Museum, and next year will hopefully be at Simon Gratz in Nicetown, staying on theme.
However, while she aims to take the SWA community event on an annual tour around the city, she hopes to establish a permanent GHS celebration in the Germantown section.
“Old students love to be able to come back to their schools… and we don’t have that,” she says.
Morris says the school’s absence is already felt in the community, as she currently works down the street at the Mastery Pickett Charter School. “Some students don’t even know it’s there,” she exclaims.
GIH asked the GHS alumna for her thoughts on knowing that school closures are once again happening, over a decade after the last major round of closures, which GHS and its neighboring Fulton Elementary fell to in 2013.
She offers this advice as her response: “See what role you can play to make effective change… You know, there are things out of our control, so continue to go with the flow.”
The Community Day takes place this Sunday, July 13, from 3 to 6 p.m. at 40 High St.