UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — What started as a favor for a friend quickly turned into Joseph Levitan’s passion: the Sacred Valley Project.
Growing up in Baltimore City, Maryland, Levitan always had an interest in academics and involvement in learning outside the classroom. He was able to combine his interest in education, activism and development in the Sacred Valley Project. “The idea came from one of the students who was the first member of the project,” said Levitan. “She really wanted to go to school so she asked her godfather, who is a friend of mine, and he asked me to help out, so we started this small project.”
The Sacred Valley Project, founded in 2009, began in Peru in a small village where education, especially for girls, was difficult to attain because of economic and safety issues. Levitan and his colleagues began working on a way to change that. They created a comprehensive, culturally responsive educational approach, which included on-site living, to cater to the developmental challenges facing each student.
The program focuses on the needs of each individual student, whether that is addressing language barriers, creating access to the school system or supporting student learning. The Sacred Valley Project was designed to help students mentally, emotionally and physically to provide young women the opportunity to grow into powerful leaders in their communities, better their academic success and engage them in a stimulating educational environment.
The project works to bring students up to the same academic level as their peers as well as providing other nonacademic opportunities to learn so that students can define success for themselves and reach their goals.
“I’m not saying it’s 100 percent,” said Levitan. “There are still students who are struggling in certain areas, but we’re really seeing that this kind of engaged, culturally responsive curriculum with caring adults really makes a big difference.”