Connections Quarterly Winter 2018 - World Religions | Page 8

Being a Force for Change:
One School’s Journey to Combat
Bigotry and Promote Respect
By Amira Al-Sarraf
New Horizon School, Pasadena, CA
W
ith great anticipation, the New Horizon School community awaited the decision of
the U.S. Department of Education regarding our Blue Ribbon application. It was Sep-
tember of 2005 when I received the first phone call from a representative from the
DOE informing us that we would indeed be receiving the Blue Ribbon and to expect an official
letter in the mail.
I remember that moment vividly, finding myself feeling quite emotional, knowing this was
to be a seminal moment in the school’s history. We were, to our knowledge, the first Islamic
school in the United States to receive this award, and I knew the ramifications would be felt
for years to come.
Indeed, this accolade would further validate the school’s credibility and status along with
its full-term accreditation by CAIS and WASC. Established in 1984, New Horizon School was
poised as one of the early institutions to take the lead in Islamic education in the United States.
With an emphasis on academic excellence in a balanced Islamic environment and the foster-
ing of a wholly compatible American Muslim identity, New Horizon was an early pioneer in
developing this new concept in the world of education in the U.S., preceded only by the Sister
Clara Muhammed schools.
These feelings of excitement and joy would, unfortunately, be interrupted by another phone
call from DOE, which would replace those feelings with shock and disappointment. It was
another official from DOE, and he informed me that our Blue Ribbon award was being called
into question.
Page 6 Winter 2018

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