West Philadelphia students head to Ghana for 10-day learning trip

Global Leadership Academy students connect classroom lessons to real-world history in West Africa

Published on Feb. 21, 2026

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Twenty students from the Global Leadership Academy in West Philadelphia are embarking on a 10-day educational trip to Ghana, designed to expand their worldviews and strengthen their sense of identity by connecting classroom lessons to real-world history.

Why it matters

The school's international learning program aims to prepare students to become global citizens and future leaders by immersing them in different cultures and histories beyond their local communities.

The details

The trip to Ghana is part of the school's long-running international learning program, which founder Dr. Naomi Johnson Booker says is meant to broaden students' perspectives. Before leaving, the students gathered to perform the Kenyan tradition of Harambee, meaning "all pull together," setting the tone for what Booker describes as a meaningful journey to connect students to their ancestral roots.

  • The students are embarking on the 10-day trip to Ghana on February 18, 2026.

The players

Global Leadership Academy

A West Philadelphia school with a long-running international learning program that aims to prepare students to become global citizens and future leaders.

Dr. Naomi Johnson Booker

The founder of the Global Leadership Academy, who says the international trips are designed to immerse students in different cultures and histories beyond their local communities.

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What they’re saying

“This is like the pinnacle of what we do and where we are because going to Ghana, we're now going home. We have gone to the Bahamas for a number of years and we see the point of entry. Now we are going to see the door of no return. So the children will see, the scholars will see the connection between home and where they brought us into the Americas.”

— Dr. Naomi Johnson Booker, Founder, Global Leadership Academy (cbsnews.com)

“My scholars need to be global so that they can understand the world, and most of them live in a 10-block radius. So we want to get them out of that radius, show them the world so they can be global citizens, so they can take their mark on the world, so they can be those young people who then grow up to be able to take on city council and the presidency and so on.”

— Dr. Naomi Johnson Booker, Founder, Global Leadership Academy (cbsnews.com)

What’s next

The students will spend 10 days in Ghana, visiting historic sites and immersing themselves in the local culture and history.

The takeaway

This trip to Ghana is a meaningful opportunity for the Global Leadership Academy students to connect their classroom lessons to the real-world history and culture of their ancestral homeland, expanding their worldviews and preparing them to become global citizens and future leaders.