A Halifax school principal hopes to save his school from the chopping block by making it Afrocentric.

The Halifax Regional School Board is considering closing St. Patrick's-Alexandra, an inner- city school built for 800 students that only has about 100.

Principal Ken Fells said one solution may be to change the focus of the school for the mostly black students.

The currrent education program is Eurocentric and focused on the accomplishments of whites, he said.

"We always refer to one group as being more centric, or more important or more valued simply because that's the values from a more hegemonic perspective. So we're trying to get away from that," Fells said.

In an Afrocentric school, students and teachers don't have to be black. The philosophy is to highlight the achievements of blacks and all cultures, and focus on helping the students gain awareness of who they are, Fells said.

Proposal not about segregation, says principal

He hopes an Afrocentric model won't only save the school, but would also prevent black students from dropping out by making them feel proud of their culture.

School board member Chris Poole said the board needs to hear more about the proposal.

"If you weren't educated on the topic, then you would definitely go back to thinking this was a throwback to segregation, possibly," said Poole.

Fells said the proposal isn't about segregation, rather it's inclusive.

He acknowledges transforming St. Patrick's-Alexandra into an Afrocentric school wouldn't fill every chair, but hopes the board considers it as an alternative to closing the school.

The school board is expected to make a decision at the end of March.