Making the Journey that Kyle Wasn't Able to Make...

On March 31, 2010, sixteen-year-old Kyle Harty Strang was killed in a car accident in Richmond, CA, cutting short a bright and promising future. Kyle raised a passionate voice to every cause he believed in. He valiantly faced the world’s troubles with his intellect, his profound sense of duty, and a pulsing heart too big for his body. He had dreamed of going to Israel to fulfill his deep feelings of responsibility for sharing in the struggle for each peoples’ right to survive and thrive.

Kyle was part of a close-knit small school community at Berkeley High, the Communication Arts and Sciences (CAS) Program. After his tragic death, his passionate quest inspired his classmates and teachers to seek a way for his aspirations to live on. To help make his dream a reality, CAS, through the Berkeley Public Education Foundation, and in partnership with the nonprofit organization Seeking Common Ground, will establish an ongoing leadership development program at Berkeley High and will sponsor a trip to the Middle East.

Seeking Common Ground: Leading the Project

Seeking Common Ground is an international nonpartisan, non-profit organization based in Denver, Colorado. Their mission is to build peaceful communities worldwide—to connect and inspire young leaders, provide them with the skills to become agents for social change, and empower them to transform their communities. Their “people-to-people” programs offer individuals ways to communicate through conflict, transform antagonistic relationships into partnerships, and recognize within themselves the capacity to effect positive change personally, locally, and globally. They are best known for their flagship program, Building Bridges for Peace, which brings American, Israeli, and Palestinian teens together for peace-building and leadership development activities. s-c-g.org

The Plan


The plan has two parts: (1) Development of the Kyle Harty Strang Leadership Program, an ongoing program and partnership between Seeking Common Ground and Berkeley High School’s CAS Program; and (2) A 2011 Trip to the Middle East for the first cadre of teen leaders. Twenty students and two CAS faculty will participate in the intensive leadership program and trip. Participants will engage in a series of leadership development and conflict resolution activities, conducted by Israeli, Palestinian, and American teen alumni of the SCG program. Leadership development will take place from November through March 2011, and will help participants learn about the Middle East conflict and related issues, as well as build skills and dispositions that promote listening, respectful discourse, and abilities to transform antagonistic relationships into partnerships. Leadership development activities will be designed specifically for the Berkeley High School students and their own experiences around race, ethnicity, and social class. In April 2011 the group will go on a 10-day trip to the Middle East, similar to the recent SCG Middle East Encounter Trip. On that trip the group spent time in the south, north, and center of the region. They also met with representatives from the Bereaved Parents Circle, Combatants for Peace, Breaking the Silence, and the Community Action Center. Israeli and Palestinian past participants helped plan the trip, served as local guides, and arranged incredible and welcoming host stays in Isifiyeh and Kibbutz Einat. Participants would have home stays and meet with teens like them who are struggling with/working through conflict.

How You Can Help

This project will create a lasting way to honor Kyle’s memory and the example he set through his passion. To make it happen, we need to raise funds.  Thank you in advance for any support you can provide to this important project. We welcome your comments and suggestions.

To make a donation in support of this program to honor Kyle:

Please send checks made payable to Berkeley Public Education Foundation, and write "Kyle Strang Memorial Fund" on the memo line, and send to:

Kyle Strang Memorial Fund
828 Ashbury Street
San Francisco, CA 94117

To learn other ways you can support the program, please contact:

Hasmig Minassian, Lead Teacher, CAS Program
Berkeley High School 2223 Martin Luther King Way
Berkeley, CA, 94704-1437
Phone: (510) 333-3668
E-mail: HMinassian@berkeley.k12.ca.us

Deepest thanks to those who have already contributed!!