"Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate."
These are the words then-US President Ronald Reagan used in 1987 to call on the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall.
And, in the shadow of his final resting place in Simi Valley, the former president’s name is emblazoned on the newly opened Academy of Communication and Leadership, here at Sinaloa Middle School.
"The partnership with the Reagan is phenomenal," says Dr Angelica Chavez, the Co-Ordinator of Professional Learning and Civic Engagement for the Simi Valley School District.
Chavez says the school’s partnership with the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute will bring the students a unique experience.
"All of our students will have opportunities to engage at the Reagan. They'll be able to go to any of the programing that they have up there for free, including bus transportation," said Chavez.
"We will be hosting some of the Reagan events here, such as some of their Medal of Honor speakers, survivors of the Holocaust, where our students will get to engage with their survivors and different dignitaries. We'll have debates in there. We have an updated broadcasting sound room. It's just such a unique experience for them," she said.
Chavez said that it makes "all the difference from reading something in a book to being hands on creators. The learning is this takes it to a whole other level."
"Oftentimes we see that kids, they freeze up or don't know how to communicate. Even as adults, we are unable to communicate and dialog civilly to have conversations and to grow. So I think learning those skills and traits early on is going to make a world of difference," she said.
The school’s Principal Shawn Rumble says this is an important stage in the development of students.
"We have a large number of students that do fall into our socially disadvantaged groups," said Rumble.
"This is not only an age where they develop the leadership and communication skills, but it's really where they find themselves before they get to high school. This generation has changed a lot and they are embracing podcasts and they're embracing all the different multiple media outlets and so we want to stay on top of that. We don't want to continue to teach in an ancient way. And so we want to keep moving forward and find the students where they're at and find what interests them and then take that and move forward and show them how academics can be a part," he said.
As well as the opportunities for learning, the school’s rose garden is being updated to include plantings from the Reagan Library which former First Lady Nancy Reagan had selected.
