It’s not how Alia Farraj originally planned to spend her after-school time as a young teacher.

“When I first started teaching at 21, there were some girls that came up to me and said they needed a teacher to stay with them after school," Farraj recalled. "They wanted to create this STEP team. I didn’t even really know what they were talking about at the time, but it was a group of girls that I really liked.”

What You Need To Know

  • Alia Farraj was approached by her students and asked if she would be willing to stay after school to help out with a step team. Having no idea what step was, she agreed to help out

  • Nearly two decades later, she is still impressed by the creativity and passion she sees in the girls who come out for the team

  • For Farraj, it's about being more than just an after-school program

  • She's working to create a space where every girl feels safe to express who they are and bring their attitude

With no prior experience to guide her, Farraj jumped in to assist the best she could, learning on the fly with the help of the Lady Spartans.

“If you know anything about step, you know that it takes a lot of time just to get a little bit of the performance," Farraj said. "The steps are named after them, and if you made the step, you get to be the one in the front row performing it.”

For the past 17 years, Farraj has made sure that the beat isn’t the only thing these Edwin Markham middle schoolers are taking ownership of. Excelling in the classroom is just as important.

“They want to see how we do in regular school also, to see if we need help with anything. We can always go to them and talk to them about how we feel and what’s going on in our lives,” said Makayla Geddie, a proud member of the team.

“This gives them a reason to want to do better," Farraj said. "We follow up on their behavior. Their teachers call us even before they call their parents. So it gives them not only someone to answer to and accountability that they wouldn’t want to let us down in the same way we wouldn’t want to let them down.”

It’s a safe space where stomping it out, screaming it out, and bringing your attitude is encouraged, especially after a stressful school day.

Serenity Hamilton-Bryant, a member of the step team, explained it like this: “I feel fierce when I step, because you really have to bring the body into it and go really, really hard.”

“This gives them something to be a part of and something fulfilling to do during their free time,” Farraj said.

For teaching the importance of stepping up, Alia Farraj is our New Yorker of the Week.