Standing in front of Benjamin West’s Penn’s Treaty with the Indians, a docent leads a group of students from Philadelphia Virtual Academy in a discussion about the work.

But the docent talking to the teens isn’t an art historian or other PAFA employee. Khalid is the group’s classmate and part of PAFA’s Student Docent Program.

The initiative invites students from across Philadelphia to become leaders and art critics, as well as inspiring confidence in young people.

“I’m not trying to teach them to be an art historian. I’m really trying to teach them to facilitate discussions,” said PAFA teens program coordinator Kristina Murray. “A lot of schools just don’t have public speaking. So this is a great way for kids to get comfortable with some of those leadership skills.”

After eight weeks of training, Khalid is comfortable leading his peers through a discussion on PAFA’s collection. He introduces each work and invites his fellow students to share what they think about the art they’re seeing.

“This definitely taught me to look at art from a different point of view, and I like that,” he said. “Everyone was here learning and we learned how to dissect and take information and speak to others, that’s the biggest part. We learned how to speak to large groups.”

Each year, nearly a dozen schools and community groups send students to participate in the free program. So far this year PAFA has trained student docents from Friends Select, Philadelphia Virtual Academy, Belmont Charter High School, the Snider Hockey Foundation, Hallahan School for Girls, and Mercy Career and Technical High School.

The program is free to participating students thanks to a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

“We provide free busing and then every student who completes the program gets a free family membership for the next year,” Murray said. “As far as I know, no one else has a program like this in Philadelphia. There are other museums in the country that do a student docent program in a similar manner but we’re the only ones that do this locally.”

Lydia, a rising junior at Philadelphia Virtual Academy, was drawn to the student docent program after joining PAFA’s Youth Council and taking occasional free classes through the after-school studio art program for high school students.

She says becoming a student docent has made her comfortable presenting to her peers, and she hopes her tour inspires someone else to consider the program.

“I think some students will be able to relate to us more than an adult and might be interested in this group, they might want to join,” she said.

Khalid was reluctant to try out the program but has now become a budding art lover.

“I like Benjamin West’s Death on the Pale Horse, that’s one of my favorites.”

Murray hopes Khalid and the other student docents will return to PAFA, again and again, to share their newfound appreciation for art and talent for sharing the museum.