Compton-Drew principal receives prestigious MetLife education honor
By Meliqueica Meadows
Of the St. Louis American
Compton-Drew Principal Andrea Walker was honored Thursday with the Ambassador in Education Award from MetLife. Walker is one of only 21 principals in the country, and the only in Missouri, to be recognized. MetLife’s John Guy presented Walker with the award and a $5,000 grant in recognition of her understanding “how important building community is.”
Walker is credited with much of the success of the unique institution that draws heavily on a partnership with the St. Louis Science Center to provide students from sixth to eighth grade with a curriculum rich in math and science instruction.
“I am extremely honored that the MetLife Foundation selected me as a principal that seeks to connect the school with the community,” Walker said. She said she wanted the institution to be built next to the Science Center so that students could have “access to galleries and exhibits and provide staff with professional development so that both students and staff could grow.”
The MetLife Foundation Ambassadors in Education Award is given for exemplary leadership demonstrated in school and community settings. Compton Drew parents and faculty nominated Walker for the honor because of her efforts in linking community organizations with Compton-Drew and for continuing to create a climate of greater community involvement.
Among her many accomplishments as principal of Compton Drew, Walker created both the new student bicycle club and a tutoring program, which is now in its second year. The $5,000 will be used to develop future school and community projects.
“Principals are key to establishing a culture of caring and community involvement in their schools,” Sibyl Jacobson, MetLife Foundation president and CEO said. “Her leadership in reaching out to the neighborhood is an important example for students and staff.”
Walker was nominated for her tireless efforts to enrich the school and the surrounding community. When Saint Louis University High School, just one block away, needed a practice/athletic field, she invited them to develop the adjacent vacant lot to the benefit of students from each school. Walker also allows the Compton-Drew campus to offer after-school and evening classes from both Fontbonne University and the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Her efforts in fundraising and community partnerships ensure that the over 250 Compton-Drew students are able to participate in a unique learning opportunity.
In fact, the school was named for two leading scientists, noted physicist Dr. Arthur Holly Compton, former chancellor of Washington University and Nobel Prize winner, and Dr. Charles Richard Drew, an African-American surgeon who developed techniques for processing and storing blood plasma for use in transfusions.
Compton-Drew Investigative Learning Center is known as a place where students can explore and discover sophisticated technologies and scientific research. The unique interactive curriculum, Schools for Thought, is the basis for learning at the institution and students are actively engaged in in-depth study that challenges both their thinking and memory skills. Community partnerships, especially with the St. Louis Science Center, allow both students and staff to benefit from the information provided by the leading science establishment.
“She helped design this school and watched it be built from the ground up,” Georgia Bland-Whitfield, SLPS Middle School Education officer, said. She said Walker had been her role model and mentor for many years and that the principal is a “consummate professional” who exemplifies “the highest level of professionalism.”
Former Compton-Drew teacher and current St. Louis Science Center Vice President of Education Sharonica Hardin said she had worked with Walker for over 10 years in different capacities. She said Walker has always been committed to “affording all children the ability to excel by providing meaningful ways to connect math and science curriculum.”
The goal of the MetLife Foundation is to recognize outstanding educators for their exemplary efforts, while encouraging others to follow their examples. The winning principals are chosen from hundreds of nominees by a national selection committee.
The Ambassadors in Education Award program began in 2003 after the MetLife Survey of the American Teacher revealed a divide between many educators and their communities, especially those in inner city schools. The survey found that only nine percent of students believed their teachers knew enough about the communities in which they taught. Surveyors also found that about 55 percent of the teachers in communities of color admitted to not knowing much about the community surrounding the school in which they taught.
For more information about the Ambassadors in Education Award, visit www.ncl.org/cs/metlife. To learn more about Compton-Drew Investigative Learning Center, 5130 Oakland Ave., call (314) 652-9282.