Special to The St. Louis American
Mary Institute and Saint Louis Country Day School is a private, non-sectarian school serving over 1,200 students in grades Junior Kindergarten through 12. The students come from 88 different schools across the St. Louis metropolitan area. More than 30 different languages are spoken in the homes of MICDS students, and 26 percent of them self-identify as persons of color.
Mary Institute and Saint Louis Country Day School (MICDS) is committed to ensuring that it is a community in which diverse perspectives, viewpoints and life experiences are understood, valued, embraced and acknowledged for their potential to foster a better learning environment for all.
MICDS Director of Diversity Erica Moore oversees a number of student-focused and student-led activities for the school.
This fall, MICDS is continuing a program it launched during the 2009-2010 school year. The program, “The Black Males in Independent Schools: Empowering Black Males for Success,” offered three workshops for African-American males in independent schools to gather, support and empower one another.
Alumni from various independent schools were also invited to lay the foundation for a mentoring program, and African-American male faculty members from independent school assisted as presenters. In total, over 70 participants from 10 different independent schools in the St. Louis region came to MICDS for these sessions.
The first session, “Black Males in Independent Schools: Who Was I, Who Am I, Who Will I Be?” focused on building community, what makes up black male identity and a discussion with African American male alumni from independent schools.
“Black Males in Independent Schools: The Discussion Continues,” focused on in depth conversations with alumni mentors about the boys’ successes and challenges in school. The third session addressed how to handle uncomfortable situations at school and with peers and provided an opportunity for the students to dialogue with their parents.
MICDS invites anyone interested learning more about its diverse learning community to attend a special event on Thursday, November 4, at 5:30 p.m. in Olson Hall. The program, “Diversity in Action: Different Lives, Different Voices, One MICDS,” will feature Head of School Lisa Lyle, Director of Diversity Erica Moore, current parents, teachers and students in a interactive presentation on the many ways diversity empowers the MICDS community.
To learn more about this event, please contact the MICDS Admission Office at 314-995-7367 or visit www.micds.org.
