Program develops leaders for tomorrow
Special to The 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 all over the St. Louis metropolitan area, over 60 different ZIP codes. More than 30 different languages are spoken in the homes of MICDS students, and 25 percent of the students self-identify as persons of color.
To provide support to such a diverse student body, MICDS Director of Diversity Erica Moore oversees a number of student-focused and student-led activities for the school. One such student-led group is the African American Mentor Program (AAMP) which helps develop leadership skills and provide an environment for older students in the MICDS Upper School to act as role models for younger Middle School students.
Through various activities from bowling to after school discussions, the students build relationships that will especially help the Middle School students’ transition into the upper grades.
“The program begins in the summer during our Pathfinders Summer Institute and continues throughout the school year,” explains Moore.
“The group is led by four student co-heads – two girls and two boys – who facilitate discussion and plan activities for the group. The students develop a ‘big sister’ or ‘big brother’ type experience for the Middle School students. They know someone in the Upper School and feel connected to something bigger than just their space in the Middle School.”
This year, over 25 MICDS African American Upper School students have mentees in the MICDS Middle School. Their social activities have included a trip to Sky Zone for an afternoon of dodge ball, and group attendance at the Black Rep Family Fest at MICDS where they held a private forum with cast members from one of the performances to learn what it is truly like to be in the theatre. The Upper School students also have the opportunity to have lunch with their mentees and send emails regularly to check in with them.
“The program nurtures an educational and supportive environment and gives all involved in the program a greater sense of community at MICDS,” says Moore.
“When the Middle School students attend an Upper School sporting event, choir concert or a play, they are supporting not just their school, but their mentors as well. They have someone to look up to and root for.”
“The program is successful thanks to the support of two faculty sponsors and the parents of the AAMP students,” adds Moore.
“Being a student-led activity gives the young people an opportunity to build their leadership and mentoring skills that will take them not just through school at MICDS, but throughout their lifetimes.”