Brother 2 Brother Celebrates End of the Year
Students and mentors in the Brother 2 Brother marked the end of a school year with a special event at Drake University.
“It truly takes a village to raise a child,” says Lincoln High School biology teacher Frank Lee III, who is also a mentor in the Brother 2 Brother program. “That village includes Des Moines Public Schools and our entire community in helping to inspire leadership and excellence for our minority male students.”
This past Mother’s Day weekend, the Brother 2 Brother Mentoring Group gathered on the campus of Drake University to celebrate their End of the Year Program. It was a true celebration of brotherhood as over 40 young men along with their parents and guardians representing Callanan Middle School, McCombs Middle School, Weeks Middle School, Lincoln High School, and Drake University.
The students were recognized for their work throughout this school year with a Brother 2 Brother Certificate as well as 2-3 students from each school being honored as Outstanding Brothers of the Year. The Brother 2 Brother Mentoring Group also took the time to honor the mothers’ of their students during the Mother’s Day Presentation as it is essentially important to recognize the women who have sacrificed so much for their sons. Each brother was able to present their mothers and guardian with a Carnation as a small token of appreciation for their efforts.
Des Moines Public Schools has recognized the need to mentor the minority males of our school system through leadership, mentoring, advocacy and action. Brother 2 Brother was established in 2009 to address educational barriers for male students of color and works to empower these students to set higher standards of achievement while fostering a spirit of care. The program focuses on academic achievement, personal development, professional growth and service learning, operating with the following mission in mind:
The Brother 2 Brother Mission is to increase the number of African American, Asian, Latino, and all males getting through middle school and graduating both high school and college to move on and positively impact their greater communities.
The B2B End of the Year event is the culmination of a year’s worth of hard work and dedication of the young men as they have participated in events including: weekly meetings, study tables, formal dress up days, monthly meetings at and college visits to Drake University, fundraising, Youth Leadership Conferences at the University of Northern Iowa, attending Iowa’s I’ll Make Me a World Education Day, community service events, daily bonding with their respective advisors, and school pride as their respective schools The young men have shown exceptional dedication and growth as members of Brother 2 Brother DMPS. Plans are that this work will continue for years to come as more schools join the Brother 2 Brother Mentoring Group.
