1. THE ROUNDTABLE
I
The Official Newsletter of Benjamin E. Mays Preparatory School ▪ Home of the Knights
3059 Higgins Boulevard, Bldgs. A&B ▪ New Orleans, Louisiana 70126 ▪ (504) 428-8711
Mays Prep: Focused and Ready!
In a very critical year, Mays Prep returns Bradley says, “In much of our
more determined to exceed our first year
successes.
recruitment, we invited whole families
into our school community mainly for
On August 9, Mays Prep scholars them to see us in action – to see our
teachers teach, and to become more
returned from their brief summer intimate with how we have school.
vacation to continue the work of With those efforts, parents could at
preparing for high school and college least say that they made an informed
success. decision.”
This year, we increased our student An all important year
population by 20%, adding a new
section of kindergarten, adding new With the influx of new students, we
students into remaining grades, while are very well aware that 3rd grade
also accommodating retained students scholars will take the iLEAP exam this
from our district school counterpart, year - and until the following year,
Carver Elementary. Third grader Michael Page is among the
their performance will be all that most returning Mays Prep scholars that will be
observers will take interest in. “I’m taking the Louisiana iLEAP examination this
A growing school year.
fine with that,” says Bradley – “this is
why we do this work.” “We’re back,
Of course, the addition of new students focused and ready.”
requires more teachers and support
staff – so we are growing, and our
presence in the city has also grown. New Orleans Schools on the Move
The reforms underway in New Orleans are beginning to produce radical results.
School leader Duke Bradley says, “We Diagram below courtesy of *Educate Now
had pretty minimal recruitment efforts
and were able to fill the majority of our
seats before the end of last school
year.” “That put us in a pretty good
position going in to the fall.”
When looking at the data, we found
that parents chose Mays Prep for a
variety of reasons.
Parent recommendations
go a long way
Foremost among those was our
commitment to a disciplined and
structured learning environment as
well as the glowing recommendations
made by current Mays Prep parents.
*Educate Now is a non-profit organization dedicated to the
reform of New Orleans public schools; www.educatenow.net

2. Mays Prep Featured On Mays Prep Attracts Top Talent
With the groundswell of
new schools that have
taken root in New Orleans,
Recently, Mays Prep was featured as part of a the ability to recruit quality
larger story noting the proliferation of charter personnel is critical to a
schools in New Orleans. Todd Johnson, reporter school’s success. While
for thegrio.com spent a day at the school meeting organizations like Teach
with faculty and staff, interacting with students, for America and TeachNola
and discussing New Orleans’ aggressive charter have worked to provide a
school movement. quality teacher corps from
which to choose, Mays
To watch the story, visit: Prep works diligently to
maintain a balance of Reading Interventionist Bridget Burns
http://www.thegrio.com/specials/katrina---five-years- teachers - many of whom facilitates a guided reading lesson
later/charter-schools-give-new-orleans-public-schools-
have varied backgrounds.
hope.php
Veteran teacher Ms. Bridget Burns (pictured above) joined
More about TheGrio… the Mays Prep team after having served at the RSD’s Laurel
Elementary. A native New Orleanean, she brings a wealth of
TheGrio.com is the first video-centric news experience that has proven to be immediately impactful to
community site devoted to providing African the school. Other teachers new to the Mays Prep team –
Americans with stories and perspectives that some from surrounding Parishes and others from other local
appeal to them but are underrepresented in schools also help to set the standard for the talent that
existing national news outlets. defines the quality of a Mays Prep teacher. END.
Hard Work ▪ Excellence ▪ Respect ▪ Discipline ▪ Determination ▪ Leadership
DID YOU KNOW? PHOTO OF THE MONTH
Dr. Benjamin E. Mays
served as President of
Morehouse College in
Atlanta, Georgia for 27
years. One his students,
Dr. Michael Lomax,
president and chief
executive of the United
Negro College Fund
served as President of
Dr. Michael Lomax New Orleans’ own Dillard
University for seven
years.
QUOTABLE
“EXCELLENCE cannot be reached without
having passed through the slow and painful
process of study and preparation.”
-Adapted, Author Unknown
Tulane University President Scott Cowen gets some “love” during a
recent visit to Mays Prep.
visit us online ▪ www.maysprep.org

3. Good News for New Orleans…and Mays Prep!
Mays Prep is positioned to benefit from two big awards that will directly impact New Orleans’ public schools
As the country recently paused to commemorate the Read more here:
5th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the education
http://www.nola.com/katrina/index.ssf/201
reform efforts underway in New Orleans also received
0/08/18billion_from_fema_for_hurri.html
noted attention. This attention comes on the heels of
two big announcements that directly impact public
When it’s all said and done, the country is
school attendees in New Orleans and the organizations
taking notice of the good work being done
that have pledged to ensure that all children in the city
on behalf of children in New Orleans - and
have access to high quality education.
rightfully so. END.
First, local non-profit New Schools for New Orleans (a
Mays Prep partner in education) was awarded the ultra Sidney Barthelemy, Jr.
competitive federal I3 grant.
________________________________________________
Installed As Mays Prep’s
The I3 program provides competitive grants to
New Board Chair
school districts, consortia of schools, or At Mays Prep, we are
partnerships between schools and non-profits to
beginning our second
implement new innovative practices and
year with a new Board
programs.
Chair, Mr. Sidney
_________________________________________________________________
Barthelemy. Charged
with the responsibility
New Schools for New Orleans was one of only 49
of keeping the school
winners nationwide, staking claim to its share of a
accountable for the
whopping $650 million dollar in federal grants.
demands of it charter
and supporting the
A recent press release from the NSNO indicated that the Sidney Barthelemy, Jr.
Principal and Founder,
monies will allow them continue many of the positive
Mr. Barthelemy is ready
reforms already in place in the city.
for the challenge. He says, “There are great things
Read more here: happening in New Orleans, and Mays Prep is a
part of our progress. To me, there is nothing
http://newschoolsforneworleans.org/press_nola_wins.p more important to the future of our city than the
hp
work being done with our children.”
1.8 Billion To Rebuild New Orleans’
Schools Sidney Barthelemy, Jr., At A-Glance:
Secondly, New Orleans also received word that the  Hometown: New Orleans, LA (Gentilly)
federal government will award…
 Alma Mater:
______________________________________________________________
o Brother Martin High School, ‘93
“…a lump sum payment of 1.8 billion dollars to o Morehouse College, ‘98
rebuild and repair public schools damaged by  Profession: Small business owner (Home
Hurricane Katrina.” Restoration and General Construction)
_____________________________________________________________  Factoid: Mr. Barthelemy is the son of Sidney
Barthelemy, Sr., former two term Mayor of New
Of course, this is one of the largest federal investments
Orleans (‘86-’94)
in public schools in American history. Among the
schools slated to receive a new facility in which to serve  Quotable: “I want my service to Mays Prep to be
children is Mays Prep. Although details about the punctuated by ensuring that we become a part of
transition into the new facility have not yet been the larger community of high quality schools in
finalized, Mays Prep is happy to learn that in the very New Orleans.”
near future, we will be in a nice, newly renovated
building.

4. A Learning Environment Fit For A Scholar
Mays Prep takes seriously the design of our classrooms
At Mays Prep, we value the
quality of our physical space –
and that means ensuring that
students are welcomed daily
into environments conducive to
learning and where they are
constantly bombarded with
messages that reinforce why
they attend Mays Prep: TO GET
TO COLLEGE!
Tenet based classroom
design
Each of our classrooms are
carefully thought out and
organized according to a few
basic tenets.
First, teachers must be
deliberate in terms of how desks
are arranged to maximize space.
_____________________________________
Prep special – and our team
is: “The harder you work, the
understands that.” “Even more, our
“…classrooms must smarter you get.”
kids deserve a space that signals to
be neat, orderly, and them that they are special and
This belief manifests itself in many
deserving.”
accompanied by a ways – such as a banner in third
grade teacher Ms. Nicole Carryl’s If nothing else, Mays Prep
plan to keep them learning community which says, classrooms run well – learning is
that way.” “Think you can. Work Hard. Get happening, and our kids are happy
_____________________________________ Smart.” to be with us. The organization of
our classrooms contributes to that.
Secondly, all classrooms must School leader Duke Bradley says, END.
message a deeply held belief that “These things are not simply
every member of the Mays Prep representations of our fanaticism
community subscribes to, which with neatness and order, they are
anecdotes of what makes Mays
Keep Up With Mays Prep Be certain to check out some of the national
attention that Mays Prep has received over the
past couple of years.
Video Audio
Michigan Radio, National Public Radio (NPR) WNYC, The Takeaway, American Public
Affiliate Radio http://maysprep.org/duke-bradley-
“Building School Culture”; Mays Prep featured at on-the-takeaway.php
3:41,
http://twocities.michiganradio.org/2010/05/13 Michigan Radio, National Public Radio
/building-school-culture-video/News 21 (NPR) Affiliate “Going Charter”
http://twocities.michiganradio.org/2010/0
The Charter Explosion 5/18/going-charter/
“Door-to-Door Salesman”
http://columbia.news21.com/?p=2270