24 Days of Giving Thanks – Day 5

It’s day 5 of AFC’s 24 Days of Giving Thanks campaign and today we are recognizing a great student success story.
Stacean Patterson is a bright and happy fourth grader who attends St. Benedict the Moor School in New Orleans. When asked what he liked about his school, Stacean immediately beamed a big smile. “I like the school because it encourages students to do the right things in life and our teachers are great,” said Stacean.

St. Benedict the Moor has participated in the Louisiana Scholarship Program for 8 years and has been one of the program’s most successful schools. In 2015, 69 percent of St. Benedict’s third graders achieved at the mastery level in English Language Arts on state administered achievement exams, while 54 percent of students tested at the mastery level in Mathematics – surpassing the state wide average by 34 and 23 percent respectively in both categories.
Stacean especially enjoys taking part in service learning projects that allow him to interact with students at St. Michael Special School, which serves students with special educational needs. “We get to help people that have Down syndrome and autism. Sometimes we get to play with them and teach them how to do certain things.”
St. Benedict’s focus on service learning projects provide students gives students a variety of experiences, from planting grass in the marshes that surround city, to visiting the elderly or even making sandwiches at a homeless shelter.
“It’s not just going out into the community, it’s learning about community needs,” said principal Drue Dumas.
Watch Stacean talk about his school, learning through service and his goals.

Today we’re thankful for students like Stacean and great schools like St. Benedict the Moor! Help AFC give even more children the opportunity attend a quality school that suits their needs. Every dollar donated goes toward helping students access scholarships and opportunity.