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 Prepares to Walk Into History
** Mays Prep prepares to transition into one of the most culturally significant school facilities in America **
For two years, Mays Prep has been
serving children in temporary trailers
provided by FEMA as short term
replacements to the devastated school
facilities caused by Hurricane Katrina.
Very soon, this will change. As a part
of the 1.8 billion dollar FEMA grant
that New Orleans recently received to
rebuild and renovate the city’s public
schools, Mays Prep has been chosen to
occupy the historic William Frantz
Elementary School building. Currently,
the building sits abandoned and in
desperate need of wholesale repair.
Not just any school building
Of course, William Frantz is not your Mays Prep scholars enjoy the groundbreaking ceremony with State Board member
everyday school facility. It has become Ms. Louella Givens
a symbol of the progress made during
the Civil Rights Movement of the offerings and extracurricular Ruby Bridges Timeline
1960’s as the iconic Ms. Ruby Bridges activities including a middle school
first integrated the school in the fall of sports program and a host of other 1954 – Ms. Bridges was born
1964. Since that day, the Frantz School supplemental school activities.
Among other things, 1958 – Ms. Bridges and her family
building has served as a landmark for move from Tylertown, Mississippi to
the city of New Orleans. __________________________________________ New Orleans
Honoring a proud legacy “…the school will boast a full court 1964 – Ms. Bridges enters the William
gym, state-of-the art-science labs, Frantz School in New Orleans’ 9th
Ward
Mays Prep is proud to transition into designated green space for
the historic William Frantz building organized play, and solar 1968 – Artist Norman Rockwell
primarily because it gives us the paneling so as to ensure natural painted The Problem We All Live With
opportunity to preserve the school’s light.”
__________________________________________ 1995 – The Story of Ruby Bridges is
cultural legacy. Even more, the published
children of the city of New Orleans are
deserving of the opportunity to learn Altogether, this project involves a 24 1998 – Ms. Bridges receives the
in a first class, modern facility. million dollar investment, and our Presidential Citizens Medal from
hope is that it will signify Mays President Bill Clinton
Equipped with a variety of impressive Prep’s long term presence in a 2010 – Ms. Bridges is honored by
features, we hope to leverage our new community that we have been Mayor Mitch Landrieu,
campus to expand our course working with since inception. END. commemorating the Anniversary of
Frantz School’s integration

2. Mays Prep Staffer Lends Voice
TEACHER SPOTLIGHT
To National Conference
At Mays Prep, we take a tremendous amount of
pride when our teachers asked to share their
professional perspective about what we simply call,
“the work”.
This past summer, 3rd grade teacher Ms. Nicole Carryl
served as a featured speaker at a conference
organized by Tulane University’s African and African
Diaspora Studies Program entitled, “Before and After
Katrina: Black Education in New Orleans.”
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOCAqruOApE
Watch
it here! The conference’s panelists and presenters
“I am passionately
consisted of local and regional
committed to a
healthy disregard of
educators who were charged with sharing research,
the impossible” offering perspective, and pushing forward the
dialogue around the topic of Black Education in New
Third Grade Teacher, Nicole Carryl -N. Carryl Orleans.
Ms. Nicole Carryl is in her first Despite being one of the youngest of all the featured
r
of of service to Mays Prep, having previously taught 4th panelists, Ms. Carryl shared her thoughts on the
year
Quick Facts About Ms. Carryl
grade in the Recovery School District. Ms. Carryl is a impact that various external forces like housing,
native of Brooklyn, New York and is a 2004 graduate of
Hometown: Cincinnati, Ohio healthcare, unemployment, and public safety impact
Oakwood University in Huntsville, Alabama. She first
Alma mater: have on public education. Her reviews were
arrived in New Orleans in 2007 to pursue graduate
 Oakwood University, B.A. phenomenal. Each day, Mays Prep welcomes staff
studies at Tulane UniversityMA. has since combined her members who, like Ms. Carryl, share a similar passion
 Tulane University, and
professional, volunteer, and research experience to the for education and more specifically, for the fulfillment
field of education. Mays Prep is pleased to have Ms. Carryl
Why Mays Prep?: of our school-wide mission. To that end, we are lucky
on our team! to have her – and so are our scholars. END.
Mays Prep Needs You:
3 Ways to Support Our Work
MENTOR: We have several scholars who
1 are in need of mentors. Volunteering time in
this way could be immediately impactful.
DONATE: We would be appreciative of
2 donations of any sort; especially books,
computers, and cash contributions.
REPRESENT-Shirt: We welcome you to
3 purchase a Mays Prep T-shirt and wear it in
support of public charter schools in the city.
Mr. Matt Candler, volunteer and Mays Prep supporter, spends a little
time with a scholar

3. Partnerships Make Mays Prep’s First Annual Holiday
Giveaway a Smash!
Recently, Mays Prep partnered with
QCS Logistics, Feed the Children, All-
Pro Sports and Entertainment, and
Crocs Cares to execute our first
annual Holiday Giveaway.
The significance
The event represented an
opportunity for us to leverage our
local and national partnerships in a
way that benefits the school, and the
greater Mays Prep community.
School leader Duke Bradley says, “Of
course partnerships are essential to
the success of Mays Prep, but
___________________________________________
“…Memorandums of
Understanding set on paper mean
less than those partnerships that
have some demonstrable benefit
to our school community.”
___________________________________________
Former Saints great Willie Roaf (left)and current star Courtney Roby (right), support Mays Prep’s
Holiday Giveaway
Through this event, we were also able
to express our appreciation for the
support that our families have shown
us throughout the year while coming
together to fellowship and enjoy one
another.
What a day! What a day!
Stemming from our new
partnerships, Crocs Cares outfitted
every Mays Prep scholar with a new
pair of shoes. In addition, Feed the
Children provided over 1000
individual boxes of non-perishable
food items and personal care
products to every single Mays Prep
family. We can’t forget the additional
food donations provided by QCS
Logistics. To top it all off, All-Pro
Sports and Entertainment supported
the event by arranging for the
appearance of current and former
New Orleans Saints stars Courtney
Roby and Willie Roaf.
Altogether, this event represented
the true power of partnership. END. Mays Prep scholars and friends enjoying themselves during Holiday Giveaway ceremony

4. PHOTO OF THE MONTH QUOTABLE
“The new decade ought to
loom as a dynamic and
enormously creative era
[in] addressing our
educational challenges.
We’ve set heroic goals, are
constructing remarkable
tools, and have an
opportunity to rethink the
Taken from Education
Week, “The Same Thing
very shape of teaching,
Over and Over” learning, and schooling. Yet
we find ourselves rehashing
tired debates between public school defenders and
self described innovators….We don’t need
“innovation” or to “protect” public schools. The truth
is far simpler, and more frustrating than that.
Yesterday’s structures are ill suited for
today’s ambitions. Rethinking them is
not an attack or a solution; it is just
the inevitable precursor to crafting
New Orleans City Councilwoman Jackie Clarkson enjoys herself while better answers to today’s
reading to a group of Mays Prep scholars. challenges.”
– Frederick M. Hess
Discipline As a realized, a certain mindset must
be in place. In that sense, we
Cornerstone of view discipline as a cornerstone
of success in school and in life.
Success
Ms. Jasmine Graves who serves
At Mays Prep, we subscribe to 6 as our Dean of Students and
Families says,
core values: Hard Work,
______________________________________
Excellence, Respect, Discipline,
Determination, and Leadership. “Maintaining a disciplined
Each of these values are explicitly
school community allows us to
taught and every member of the
create the conditions whereby
Mays Prep community is held
our students can perform…”
accountable for actively
______________________________________
demonstrating them. We call it
“Living the Values”. disciplined school communities like
but we also want discipline to
fanatically straight lines and eerily quiet
correspond with an attitude that
Perhaps the most seemingly ill- hallways.
permeates our school community
defined of these values is
and penetrates the spirit of our
discipline. To us, however, We use discipline as a tool to instill a certain
students.” “It must be more than
discipline is not ill-defined at all quality within our students that will support
just a mechanism to control
and actually manifests very their ambitions and inform their habits
student behaviors and promote
distinctly within our school. It beyond their days at Mays Prep. Our hope is
operational efficiencies. It must
should be noted that the Mays that this quality will inspire an unrelenting
be a part of our psyche.” END.
Prep definition of discipline pursuit of academic excellence and a belief
extends beyond the most obvious that academic excellence can actually be
WE ARE MAYS PREP!
features of most other achieved. We believe that for this to be