Class Act:
10 East Boston High School Students
Nominated by:
Lisa Murray
Nomination Story:
Please consider this group of amazing East Boston High School students who serve as volunteer science mentors to 6th graders and kindergarteners at the Mario Umana Middle School Academy in East Boston.
The “Class Act”:
A team of ten East Boston High School students have volunteered to serve as science mentors to 6th graders and kindergarteners at the Mario Umana Middle School Academy. These students visit the Umana K-8 School one afternoon per week. In the 6th grade classroom, the high school students lead the middle school students through environmentally focused lessons and community-based, hands-on activities. They are also helping the Umana students to design an effective recycling campaign with guidance from teachers and graduate student mentors from MIT and Harvard. Additionally, both middle and high school students involved in the program participate in relevant field trips to a local environmentally focused research facility (Beyond Benign) and a recycling center. Lastly, there are individual and classroom contests to promote the use of reusable bottles and minimize disposable drinking devices. Separately, in the kindergarten classroom, these student mentors read nonfiction science books to the kindergarteners and lead related science mini-lessons.
The Goal:
The goal of the program is to educate both middle and high school students about waste reduction and water conservation. This program is supported by a Community Grant from the Brown Rudnick Charitable Foundation Corp., a nonprofit, tax-exempt entity established by attorneys from the law firm of Brown Rudnick LLP.