Samantha Kaurich, a 2011 graduate of Notre Dame Prep, is putting her high school mission into practice by spending time at a Detroit elementary and middle school as part of City Year Detroit.
Kaurich, who graduated from Grand Valley State University with a degree in juvenile justice, is working at Noble Elementary and Middle School as a member of City Year Detroit, which provides support to thousands of students in high-need Detroit public schools.
Recently, Kaurich and Shari Phillips, a religion teacher in Notre Dame’s upper division, put together a special food drive for needy Detroit school families.
“This year, NDP’s Optimist Club sponsored two drives for Noble,” Phillips said. “A winter coat drive in November and now this food drive. Our kids along with Kaurich were able to collect enough food for 25 families in need.”
Students in Notre Dame’s upper division load food collected for Detroit schoolchildren.
More on City Year Detroit
Nearly a third of students in Detroit’s public schools drop out. The consequences for our community are real: students who drop out are eight times more likely to become incarcerated and three times more likely to be unemployed. When a student drops out of school it has a lasting effect on our communities and society as a whole. Students who drop out earn roughly $1 million less than high school graduates. Furthermore, out-of-school, out-of-work youths collectively cost Americans about $1.6 trillion in increased social services and lost earnings and taxes over the course of their lifetimes. But there is a solution. Using near-peer mentors in Detroit’s most under-served schools to address specific areas that lead to students dropping out, City Year helps close the gap, between what students need to succeed and what schools are designed to provide.
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About Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy
Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. The school's upper division enrolls students in grades nine through twelve and has been named one of the nation's best 50 Catholic high schools (Acton Institute) four times since 2005. Notre Dame's middle and lower divisions enroll students in jr. kindergarten through grade eight. All three divisions are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." The Marist Fathers and Brothers sponsor NDPMA's Catholic identity and manages its educational program. Notre Dame is accredited by the National Association of Independent Schools, the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy, visit the school's home page at www.ndpma.org.