| Mary McLeod Bethune Middle |
|
|
| Mary McLeod Bethune Middle School opened in the 2000-2001 school year, and is located on Covington Highway in south central DeKalb County. Bethune Middle School was named after the famous teacher and humanitarian who saw education as the key to improving the lives of young African-Americans, especially young women, nearly a century ago. |
| Mary McLeod Bethune Middle School is a school focused on academic achievement and the social, emotional, and physical well being of its children. It is upon this groundwork and the school motto of Pride, Promise, Potential, Power and Peace, that Bethune will enhance the lives of its students. |
|
|
To improve attendance on all grade levels. |
|
|
To improve all sub-groups’ scores on the CRCT and ITBS test. |
|
|
To improve “writing across the curriculum” in all subjects. |
|
|
To improve participation from all stakeholders. |
|
|
To improve pride and self respect among students and their peers. |
| Student test scores indicate many areas where special emphasis is essential. Extra importance has been placed on mathematics and reading by utilizing a daily reading class, with all students participating in reading during first period every day. Bethune has also implemented reading and math remediation classes during connections time for students who need the extra help. |
| Mary McLeod Bethune was born in 1875 and died in 1955. This outstanding American educator was born in Mayesville, South Carolina, and educated at Scotia Seminary and the Moody Bible Institute. She taught school in Florida and Georgia from 1897 to 1903, and in 1904 she founded the Daytona Educational and Industrial Training School for Negro Girls (now Bethune-Cookman College). From 1904 to 1942 and from 1946 to 1947 she was president of the college. |
| Mrs. Bethune held many other posts, including Director of Negro Affairs in the National Youth Administration from 1936-44 and consultant to the U.S. Secretary of War in the selection of the first female officer candidates for the armed services. She was appointed consultant on Interracial Affairs and Understanding at the charter conference of the United Nations. Mrs. Bethune founded the National Council of Negro Women and was a vice president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. |
 |
|
| Mary McLeod Bethune was recognized for her hard work during her lifetime and received many honors. She was a recipient of the Spingarn Medal in 1935, the Frances Drexel Award for Distinguished Service in 1937, and the Thomas Jefferson Award for leadership in 1942. She received an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree from Rollins College in 1949, the first African-American to receive an honorary degree from a white southern college. She became the first woman and the first African-American to be honored with a statue in a public park- Lincoln Park - in Washington, D.C. |
| The National Council of Negro Women, founded by Mrs. Bethune, is a charter Partner in Education to Bethune Middle School, and the members are working with us toward the goal of academic excellence for our children. |
| When Mary McLeod Bethune Middle School was dedicated, Mrs. Bethune’s great-great granddaughter, Mikesha Bethune, attended the ceremony. She later presented the school with a portrait of Mary McLeod Bethune as a gesture of appreciation and commitment to the excellence of Bethune Middle School. |
|
|
|
|
