Above: Sixth-grader and Woodbury MAC
Scholar Michael Ratcliffe and Vanderbilt
University Freshman and former MAC
Scholar Khalil Abdullah (SHHS ‘19)
Opposite: Retired MAC Scholars Advisor
Mary Lynne McGovern (center) and
Hubert McIntyre (to her right) pose with
MAC Scholars from the past 29 years.
Current MAC Scholars Advisor Nate
Reese is also pictured (first row, third
from the right).
Positive Reflections:
MAC Sister Scholars
Shapes Young Women into Leaders
After the successful start of the MAC Scholars Program, the MAC Sister Scholars
for girls formed in 1997.
“Based on data, I think we tend to be more concerned about African
American boys than girls,” explains Tracy Williams, co-advisor to the MAC Sister
Scholars program. “But if something is affecting the boys, then it’s also affecting
the girls, and it’s important not to overlook that.”
Like the MAC Scholars program, the MAC Sister Scholars originated at
Shaker Heights High School. Today, students can enter the program as early as
fifth grade at Woodbury. MAC Sister Scholars also is student-driven with a focus
on mentoring younger students and community service.
“We talk about the issues that are important to teenagers. Sometimes, as
adults, we forget how vulnerable they are at this age,” Williams says. “Often
the girls are just as eager to talk about what it means to be a successful student
or getting into college as they are to talk about natural hair care. The program
is successful because the Sister Scholars are having discussions about what’s
relevant to them.”
This year, the Sister Scholars intend to reach out more to students in grades
K-4 to plant the seeds of interest at an even younger age.
“These programs are so important, especially given what we know about
racial identity development in children,” Williams says. “It’s important that black
students have spaces where their identity can be positively reflected back at them.
Programs like MAC Scholars and MAC Sister Scholars prepare students to go out
into the world feeling fully defined, just as we want all of our teens to feel when
they leave high school.”
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