Mission Statement

Marian Middle School, a Catholic school welcoming adolescent girls of all backgrounds, is committed to breaking the cycle of poverty through education. Marian fosters each student’s spiritual, academic, social, moral, emotional, and physical development from middle school through post-secondary education as a foundation for career success.

Impact

Founded on the premise that all girls, regardless of race, ZIP code, or socioeconomic status, deserve a comprehensive, high-quality education that incorporates the richness of the diversity of our region, Marian works to break the cycle of generational poverty by transforming the future of girls from low-income backgrounds and communities of color with our unique, three-part educational model.

• Marian’s Academic Program combines multidisciplinary and hands-on learning to prepare girls for high-paying sustainable careers, especially STEM careers.
• The Enrichment Program provides opportunities for girls to engage in learning, empowerment, skill building, character growth, and leadership development to ease their transitions into high school extracurricular activities and help them develop healthy habits, make positive lifestyle choices, and form valuable relationships.
• Through the Graduate Support Program, Marian’s advisors connect girls to extracurricular activities, internships, scholarships, college resources, and career opportunities. Most importantly, Graduate Support Staff build strong, lasting relationships with our students as mentors and models throughout their young adult lives.

With the support of generous partners like the DBCT, Marian implemented our Graduate Support Program (GSP) in 2003, when the first class of students graduated from 8th grade. GSP enabled Marian to fully realize one of the most important aspects of a NativityMiguel model school: shepherding educational careers into high school and college. We have learned that simply enrolling a Marian Girl in a high-performing high school is not enough to ensure success. These environments are far different than what they, or their families, are used to. Marian graduates report facing challenges in high schools such as racism, minority status, social exclusion, financial insecurity, or being unprepared for the social environment of high school. Graduate support is an integral part of the intensive, long-term support that Marian provides to prepare economically disadvantaged girls for postsecondary education as the primary route to good-paying jobs and self-sufficient lives. With GSP, Marian addresses the entire college and career access pipeline from setting college as a goal, rigorous academic preparation, understanding the college process and having the mentoring and holistic support necessary to persist to college graduation.

After two decades of supporting Marian alumnae, GSP continues to evolve and adapt to societal trends. The Dana Brown Charitable Trust grants have supported GSP in fostering students’ and alumnae’s holistic development in middle and high school as a launching pad for postsecondary and career success, breaking the cycle of poverty. Grant funds help Marian ensure the academic, social, and emotional success of up to 65 economically disadvantaged girls in middle school and 65 alumnae in local high schools.