Mesiner Primary School of Affton School District Becomes a Mosaic Ambassador School
November 13, 2018
Contact: Vin Ko
St. Louis Mosaic Project
314-615-3900
Mesnier Primary School of Affton School District Becomes a Mosaic Ambassador School
Mesnier Primary School has already been a great advocate for promoting diversity in their school prior to joining the Mosaic Ambassador Schools. They welcome international families who visit the school with the international flags that adorn the entryway of the facility. In the past two years, Mesnier participated in a Heritage Festival that represented 15-19 countries offering a variety of cultural learning experiences. The parents and family members of Mesnier students participated in the event as well as the Affton High School’s Bosnian-American class, and volunteers shared many aspects of their culture such as geography, food, clothing, music and games from their countries. This year, instead of the Heritage Festival, Mesnier Primary School initiated a Cultural Highlights Program where parents are invited to his or her child’s classroom to share their culture.
About 24 different languages are spoken by the students at Mesnier Primary School. Mesnier offers English Language Learner (ELL) courses, and in addition to the regular ELL program, Mesnier Primary School also provides after school tutoring for ELL students who need extra support in reading. There are several staff members at Mesnier Primary School who are foreign-born and speak a second language; they are from Bosnia, Ukraine, and Albania. Many school documents at Mesnier are translated into multiple languages, and students’ works are shared via social media that every Mesnier family can access. Mesnier teachers use telephonic translator or use apps such as Talking Points to efficiently communicate with parents who are not native English speakers.
Mesnier is hoping to continue to find ways they can expand their community outreach to the St. Louis foreign born communities.
About the St. Louis Mosaic Project
The St. Louis Mosaic Project was launched in 2012 in response to an economic impact report, outlining St. Louis to be lagging in immigrant growth as well as highlighting the economic benefits of increasing its foreign-born population. The Mosaic Project is a regional initiative that is professionally managed by St. Louis Economic Development Partnership, World Trade Center St. Louis and a 32-member committee. Its goal is to transform St. Louis into the fastest growing major metropolitan area for immigration by 2025, to add 25,000 more foreign born to the region from 2016-2025 and to promote regional prosperity through immigration and innovation. Learn more at www.stlmosaicproject.org