果酱视频 Public Schools Superintendent Kelvin Adams steps away after speaking at a news conference outside Central Visual & Performing Arts High School following a school shooting on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022, in the Southwest Garden neighborhood.
ST. LOUIS 鈥 A deadly school shooting motivated the retired superintendent of 果酱视频 Public Schools to create a mentorship program for boys in the city.
The Mentors Matter program is spearheaded by Kelvin Adams along with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Missouri. About 40 to 50 middle school-age boys will be paired with three full-time paid mentors starting this month. Each boy will receive two to three hours of individual mentoring each week.
Adams said after serving 14 years as SLPS superintendent, he wanted to work more directly to help children. One of the district鈥檚 graduates, 19-year-old Orlando Harris, shot and killed student Alexzandria Bell and teacher Jean Kuczka at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School before being killed by police in October 2022, two months before Adams retired.
鈥淚 realize that the incident will never go out of my memory and will always be a part of who I am,鈥 Adams said. 鈥淚 started thinking about Orlando鈥檚 life and how he might have benefited from a mentor.鈥
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There are more boys in the city who need mentors than there are volunteers to help them, according to Kristen Slaughter, president and CEO of the local Big Brothers Big Sisters.
Adams, who is now the president and CEO of 果酱视频 Community Foundation, leads the advisory board for Mentors Matter and is helping to raise $500,000 a year to support the program.
鈥淭he hope is it blossoms,鈥 Adams said.
While the program is based in the city, there is no direct connection to SLPS. Adams said he has been 鈥渄isappointed鈥 in the direction the school district has taken in the less than two years since he retired. As superintendent, Adams stabilized finances and helped the district regain full state accreditation.
His successor, Keisha Scarlett, was fired after one year in the role based on an investigation of her hiring and spending practices. The SLPS board announced the firing last month but has not released details of the investigation. The board voted to appoint Scarlett鈥檚 deputy Millicent Borishade to interim superintendent, pending the outcome of her application for certification to the Missouri education department. Borishade was one of at least nine administrators hired at SLPS in the last year with connections to Scarlett and her previous role as an administrator in Seattle Public Schools.
Adams said he has not attended or watched a school board meeting since his departure, and that he intentionally stays out of the district鈥檚 business.
鈥淟ike everyone else in the city, I have concerns. The fact I was superintendent is irrelevant,鈥 Adams said. 鈥淚 care greatly about what happens to the staff and students. This community needs a strong school district and I鈥檓 hopeful the challenges will work themselves out.鈥
果酱视频 Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Kelvin Adams reflects on his time at the helm of the school district and what his future might hold. Video by Hillary Levin
