Dr. Jill Biden made a virtual appearance at North Augusta High School on Wednesday afternoon to announce the winners of the Military Child Education Coalition’s (MCEC) annual Student 2 Student Team of the Year competition.
“Military kids like you serve and sacrifice and you inspire us all. That doesn’t mean that this life isn’t challenging at times; it doesn’t mean you don’t deserve support,” the first lady said to the students. “That’s why we started building forces, so we could build partnerships with your schools and great organizations like MCEC, so we can work together to lift you up.”
North Augusta High School won the MCEC’s High School Team of the Year award for its Student 2 Student program. S2S is a student ambassador program that welcomes not only military families and kids to the district but also all new students to the school.
“It’s just a wonderful accomplishment for the school and for the students,” said Aiken County Public Schools Superintendent King Laurence. “I’m very proud of them. I’ve seen the effort that this school in general and these students in particular have put into being a welcoming and nurturing environment for our military families and particularly for our military students coming through this area.”
The main focus of S2S was to help new students learn about the area, doing service in the community and focus on academics by provide tutoring, said Renee Marion, the S2S sponsor and an English teacher at North Augusta High.
Students involved in S2S created coffee talks as a way to give new students a safe space to ask questions and be themselves, said Marion.
Read the full Aiken Standard article here.