St. James parent Kenneth Thompson sharing his inspiring story. For more videos of the event, please visit our website.

As guests walked from the cocktail tent to the dinner tent, they encountered enthusiastic 4th graders and student members of the St. James Garden Club decked out in t-shirts identifying them as Junior Staff. “Would you like to make a glitter jar? Would you like to take home a plant?” they asked, beckoning guests over to two student activity tables.

After a delicious buffet dinner provided by Di Bruno Bros, the program began with 4th grader Kahliya asking, “Are you ready to move your bodies?” She and her classmates led guests through the activities with which the class starts each day: energizing exercises, followed by a relaxing breathing activity using glitter jars.

Guests also heard from several graduates, including Justin Best, Class of 2016, a rising junior at Ursinus College. He shared a favorite memory: the day he slept in and his teacher came to his house and told him to get dressed and come to class. “That’s how I knew St. James was for me,” Justin said. “They go above and beyond for the students each and every day.”

Shaniyah Williams, also Class of 2016, recently completed a dental hygiene degree program at Manor College. She echoed Justin’s sentiments. “St. James helped me to stay focused to continue learning,” she shared. “They did not give up on me.”

One of the most compelling stories came from a parent of Kwymaje '15, Kenneth Thompson, who was in the first class at St. James. “Looking back on the decision [to send Kwymaje to send St. James], I believe that decision saved my son’s life,” Mr. Thompson shared. He told about the challenges of parenting while he was incarcerated, and credited the extra support Kwymaje received from St. James as changing both of their lives. After Mr. Thompson shared his plans to set up a program to serve children of incarcerated parents, the audience rose for a standing ovation.

In keeping with our event theme of health and wellness, we recognize our two honorees for their work to advance health equity in Philadelphia.

Dr. Stanford could not join us in person due to her recent appointment by President Joe Biden as regional director of Health and Human Services. However, she recorded a video message, displayed on large monitors, sharing that she is inspired by the work of our co-founder, Dr. Evans, and grew up not far from St. James. Accepting on her behalf was her brother, Kamau Stanford, who succeeded her as CEO of Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium.

Kamau offered three things to consider: 1) "Think outside the box." 2) "Passion and purpose are the fuels of your success." 3) “What would Jesus do?” He shared that his sister started the consortium because health care wasn't coming fast enough to minority communities, and that they have vaccinated over 100,000 people. Because she possesses AGAPE love — love that is immeasurable, self-sacrificing, and demonstrated through action — she also started the Dr. Ala Stanford Center for Health Equity, which serves anyone who needs medical care. He emphatically proclaimed, “My team will work with St. James School to make sure we build a relationship and provide care for every student that ever goes to the St. James School.”

One of the evening's honorees, African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas receiving award. For more photos of the event, please visit this album.

Father Shaw spoke of the pandemic and thanked God for the blessing of the vaccine. Partnering with Lankenau Hospital, the church set up one of the first vaccination clinics in Philadelphia. Father Shaw said, "To us, proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ means to love and serve others."

The evening concluded with the Young Professionals After Party, held in a picnic area under twinkling lights. It featured a lively performance from Kimpedros NU GRuV Network and pizza from Down North. Maggie Sanborn, co-head of the "Yo-Pro" group, said, “It was a wonderful way to end the night!”

Thank you to everyone who made the evening a great success through sponsoring, attending, promoting, and otherwise supporting the event!

For more photos of the event, please visit this album.

Twenty-four principals from across the city have been selected in a highly competitive process to receive the prestigious Neubauer Fellowship this year. Among them is St. James School Principal Dave McDonough!

He leads the only faith-based school in this cohort. Four lead charter schools and 19 lead district schools. Together they have 122 years of principal experience.

Neubauer Fellows commit to a two-year transformative experience that will deepen critical skills to elevate school performance and student outcomes. Participants learn from nationally recognized authors, researchers, practitioners, and from one another. Mr. McDonough says he is “excited to learn new techniques and strategies and share them with our staff to bring teaching and learning at St. James School to the next level.”

On average, schools led by Neubauer Fellows improve more than three times as much as other schools in elementary and middle school math and English language arts (ELA). Mr. McDonough views his fellowship as particularly valuable given the unprecedented stresses placed upon both students and educators by the COVID-19 pandemic. “Over the last two years, we principals have had to adapt and be creative," he observes. "I look forward to hearing what others share through their strategies and stories.”

The goal for Neubauer Fellows is to drive student growth and advance equity in Philadelphia’s schools through cutting-edge approaches to education. Currently, 113 fellows lead 113 district, charter and faith-based schools educating nearly 66,000 students. In addition, 27 fellows serve as system-level leaders who supervise, support or develop principals and thereby indirectly impact another 34,000 students. In total, Neubauer Fellows serve nearly half of Philadelphia’s schoolchildren.

An art showcase on the Yellow Brick Road attracted members of the St. James community to view works by our talented art students. It was a beautiful day and donuts were provided for snacking.

Theater Week, presented by Missoula Children’s Theatre, returned after two years and much anticipation! Our students auditioned, rehearsed, and performed "Rumpelstiltskin" in just one week! Special thanks to Mercy Career and Technical for providing a wonderful performance space.

It’s field trip season and all of our students are heading off on exciting adventures!

Our 5th graders recently visited the Philadelphia Zoo and 6th graders (pictured here) spent an amazing day at the Adventure Aquarium in Camden.

Our 4th graders went to the Museum of the American Revolution, 7th graders took a riveting bus tour of Old City, and 8th graders enjoyed their long-awaited day trip to Washington, DC!

We are looking forward to our 14th summer camp! It all began in 2009 when a day camp was first held on our campus for neighborhood children. City Camp ran for three years before our school opened and many of the summer camp traditions formed then live on at St. James. We are back for a full month of camp this July: three weeks of STEAM Academy and one week at every student’s favorite environmental adventure sleepaway experience, NorthBay Adventure Camp!

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Calling faith community partners! Ready to step up to the Summer Camp Challenge? Click here to learn how you and your congregation can help provide an unforgettable summer experience to our students or contact Maggie Sanborn at msanborn@stjamesphila.org.