OUR CORE VALUES

• MLK Friends works with the school community to meet the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. School school mission and to foster our School’s Core Values. (We show the core values in black and MLK Friends’ actions to foster these values in gold)
• Core Value – Family Involvement: All families are encouraged to support their child’s learning at home, to advocate for their child’s individual needs, to ask questions about their child’s education, and to become aware of what their child is learning and his/her progress.
• MLK Friends fosters this through:
  • 1) Outreach to current families to invite them to volunteer to serve in the community as members of groups such as:
    • year round opportunities: MLK Friends, school council, room parent/outreach to new families
    • weekly opportunities: Backpack program Friday morning volunteering
    • one-time volunteering opportunities: fundraisers, community school registration, moving day to the new school
  • 2) Funding events and activities including:
    • Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr Day celebration; the Chinese New Year celebration, play dates at local parks, movie nights, dance/activity parties.
  • 3) Outreach to new families to introduce them to our school through welcoming events. We will seek to continue to ensure that our entire school reflects the diversity of our Cambridge community.

• Core Value – Confidence and Self Worth: All students will feel confident, valued, aware of their unique strengths, and will develop as lifelong learners.
• MLK Friends fosters this through:
  • 1) Funding of school t-shirts so children proudly identify with the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. School.
  • 2) Funding enrichment programs for the entire school, and for families such as visits from special guests, puppet shows, and the Chinese New Year lion dance. MLK Friends parents have envisioned and organized wonderful events for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Day, Black History Month in collaboration with the school. 
  • 3) Assisting with basic needs including books from the book fair, and other needs identified by the School.

• Core Value – Achievement: All students can and will learn, reflecting individual learning styles and developmental stages. Consistent self‐discipline and effort will help each child achieve success as outlined in the curriculum frameworks.
• MLK Friends fosters this through:
  • 1) Facilitating adequate support for students’ learning and achieving in the target language, Chinese and in other subjects such as math, writing.
  • 2) Working together with the Community School Program to improve communication between families, staff, and the community school by including community school representation on MLK Friends, and participating in community school meetings.
  • 3) Helping to assess needs of students and families through the parent group, and guide community school programming.
  • 4) Assisting with volunteer and paid community school staffing by serving as conduit to families for one-time volunteer activities such as registrations, and to the greater community for part-time job opportunities for community school programming.
  • 5) Responding to requests from school staff who meet weekly to discuss resource challenges for individual students. MLK Friends can respond with assistance on basic items like clothing donations or academic items like funding additional after school homework assistance through scholarships.
  • 6) Helping to fund afterschool enrichment scholarships in coordination with MLKing school, MLKing afterschool, or community school.

• Core Value – Learning as a Process: All students and the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. School community will experience learning as an active and continuous process, which integrates and celebrates their ethnicity, learning styles, experiences, and interests.
• MLK Friends fosters this through:
  • 1) Supporting the International potluck dinner that celebrates the diverse backgrounds of our school community.
  • 2) Supporting the yearly school talent show to allow students to demonstrate their interests beyond the classroom.
  • 3) Hosting annual MLK book fair

• Core Value – Social Responsibility: All students and adults in the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. School will understand that as members of diverse school, neighborhood, and world communities they need to make responsible, respectful, and caring decisions that contribute to the improvement of their communities.
• MLK Friends fosters this through:
  • 1) Funding enrichment activities such as cultural and environmentally themed field trips and programs that allow children to explore their communities and consider the positive impact they can have as individuals both at school and beyond.
  • 2) Coordinating appropriate volunteer activities such as volunteering at Cradles to Crayons and the Annual Charles River Cleanup