About Benjamin E. Mays IB World School

The Saint Paul community established Benjamin E. Mays IB World School in 1977. The school honors Dr. Mays as a leader in education and a great communicator.

Our school is an authorized International Baccalaureate (IB)/Primary Years Programme (PYP) school. Benjamin E. Mays helps students gain skills to think critically, communicate, research, ask questions and take action in the world around them.

The IB/ PYP program strives to help students develop an international perspective and become productive global citizens through challenging instruction. Our specialist teachers help students explore their world through Spanish, physical education, art and more.

Students can learn beyond the school day with Freedom Schools Express twice a week. Partnership with the Saint Paul Promise Neighborhood (SPPN) provides us a unique connection to our neighborhood and additional support for our students and families.

We believe a strong partnership between home, school, and the community is important to the success of our students. Hundreds of volunteers read to our students every year, and parents are a powerful force in our school community.

Enrollment Pathway: Benjamin E. Mays (Areas A,B,C,E,F) --> Hazel Park, Ramsey or Highland Middle School --> Harding, Central or Highland High School

Special Features

Benjamin E. Mays is an International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (PYP) school.
Benjamin E. Mays is a Saint Paul Promise Neighborhood School
The school has two all-day pre-k classes
Interactive Whiteboards in most classroom (K -5)
Individual student iPads are available for Personalized Learning (Pre-K through 5)
The school offers enrichment classes in Art, Physical Education, Science and Spanish
Discovery Club offers a program before and after school (fee charged)

Mission Statement

School Vision:

Develop confident, literate, and responsible students who will be able to think critically, make great decisions, and become internationally minded students who pursue post secondary educational options.

School Mission:

Through rigorous intercultural and interdisciplinary studies, students will be empowered with the communication and leadership skills necessary to become productive global citizens who are inquiring, knowledgeable, and caring.

The Legacy

Our school's namesake, Dr. Benjamin E. Mays, was a great speaker, writer, teacher, administrator, and advisor to historical figures worldwide. In other words, Dr. Mays was a great leader and communicator. His communication and leadership skills were assets that he utilized throughout his illustrious career.

We believe that our students can also become great leaders and communicators. We believe that a student who can communicate effectively will be prepared to assume a leadership role with confidence, compassion, and integrity.

Benjamin E. Mays - The Man

Benjamin E. Mays

Dr. Benjamin Elijah Mays was a giant in the Christian ministry and American education. He is remembered for his outstanding leadership and service as a teacher, preacher, mentor, scholar, author and activist in the civil rights movement.

Born August 1, 1894 near Epworth, South Carolina, he was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Bates College in Maine. He served as pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church from 1921-1923 in Atlanta, Georgia. Recruited by Morehouse President John Hope, Mays would join the faculty as a mathematics teacher and debate coach. He obtained a master's degree in 1925 and in 1935 a Ph.D. degree from the University of Chicago. In 1934, he was appointed dean of the School of Religion at Howard University and served until 1940.

He became president of Morehouse College in 1940 and launched a 27-year tenure that shepherded the institution into international prominence. He upgraded the faculty, secured a Phi Beta Kappa chapter and sustained enrollment during wartime America. His most noted forum was Tuesday morning Chapel in historic Sale Hall, where he challenged and inspired the students to excellence in scholarship and in life itself. One of Morehouse's most distinguished graduates, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. '48, remembers Dr. Mays as his "spiritual mentor" and "intellectual father."

Upon his retirement, he served as president of the Atlanta Board of Education from 1970 to 1981.Throughout his educational career, he would receive 56 honorary degrees, including a posthumously awarded degree from Columbia University. He published nearly 2000 articles and nine books.

In 1926, he married Sadie Gray, a teacher and social worker, who died in 1969. Dr. Mays died in 1984.

School Challenge

The world belongs to us,
And we will accept the challenge
To represent the global community in a caring way.

We are the ultimate students.
We renew our quest for excellence everyday
By being inquirers and critical thinkers.

We pledge to be open-minded, well-balanced,
And to live by high ideals and principles.

We strive to be responsible risk-takers
Who believe that “It is not a disgrace not to reach the stars,
But it is a disgrace to have no stars to reach for."

Knowledge will be our goal.
Reflection and communication will be our means
For making this world a better place.
We are the ultimate students.
The world belongs to us,
The future belongs to us and
Today begins with us!

The quote in italics is from our school’s namesake, Dr. Benjamin E. Mays.
The words in bold represent the Learner Profile of the International Baccalaureate Organization.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

560 Concordia Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55103

Grades: PreK-5
School Hours: 7:30 a.m.-2 p.m.
Building Hours: 7 a.m.-2:30 p.m.

Office: 651-325-2400
Fax: 651-325-2401

Attendance: 651-325-2499
mays.attendance@spps.org

Transportation: 651-696-9600

Principal: Dr. Kenneth Turner

Staff Directory