Photo of Children at the Mentee Foundation
Samuel Joseph Mentee
Our mission is to build and maintain a self-sustaining school that continually engages the community in its goals and growth. We will focus on both the development of our students and their families as we empower our students to become builders and leaders of their communities, prepare families to raise healthy and educated children, and empower women to make choices about their futures and families.
The Mentee Educational Foundation is committed to providing comprehensive education to Liberian children, regardless of their income level. We are building the Kakata Community School in Kakata, Liberia. The school will be free to all students attending, unlike the current public school system. The school will be open to both boys and girls and will reflect the ethnic and racial diversity of the surrounding area. Because the need for early childhood education is greatest in Liberia, the Kakata Community School will concentrate on providing an excellent foundation of schooling at the first and second grade level. As the students progress through each grade level, the school will grow to offer additional levels of schooling.
Our name honors the legacy of Samuel J. Mentee, who influenced the development of Liberia’s educational system throughout the latter part of the twentieth century. To learn more about Samuel J. Mentee, read Our Story.
Education:
The Kakata Community School will incorporate the curriculum published by the Liberian Ministry of Education, but will also include subjects such as music, home economics, art, and international education. By including a wide range of subjects, we hope to achieve deeper learning that touches on all student learning styles, interests, and talents. A comprehensive curriculum and a broad education will encourage student excitement for learning and attract talented teachers to the school.
Teachers:
Working in tandem with Stephanie Vickers, the president of the non-profit organization Friends of Liberia, our school will actively recruit a talented pool of teachers to facilitate learning at the Kakata Community School. We intend to provide our teachers and students with the tools to build better communities by expanding on the training that our educators have already received. In particular, the school will adopt the LEAP teacher-training program, which focuses on providing teachers with the tools necessary to build an interactive and hands-on learning environment. We hope to expand the number of teachers each year as students progress through grades.
School Building:
We are committed to constructing buildings that are environmentally sustainable and maintained by local community members. We plan to construct our buildings utilizing local labor and materials whenever possible, providing jobs and enhancing community investment in the school, as well as reducing transportation costs and environmental impact. In addition, the design of the buildings will optimize the use of natural sunlight and build on the existing structures on the property, further reducing our environmental impact.
Our Story
Samuel Joseph Mentee (Sam) was born on May 22, 1921 in the village of Mentee Town, Little Kola, Liberia. From the time he was a small child, he understood the importance of quality education. His Aunty Bahyoe, who had never received formal education herself, sent him to school outside of Mentee Town so that he could have opportunities for his future. He eventually obtained his teaching diploma and moved to Kakata, Liberia, where he began his first teaching job. He later became principal at the Kakata Grammar School where he met his wife, fellow educator Mary Sieanyeneh Dennis.
Sam continued his career basing his work on what his Aunty Bahyoe had instilled in him, that the only way to truly excel was through a good education. He studied in the United States and Britain, earning his B.A. in Education and Journalism from Syracuse University, an M.A. in Education from the Tuskegee Institute, and a Teaching Certificate from Manchester University.
After becoming the Director of Teacher’s Placement for the Liberian Ministry of Education, he operated under the idea that education should be available to all, whether rich or poor, from the village or from the city. He wanted every child to have a free education, and strove to find moments outside of school to teach. He even served as Kakata’s Boy Scouts Leader, and he could often be found helping kids learn to tie knots on ropes outside his home. He was well known by all Liberians, and even those who didn’t know him personally called him “Teacher Mentee” or “Dad.”
Throughout his life, Sam maintained strong ties with his birth village of Mentee Town and adult home of Kakata. Although he and his wife had only three biological children, they helped provide education to forty-two foster children, all children of friends and relatives from various villages in Liberia. Sam believed that if a child was given an opportunity to learn at an early age, that child would grow into one of tomorrow’s leaders.
Today the Mentee Educational Foundation continues the legacy of Sam & Mary in its attempt to provide free education to the children of Liberia.
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