Community Engagement & Partnerships
Our Mission focuses on the importance of community, and Maret has always sought to be a good neighbor and member of the DC community.
The School has developed longstanding relationships with dozens of organizations in the District. For 20 years Maret has hosted the six-week Horizons enrichment program on its campus. In addition, Maret offers its field and gyms to outside community groups (including DC Stoddert Soccer, MPD Soccer, and Boys & Girls Club Basketball) for over 1500 hours annually and also maintains the Jelleff Field in an ongoing partnership with DC Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR).
Maret Students in the Community
Building Partnerships
Our partnerships with neighboring organizations are integral to the student and faculty experience at Maret and have been developed over time through:
- Our Community Engagement Program integrated in the curriculum in all divisions
- Special events such as Community Service Day and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Weekend of Service
- Opportunities embedded in extracurricular clubs and activities, Intensive Study Week, and Senior Projects that allow students to work in the community and pursue personal interests in depth
Most recently, students have partnered with Martha’s Table, Anacostia River Project, Mazique Early Childhood Program, A Wider Circle, DC Central Kitchen, and Thrive DC.
Horizons
Maret is proud to have piloted the now multi-school Horizons Greater Washington program. Horizons' six-week summer enrichment program and school-year Saturdays help a diverse group of K-8 children from low-income families to develop a lifelong interest in learning, advance academic gains over the summer, and improve achievement in school. Each summer, Maret hosts roughly 130 students from around the city, and Maret students volunteer as Horizons Assistant Teachers.
In 2021, Maret’s college counseling office offered its first college information night for Horizons students in Grades 9–12 and their parents.
Jelleff Field and Recreation Center
In 2010, Maret entered into a partnership with DC Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) to improve the facilities at Jelleff for all DC residents in exchange for limited preferred permitting. By committing to Jelleff, Maret has helped create a vital asset that benefits the entire community.
Improvements included regulation-size fields for soccer, lacrosse, and baseball, and a complete rebuild of the pool and installation of lights and fencing. This agreement was extended for another nine years beginning in July 2020, at which time Maret provided additional funding to replace the worn turf, improve the fencing, and help with the renovation of the recreation center building.
Community Engagement and Maret’s Curriculum
Through partnerships across the city, the School has forged positive, long-lasting connections and helped students develop the skills necessary for a lifetime of community-based action.
Principles of Community Engagement
Our Community Engagement program provides opportunities for students to learn about the root causes of inequity and the stereotypes they see in their own communities and the larger world. As students explore their own identities within broader social and historical contexts, they learn how to question conventional ways of knowing and being, as well as how to advocate for a better future.