CORE | Coalition for Residential Education

Marion Saunders

Marion Saunders has been with Girard College for most of his life. Although only technically employed there for 25 years, Mr. Saunders’ connection with the school began long ago. Growing up in North Philadelphia during the ’60s, just blocks from the walled-in campus, he was familiar with the school and the students it served.

“I can remember as a small child being aware of Girard’s presence in North Philly. I remember the marches around the wall in the 60s, the people insisting on integration in the school.” Girard did integrate in 1967, and only eleven years later, after receiving a Bachelor’s degree in Social Relations from Carnegie-Mellon and serving a short stint in the military, Mr. Saunders took his first position with the school as Houseparent.

Over the course of the next 22 years, he rose through the ranks at Girard, from Senior Houseparent, to Supervising Senior Houseparent, to Director of Student Programs, and finally to Dean of Students in 1999. Living on-campus with his family, Saunders oversees the residential program for high-school students, chairs several committees, and deals with student relations in a range of capacities.

This is a busy man. In fact, at the time of this interview he had just finished all-weekend duty followed by a full day’s work. But signs of sleep-deprivation went unnoticed. The passion and enthusiasm with which he spoke was invigorating. As we walked across campus, past the impressive stone buildings, Mr. Saunders stopped to greet each passing student by name. Even on such a blustery cold day at Girard, a real sense of warmth was apparent, a warmth that no-doubt Marion Saunders helped to create.

Julie Selvaggi (CORE staff): What is the vision that you have for your students?

Marion Saunders: We want our students to leave here with a good solid education, and a foundation on which to grow. We want them to be life-long learners. We want them to further their education. We want them to be good citizens — people that you wouldn’t mind living next door to, and of course having the skills necessary to manage their lives.

JS: Well, with an impressive 100% of your students getting accepted into 4-year colleges, it seems that the vision is being realized. What kinds of significant changes do you see in your students from when they enroll until when they graduate?

MS: We see so much maturity, a hunger, a focus, a belief in their future. We see that spark; they are enthusiastic about their future. One of the most enjoyable aspects of the job is graduation. Getting to watch them march down the aisle and see that their eyes are bright because they are thinking about their future. It’s so gratifying to play a part in making these kids life-long learners.

JS: What do you consider the most frustrating part of your job?

MS: Not having all the resources I would like to have. Many of our students, coming from low-income, single-parent households, have many needs. There are some issues that I don’t always have enough time to adequately address, don’t always have the time to walk families through the adjustment phase. We enroll a child here with the expectation that we going to provide them with an education that will make them as competitive as a student from any other school, but of course, the families don’t want to be left behind in the process. It takes some investment of time to really function as a partnership with the families.

JS: What is the relationship Girard has with the parents?

MS: Our relationship with the parents has improved tremendously over the past few years. We really believe in the parent partnership. The parents come with a great deal of anticipation, and because most of our parents aren’t themselves from this background, they have a great deal of vulnerability. They are exposing themselves, the child is representing them. So they give us a lot of trust, but there is also great deal of anxiety.

JS: What is the ideal student for Girard College? Is there a profile?

MS: Students who have a good self-esteem, and that’s something that’s often very hard for students coming from single parent households because they need to be validated. If they feel that you’re attacking their parents’ lifestyle, really you’re attacking the child. You want the students to have confidence and be risk-takers, but most importantly we want them to be excited about learning. Some internal mechanism of self-discipline is necessary because at a boarding school there are so many rules and there isn’t a whole lot of negotiation with the rules.

JS: Why do you think that the residential education setting works best for these types of kids?

MS: First of all, safety is probably the driving force. We can offer some things that other, bigger schools can’t — like smaller class sizes, which means more attention for the student. We have a clear vision of where our students are going. When children come out of here, they are able to go on and fulfill their dreams.

JS: What’s your inspiration? What keeps you going?

MS: For me it’s easy. I love God, and my upbringing taught me that god is the ultimate authority and also the ultimate servant. Those he loved serving most of all were children. I love serving children. I love watching them get that light in their eye when they understand something. I love to see when their grown and they’ve become the type of person that I want living next-door to me.

Marion Saunders is the type of person that any person would want living next-door. How lucky for the ones who reserve that honor – the students at Girard College.

January 2005