Seventeen students, three faculty, and two children from historic Sumner High School in St. Louis, Missouri, visited Delta State University last week. The group was hosted by the Delta Center for Culture and Learning at Delta State and was introduced to the Delta by Lee Aylward, program associate for education and community outreach, at the Delta Center.
Sumner High School was the first public school established for African American students west of the Mississippi River.
The group stayed in Cleveland and visited the campuses of Delta State University, the University of Mississippi, and Jackson State University.
This tour was supported by Gear-Up a federal program that encourages high school students to attend college.
The tour was led by Claude Weathersby, an official with the Gear-Up program in the St. Louis schools.
Weathersby first visited the Delta in March with a student group led by Susan Lampros who was a teacher participant in a workshop presented by the Delta Center in 2009.
