A group of Bishop O'Connell students attended the inaugural Diocesan Peer Mentor Leadership Institute at Marymount University last week. These students, who serve as peer mentors as a part of the school's expanded services for students with cognitive and intellectual disabilities, joined 30 other high school students from across Arlington Diocese, in a collaborative event, hosted by the university.

"One of the things that I focused on when I got here is giving and empowering the diocesan schools with the tools and strategies they need, so we all can collaborate together," said Clara Hauth, assistant professor of special education at Marymount.

"We believe our mentors are the inclusion leaders of the future," said Susan Rinaldi, the director of expanded services at O'Connell. "We hope they will go forth to help facilitate greater inclusion for individuals with disabilities in society at large, in their future destinations for college, the workplace, their churches and communities."

Bishop O'Connell has more than 90 trained peer mentors who are instrumental in providing a true inclusive experience for all students at the school.

Read more about the Marymount event at "Bringing out the best in everyone," Arlington Catholic Herald, Nov. 7-20, 2019. Page B1.

Read more about Bishop O'Connell's Inclusion Through Expanded Services.