The Robert W. Barros ’52 Endowed Scholarship
Criteria: (One $1,000.00 Award) The Robert W. Barros ’52 Endowed Scholarship will be awarded to a full-time elementary education student who has maintained a G.P.A. of 3.0 or higher. Applicants must provide a short essay attesting to their need for this scholarship.
Starting your own private elementary school takes a leap of faith, especially if you are young and just starting out in your career. That’s just what Robert Barros ’52 did eight years after graduating with a degree in elementary education from Worcester State, founding the Mater Dei School in Silver Springs, MD.
He credits the dynamic Education Professor Elizabeth Foster, at the time director of teacher training, with inspiring him to have the courage to start a school from scratch.
“I learned so much from her. She told me, you can’t be afraid,” says Barros.
After a stint in the U.S. Marines that included an 18-month deployment in Japan, Barros pursued a master’s degree at the University of Maryland while teaching part-time. He recognized a missing link in the private educational offerings in the Washington, DC area: a quality Catholic elementary school for boys. He and his wife, Carroll Ann, opened Mater Dei in 1960, welcoming 35 students in an old barn.
More than 50 years later, the school is still going strong, educating 225 boys from grades one through eight on a 10-acre campus. Mater Dei’s motto “Work hard, play hard, pray hard and be a good guy,” reflects a focus on academics, athletics and religion that appeals to old, established Washington, DC, Catholic families, Barros says.
Although Barros retired in 1985 and now lives in Florida, he returns to the Mater Dei campus often. He is impressed with continued improvement of the facilities and the growth in faculty, and he proudly notes that current Headmaster William McMurtrie and President Ned Williams are both alumni of Mater Dei. Barros is also notes that two of his grandsons are currently enrolled, one in the third grade and one in the sixth grade, continuing the Barros family connection to Mater Dei into the next generation.Because of his lifelong dedication to education, Barros decided to give back to Worcester State University by funding a scholarship for students who are interested in the education field. “I feel strongly that if you are in a position to offer help, you do it,” says Barros, adding that Worcester State prepared him to handle life’s challenges and he hopes future students will be similarly inspired.