By Maggie Hureau | Corporate Partnerships Manager
Donations received through Global Giving and from the Microsoft Match fund our Whole School Whole Child (WSWC) program, which places a corps of young leaders in the Little Rock schools that disproportionally contribute to our city’s high dropout rate.
Through WSWC, corps members are able to serve as “near-peer” tutors, mentors, and role models to struggling students, specifically in the areas of attendance, behavior, and course performance. By working with students who need extra care and attention and bringing them back on-track to their peers, City Year will help more students graduate, leading to a better Little Rock for all of us.
In the 2012-2013 school year, City Year corps members served 308 students through the WSWC program. Because of increased corporate and community support, we will grow by 10 corps members and expand into another school in the upcoming year, allowing us to impact even more students.
eNewsletter story written by Cindy Ruiz, 12-13 Corps Member, JA Fair High School City Year is a story of a relationship built with different team members, supervisors and students. Becoming mentors, tutors and allies is a process of my year of service. After five months of building relationships with my students, they know that having a City Year comes with a price. The price was having to meet my high expectations of them.
Many of the students do not have someone in their lives who holds them accountable for their school work or behavior. Now my students know that I hold them accountable for their work. I found that I was quick to discover my starfish story. Kristina: lovely, sassy, spunky, and loved to play dumb. I knew she had potential, but had her priorities elsewhere.
When I met her, I realized she was your average ninth grader; her interests included boys and physical appearance. She did not want to be inside the classroom setting; the setting of learning and autonomy was not her thing. She was quick to ask for a bathroom pass. When granted permission to go to the bathroom, she would take a 15 minute trip, down the hallways to the restroom. While in the restroom she would chat with whoever, making sure to touch up her make-up and fix her hair. I knew there was more to this student than a lovely face.
One day, when I asked Kristina what she was writing, she responded: a love letter. I quickly took this interest of hers and in her words today, “tricked” her into correcting her grammar and spelling. I ended our moment folding her love letter in the shape of a heart and teaching her something more. I sent her away assuring her that brains and beauty is what a guy seeks. I allowed her to ask questions, and shared a story of my own high school experience. She chuckled and to this day is one of my best students. I have seen Kristina turn in assignments and trust me to hold her work so she does not misplace it. I am proud to not see her wandering the hallways or spending time in the bathroom.
My starfish story has only begun, from someone who fought to be alone, to someone who now understands her own intelligence. I hope I can only continue to give her the tools and skills necessary for her to gain confidence in herself and become an educated young woman of color.
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