Calling All Angels
![8.14.East.Mentors.Photo](http://greaterparkhill.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/8-14-east-mentors-photo.jpg?w=300)
Mentors Sought to Boost East High Students
By Susan V. Beyer
Ten years ago East High parents Jessica Pearson and Caren Press started the A+ Angels Program to help to bridge the achievement gap at East High School.
Although East High had strong Advanced Placement classes and a nationally acclaimed Constitutional Scholars team, academic performance and graduation rates lagged for the school’s black (26 percent) and Hispanic (26 percent) students.
Pearson and others at East High were determined to support students who struggled academically by pairing them with adult volunteers from the community who could provide extra help. The A+ Angels Mentor Program that Pearson still directs, now has nearly 100 mentor-student pairs, and the East High graduation rate has increased from approximately 75 percent when the program began in 2004, to over 90 percent in 2014.
Ideally, the mentoring program assists the student from freshman year through high school graduation and on into college. Many of the students are the first in their family to graduate from high school; most A+ Angel mentees have significant socio-economic and academic challenges. Some are the primary breadwinners for their families, holding down part or full-time jobs in addition to attending high school.
Mentors generally meet with their assigned student once a week and also keep in contact with the mentee throughout the week by text or phone call. In addition to building a solid relationship, mentors help by reviewing the student’s grades weekly, working on homework and organization, meeting with teachers and counselors, arranging for peer or faculty tutors and, later on, applying for jobs internships and college. Mentees are taken to school and DCPA plays by their mentors and some attend local athletic events with their mentor.
Currently, 30 East High freshmen will need a mentor for the upcoming 2014-2014 school year. Training for new mentors will be held on Saturday, Aug. 16, from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at East High School. If you would like to learn more about becoming an A+ Angel Mentor, contact Jessica Pearson, Program Director Jpear2071@msn.com or Claire Slattery Quintanilla, Program Coordinator Claire.slatteryquintanilla@gmail.com, telephone 719-849-3654.