“We as a
community have to take greater responsibility for what’s happening with our
children”
-From Voices for the Common Good: America Speaks
Out on Education, a report from the hundreds of community conversations on
education that United Ways have hosted.
What is Step Up for Students?
Step Up for
Students is a United Way
of Greater Duluth and Duluth Area Family YMCA campaign to inspire people to
‘Step Up’ and become academic mentors in our community schools.
Why now?
The Duluth YMCA and United Way of Greater Duluth recognize the need for increased classroom support to our area students. Today, statistics show that overall, 26% of our
community’s children are not graduating from high school in four years. For Black
children not of Hispanic origin and American Indian/Alaskan Native children,
that number increases to 75% and 66% respectively. We as a community - as parents, siblings, concerned citizens - can work together to improve on-time graduation rates, right here in Duluth, right now. United Way of Greater Duluth's Community Impact approach identifies
tutoring and mentoring as a crucial element of an education framework
that will help our kids graduate on time. By becoming a mentor you can impact a group of students right away, but your efforts are also a long-range investment in our community.
What does it mean to be an ‘academic
mentor’?
An academic
mentor combines the educational element of tutoring with the emotional support
of mentors. They serve in our schools and assist students with schoolwork,
while providing guidance, advice, and a steady presence in a student’s life. Anyone
can be an academic mentor.
How Can I Help?
The need is there - the students are waiting for you
to Step Up! Here are the steps to start making a difference in a student’s academic
achievements:
1) Visit www.volunteerduluth.org and click on
the Step Up for Students logo.
2) Any volunteer posting with the green
“Up” logo offers the opportunity for you to serve in our schools. Register as a
volunteer (call George with any questions) to be able to view all the contact
information you’ll need to start at a school. All that’s needed is an e-mail
address to register!
3) Pick a posting with the green “Up”
logo and make the contact with the Volunteer Coordinator.
4) Become an academic mentor. The
Volunteer Coordinator at each site will take care of orientating you to the
classroom and providing a background check.