Promoting School Success 2010-11
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Transcript of Promoting School Success 2010-11
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Promoting School Success
A project of the Downtown Education
Collaborative
+DEC Office
Across the street from the library
A bridge between the colleges and the
downtown community
A space for community
events, discussion,
and dialogue
+Meeting a Need in Downtown
Lewiston Lewiston has
historically had a high dropout rate.
In the past 10 yearsthere has been a large increase in ELL students.
These challenges have stressed social services and the school system.
Some of the school-aged youth living in downtown Lewiston sought extra help from the staff at the Lewiston Public Library, but the Library did not have the capacity to meet the growing need.
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DEC saw a place where it could bring its assets to bear to address a critical community need.
Working with the school department, the library and other partners DEC piloted The Promoting School Success Program in the fall of 2008.
Assets The LPL has a designated
computer lab that is available as a site.
DEC has the resources of the four colleges that be designated to supporting the program.
The youth are highly motivated to learn.
Birth of the School Success Program
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Coordinated by an AmeriCorps
VISTA Volunteer.
Training developed and
implemented by staff and faculty
from DEC and its member
institutions.
Program staffed largely by
students recruited from DEC’s
four member colleges.
Structure of the Program
M-Th 3:30 – 5:30,
Lewiston Public Library
+Expansion and Growth
13
30
256
2,423
300
3,261
$71
Average daily attendance Sept. 2008
Average daily attendance by April 2009
Students served during the 2008-09 school year
Total visits during in 2008-09
Students served during the 2009-10 school year
Total visits during the 2009-10 school year
• Last year, of a core group of 28 students who attended regularly, 26 showed improvement in their grades and are now passing.
-As reported by Sue Martin, the ELL
coordinator for Lewiston.
Per student cost of the program
+Growing Pains
As the program
has expanded,
the capacity of the
small computer lab has
been tested.
There are only 25
chairs available. So
when numbers exceed
45 (as they tend to do
toward the end of the
quarter) it is difficult to
find places for
all of the kids.
As recently as Nov 10th, we had to open a homework help “annex” on the third floor to accommodate all of the students.
+Who are our students?
The majority of our students
are African refugees from
Somalia and the Sudan.
Our focus is on middle and
high school students, 80% in
grades 7-12.
About 60% of students are
female.
+Who are our tutors?
We recruit from all four of DEC’s member academic institutions: Bates College, CMCC, Kaplan University,and USM-LAC.
Students are in service learning classes, are work study students, and are interns or volunteers.
We also have community volunteers including community police officers and an assistant rowing coach fromBates.
Several of our tutors are fluentin Somali which is a great resource.
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“I don’t have a computer at home, so
there is no way I could finish all of
my homework without Homework
Help!”
-Mana Abdi, ’13 Lewiston High
School
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“The tutors are really helpful and make
things a lot simpler.”
-Issauk Abdi ‘11 Lewiston High School
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“I love working at the after-school
program at the library. Even on nice
days when they could be playing
outside, kids come in to the library
eager to learn. It’s been a great
experience for me.”
-Sam Polak, Bates ’11
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“The tutors are more than just tutors. They care
about you, and that means a lot to me.”
-Abdullahi Shaleh, ‘12 Lewiston High School