After-School Program May Hold Secret to Success

After-School Program May Hold Secret to Success

In Washington, DC, only 69 percent of public school students graduate from high school on time. Many factors influence that low rate. One of the most important ones is whether the people around the students expect them to succeed.

So, for the past 40 years, a DC organization has stepped in to give around 10,000 students the support and positive environment they need to thrive¹. This organization, called Higher Achievement, provides students a welcoming space, help with classwork, and caring mentors³. More than 95 percent of students who complete Higher Achievement graduate from high school on time.

Katherine Roboff is the group’s executive⁴ director in the DC area. She gives several reasons for the group’s success.

One is timing⁵. Higher Achievement does not work with students who are already in high school. It works⁶ with students in middle school. They start Higher Achievement at fifth or sixth grade – in the U.S., that is usually ages 11 or 12.

Roboff says research shows that if students are doing well academically in eighth grade—around age 13—they will have a greater chance of graduating from high school and going to college.

In other words, what happens in middle school has a huge impact⁷. The years between ages 10 and 13 may affect a student’s future more than anything that happens academically in high school.

“We know from the research is that middle school is the last best chance to get on track to college."

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Roboff explains that students participate in Higher Achievement after school and during the summer, when public schools take a break of about two months. Higher Achievement students do homework, have community meetings, and work one-on-one with a mentor².

“The purpose of the program is to help them use those after school and summer hours to become better prepared academically and to develop their leadership skills and confidence so that by the time they get into eighth grade they are ready to get into some of the top high schools.”

Three Rs

Roboff calls the focus on the middle school years “right-timing.” She says the other two secrets of Higher Achievement’s success also start with “r”: rigor⁸ and relationships.

“Rigor” means Higher Achievement has high expectations of the students in the program.

And “relationships” refer to Higher Achievement’s mentorship program.

The mentors are volunteers who live near Washington, DC. Mentors work with students for about an hour each day on subjects such as math or literature. But Roboff says the connection the mentors have with their scholars may be as important as the subjects they work on together.

“The relationships are such an important part of our model. But It’s especially important when you’re in middle school, when so much is changing… to have mentors and staff and summer teachers who are there not only to help you grow academically but first and foremost⁹ to be a support for you and to help make sure you have a safe place to go and someone who will listen to you and talk with you and help you figure out things that are going on…”

Roboff says relationships with mentors “make a very, very big difference in the lives of our scholars.”

Michelle Davis is a mentor for Higher Achievement. She says the mentor program allows students to practice new skills privately¹⁰ with someone they trust. For example, she says, they practice critical thinking. Then, Davis says, students have the confidence to think critically when they go back to class.

Dimelza Gonzalez-Flores directs the Higher Achievement center at Columbia Heights Education Campus¹¹, an urban DC neighborhood not far from the White House.

She says some of the Higher Achievement students do not always get the attention they need to develop academically. As a result, she says, their mentor can have a major impact on their lives.

“They might not have that one-on-one piece or they might not have that chance to voice their opinions and to grow as individuals. And that’s I think what makes Higher Achievement so special and so important in scholars’ lives.”

A partner to the schools

Roboff says Higher Achievement is a partner to the public schools. She wants to support what is happening in the classroom.

But, she adds, schools could learn something from Higher Achievement. She calls it “culture.”

In other words, Roboff believes Higher Achievement provides an environment where students can do their best. She says part of their formula¹² is a “culture of high expectations for scholars.”

An eighth-grader named Kastenny agrees that Higher Achievement has made a big difference for her. She says participating in the program has improved all of her grades, especially in math. Higher Achievement has also helped her become involved in healthy relationships. Perhaps most importantly, it has given her a positive attitude about academics.

“Through Higher Achievement, I learned¹³ that I love being around other people and that I find comfort being surrounded in other people, and I love learning¹⁴. I have a new passion of learning because of Higher Achievement.”

Higher Achievement is counting on those healthy relationships and that love of learning to carry her to high school graduation and beyond.

Words in This Story

academic – adj. of or relating to schools and education

achievement – n. something that has been done or achieved through effort : a result of hard work

nonprofit – n. A nonprofit is an organization that uses whatever money it earns or raises to run the organization and to do the work of the organization.

mentor – n. someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced¹⁵ and often younger person

piece - n. an amount of something considered separately from the rest

relationship – n. the way in which two or more people, groups, countries, etc., talk to, behave toward¹⁶, and deal with each other

rigor – n. the difficult and unpleasant conditions or experiences that are associated with something

scholar – n. an intelligent and well-educated person who knows a particular subject very well

thrive – v. to grow or develop successfully

1 thrive   

v.兴旺，繁荣，茁壮成长

参考例句：

• These animals thrive on the leaves of certain trees.这些动物靠吃某些树的叶子长壮。
• This flowering plant will thrive and bloom wherever you plant it.这种花随便你种在哪儿都能活。

2 mentor   

n.指导者，良师益友；v.指导

参考例句：

• He fed on the great ideas of his mentor.他以他导师的伟大思想为支撑。
• He had mentored scores of younger doctors.他指导过许多更年轻的医生。

3 mentors   

n.（无经验之人的）有经验可信赖的顾问( mentor的名词复数 )v.（无经验之人的）有经验可信赖的顾问( mentor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Beacham and McNamara, my two mentors, had both warned me. 我的两位忠实朋友，比彻姆和麦克纳马拉都曾经警告过我。 来自辞典例句
• These are the kinds of contacts that could evolve into mentors. 这些人是可能会成为你导师。 来自互联网

4 executive   

adj.执行的，行政的；n.执行者，行政官，经理

参考例句：

• A good executive usually gets on well with people.一个好的高级管理人员通常与人们相处得很好。
• He is a man of great executive ability.他是个具有极高管理能力的人。

5 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

6 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

7 impact   

n.冲击，碰撞；影响；vt.装紧，压紧

参考例句：

• The computer had made a great impact on modern life.计算机对现代生活产生了巨大的影响.
• How will the war impact on such a poet?战争对这样一个诗人会产生什么影响？

8 rigor   

n.严酷，严格，严厉

参考例句：

• Their analysis lacks rigor.他们的分析缺乏严谨性。||The crime will be treated with the full rigor of the law.这一罪行会严格依法审理。

9 foremost   

adj.最初的，最前的，第一流的；adv.在最前

参考例句：

• He is considered the foremost British artist of this century.他被认为是本世纪英国第一流的艺术家。
• The premier occupies the foremost place in the world of politics.首相是政界的首要人物。

10 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

11 campus   

n.大学校园，学校校园；大学　

参考例句：

• They spoke of the old days on the campus.他们谈起昔日的校园生活。
• The campus covers an area of twenty square kilometres.这个校园占地二十平方公里。

12 formula   

n.公式；配方，外方；规则，一定的做法

参考例句：

• His father is acting on his formula.他的父亲总是按他的原则办事。
• Here are some applications of Taylor's formula.下面举例说明泰乐定理的应用。

13 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

14 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

15 experienced   

adj.有经验的；经验丰富的，熟练的

参考例句：

• Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather.有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。
• Perhaps you and I had better change over;you are more experienced.也许我们的工作还是对换一下好，你比我更有经验。

16 toward   

prep.对于，关于，接近，将近，向，朝

参考例句：

• Suddenly I saw a tall figure approaching toward the policeman.突然间我看到一个高大的身影朝警察靠近。
• Upon seeing her,I smiled and ran toward her. 看到她我笑了，并跑了过去。