Fanning Falcons are Flying

UrbanFUTURE at Fanning Middle School is in full swing!  With 62 students fully enrolled in Restoration, afternoons are filled with a buzz that starts off with grade specific homework help.  Students are already taking charge of completing missed assignments, as well as staying on top of current assignments, and are eager to improve or maintain the grades that they received on their progress reports at the end of last week.  

Following homework help, students are engaged in great enrichment classes through the EXPLORE! program.  They are cooking with St. Louis University nutrition students, sculpting with COCA, rooting for the football team through cheerleading, battling in a game of wits during Chess Club, and establishing a student government among other activities. WOW! Enrichment programming runs Monday through Friday so that our students have engaging alternatives to going home every day of the week.  As the EXPLORE! program manager, Jocelyn Peters has gone above and beyond to engage our students in a fun and meaningful way.

The fun doesn't stop there!  Students are also excited about the tutors and mentors that they have the opportunity to work with during the last hour of programming through the IMPACT and INSPIRE programs.  Tutors have begun delving into the curriculum with students in both math and communication arts and already the students are soaring!  Though the academic component can be difficult, students and tutors have been working hard to improve in basic skills and in challenging reading materials.  Keep up the good work!

Keshun Rhodes, a seventh grader pictured above, asks about her mentor every day. Through the INSPIRE program, run by Domnick Hadley, she has found someone that she can talk to about reading, classes, teachers, and just life in general.  Though they have only met with each other once, Keshun is bubbling with excitement to work with Doreen again.  Already, Doreen has met with Keshun's language arts teacher and her mom to talk about Keshun's reading levels and how she can help to improve her grades in language arts!  

In addition to great programming after-school, UrbanFUTURE is also involved with the students during the school day!  On the 8th grade field trip to the Magic House last week, UrbanFUTURE staff helped to facilitate the trip with the 8th grade teachers and had a lot of fun in the process.  Check out some of the great fun the students (and staff!) had in the pictures below!

Ms. Berry, the IMPACT team leader, on the electric ball!  Hair flew everywhere as both teachers and students took their turn!

Ms. Krominga (science teacher) with two UrbanFUTURE students, Porcia and Darrion,  in the Mark Twain exhibit about Tom Sawyer!  Students got the opportunity to dress up like the characters they'd read about in class.

Returning Student Speaks about UrbanFUTURE

Hi my name is Janise and I attend Mann Elementary. This is my second year in UrbanFUTURE. I like it because they teach you a lot and they give you a mentor and tutor. Last year my mentor helped me improve my SRI score, now I’m reading much better. I had a problem with my division and my tutor helped me with it. The next day in class I got all my division right. UrbanFUTURE has done a lot for me. They taught me how to be more responsible too. They take us on field trips to different place so we can learn about careers. We went to SLU medical school last year and learned about doctors and what it takes to be one. My mentor goes to school there and she took us on a tour. It was really cool. They have a fake doctor’s office and they let us pretend to be doctors. For kids just entering UrbanFUTURE I would tell them positive things. I would say, “you made the right choice deciding to come here, they help you with anything you need.” UrbanFUTURE is the Best!

Kicking Off the Program Year

Labor Day has come and pass marking the unofficial end of summer. With the end of summer comes the beginning of a new Program Year for UrbanFUTURE. Next week, programming will be in full swing at Fanning Middle and Mann Elementary schools with over 100 students signed up to meet with tutors and mentors. Already, parents have attended orientations, volunteers have been trained/re-trained and students have completed pre-test assessments.

At both sites, 4th - 8th grade students will have an opportunity to participate in INSPIRE Mentoring, IMPACT Tutoring and Explore! Careers. The full menu of programs will help students grow as a student and as a person in preparation for high school.

UrbanFUTURE has hired Ray Sewell as a Community Specialist to work specifically with parents on taking on a leadership role in their child's education. This new position will provide
UrbanFUTURE parents with an additional resource in navigating their child's educational path. Ray and the Team Leaders will host several parent events during the year to engage, instruct and listen to parents on the challenges they are facing.

The biggest news for the new school year is UrbanFUTURE's expansion into three new school sites. Team Leaders have already begun meeting with parents, teachers and students at L'Ouverture Middle and Jefferson and Meramec Elementary schools. Beginning in October, students at these sites will have the opportunity to begin the IMPACT Tutoring program. There may also be opportunities for students to attend Explore! Careers' field trips this fall. INSPIRE Mentoring at these sites will not begin until January.

This promises to be an exciting year for UrbanFUTURE. We look forward to working with more students, parents, volunteers and teachers than ever before as we all work towards eliminating the academic achievement gap in urban schools.