Student Experts Shine

This past Saturday, UrbanFUTURE held its inaugural UrbanFUTURE Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? Trivia Night presented by Wells Fargo Advisors and Walgreens. About 350 were attendance at the Wells Fargo Advisors University Learning Center in downtown St. Louis.

The event was different than any other trivia night in that teams could bid on the services of the Classroom of Experts. The Classroom of Experts was composed of UrbanFUTURE students from Mann Elementary who helped to write the questions for the event and were the center of attention throughout the night. Despite all of the attention and being on stage in front of a large crowd of complete strangers, the students were unfazed and excited.

I had the privilege of driving a four of the students to and from the event. I was struck on the way to the event at how confident and excited all of the students were for the evening. They had practiced their questions and were looking forward to helping the trivia teams out. While none of them said it, I gathered they held their title of expert in high esteem, after all when was the last time anyone has referred to inner city youth as experts when it came to school.

By the end of the night, the students were beaming and fulling lived up to their star status. They held their mini-white boards high rooting on the teams, interacted with tables between rounds and made the night a tremendous success. As I was driving them home, they were full of energy and excitement talking about the evening and their favorite teams. They were already talking about being experts for next year's events.

I walked away that evening knowing the event was a great success, but not based on any how many people attended or how much we raised. Rather, it was knowing that for one night, UrbanFUTURE students were the experts and they knew it. That impression will be long-lasting for all of them for years to come.

UrbanFUTURE Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader Trivia Night

On January 8th, come join UrbanFUTURE for the inaugural UrbanFUTURE Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? Trivia Night presented by Walgreens and Wells Fargo Advisors. UrbanFUTURE students from Mann Elementary have not only helped to write the questions, but they will be featured as our Classroom of Experts. Before each round of trivia, teams will have the opportunity to bid on the services of the Subject Matter Expert for that round from the Classroom of Experts. Cash prizes will be awarded to the top 3 teams and we'll have other games and prizes through out the evening.

Reserve your place today for $20/person or $200 for a table of 10 by e-mailing events@urbanfuturestl.org or calling (314)776-3434. So gather your best trivia team and find out if you really are smarter than a 5th grader.

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.

A Final Push

Spring has arrived in St. Louis. For UrbanFUTURE that means there is one more quarter to make a final push to end the year strong. It's easy for students to lose focus when the weather warms up, the days are longer and summer is right around the corner. Despite all of that UrbanFUTURE staff and volunteers are working diligently to ensure students finish the year strong.

In preparation for year-end diagnostic tests, students at Fanning are having competitions in educational games that are enhancing their skills in math and communication arts. With teachers assigning less homework, these competitions help to keep the students' minds sharp, while having a good time.

Fanning students are also participating in reading circles. These small groups read a book together and have an opportunity to have open discussions. It's been a great way for students to keep building their literacy in a casual, laid-back atmosphere. Jennifer Davies, IMPACT Manager at Fanning, said, "This week students were disappointed about missing the reading circles because of having to take the post-test. They are very excited to get back to their small group next week."

At Mann, INSPIRE Team Leaders Lauren Coppedge and Sakinah Ra'uf have been emphasizing goal achievement. To ensure that students are staying on track for their 4th quarter goals, they have been checking in with teachers each week to see that students are following through on weekly action steps. Mentors are also checking student progress on goals each week and helping students fulfill weekly action steps. Team Leaders have also created a goal board that publicly displays each team's progress towards their goals. As an added incentive, students who achieve their 4th quarter goal will get a McDonald's Happy Meal at the end of the year.

The nice weather can be a major distraction for students, but at UrbanFUTURE students are learning the importance of finishing the year on a high note.