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TFIM team members help launch peer-mentoring pilot
at Pittsburgh Carrick |
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One young woman wasn’t exactly sure of her grade point average and another wasn’t sure if she wanted to go to college. But, at least, with a little coaching from Rasheed, the two Pittsburgh Carrick High School freshmen will have a better idea as they start their sophomore year about what they’ll need to do to achieve The Pittsburgh Promise.
That’s because Rasheed’s mission during a luncheon meeting last month was to talk with the students about their aspirations and whether they understood eligibility requirements for the program that guarantees Pittsburgh Public Schools graduates scholarships if they meet three conditions: continuous enrollment from 9th grade through 12th, a 90 percent attendance record and a 2.5 grade point average.
Rasheed performed the coaching assignment as part of his participation in The Consortium for Public Education’s career exploration program, The Future Is Mine (TFIM). Educators at Pittsburgh Carrick tapped the TFIM team to help pilot a peer-mentoring program they’re beginning to reach out to freshmen whose academic performance is “on the line,” said the school’s principal, Dr. Jennifer Murphy. The idea is to help students on the margin see that it’s going to take a little extra effort to bring their academic performance in line with eligibility requirements.
To help launch the pilot, some TFIM participants served on the mentoring team, along with other upperclassmen, while others enrolled in Pittsburgh Carrick’s culinary arts program prepared and served lunch.
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All told, some 80 freshmen with grade point averages ranging from 2.0 to 2.4 were invited to have lunch and talk with the mentors. The initial goal is to get at least 80 percent of the pilot group on an improvement path next year, Dr. Murphy said.
“When we pulled the mentors together, a number of them said they wished someone had done this with them,” said Patrick Schlemmer, a language arts teacher who helped plan the pilot. “Of course, they’d heard all of this from adults, but it’s different when it comes from other students, from peers.”
The TFIM team members were natural partners for the initiative. As part of their TFIM experience, they not only individually explore careers, they also perform projects each year that are designed to build awareness of careers and post-secondary education options among their peers and younger students.
Rasheed, a junior at Pittsburgh Carrick, said he enjoyed the opportunity to help out. He also encouraged the freshmen to consider joining TFIM. “It’s helped me with a lot of stuff that I’ll need for the future. It’s helped me become more mature and more responsible and to communicate better.”
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