Local Leadership Needed to Build and Sustain Mentor-Rich Programs in More Places
Maps of Chicago and other places can show where youth need extra help that non-school programs provide. Leaders needed at the program level, the neighborhood level, and the city level.
Maps of Chicago and other cities show where poverty is most concentrated. These are areas where youth and families need good schools, and where they need great non school tutor, mentor and learning programs.
No program starts off great. It takes a few years to build trust, participation, a culture, and a support system. And, it takes 12 years for a first grader to finish high school. The oil well icons on the map above intend to show that great programs are needed in many places, and they need to be there for many years.
Each program needs a board of directors and diverse base of volunteers along with community support and a consistent source of funding to become great, then stay great for many years.
In 2011 Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC created a map presentation showing the number of youth age 6-17, in each Chicago community area, who were living below the poverty line. (see pdf) For instance the Austin area had 6356 and the North Lawndale area had 4717. If a non school tutor/mentor program were serving 50-75 kids, it would take quite a few programs just to reach half of the kids in these areas.
Thus, while each program needs great leadership and support, neighborhood leadership is also needed to assure there are enough programs to serve as high a percent of the K-12 youth, in a zip code or community area, as possible.
At the city level the Mayor should be looking at maps like this, and have a team in place to help grow the number of well-organized programs that are needed in every community area. That means mobilizing public and private dollars and making sure they flow to all programs, not just to a few select groups, or to a few types of program providers.
This is not a new message. It's one that I start every year with and that I support throughout the year with blog articles, social media posts and many one-on-one conversations.
Recommended reading:
* So many problems. Building networks for solutions -read
* Stopping the violence. Invest in the neighborhoods -read
* Black Families Fleeing Chicago; Ending in Segregated Suburbs -read
Read more articles like this onTutor/Mentor Institute, LLC blog.
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