Intervention When It Counts: Helping Students Achieve

When students achieve their potential, everyone in the community benefits. Quick, targeted action can mean the difference between failure and long-term success for students whose academic progress is complicated by abuse, hunger, homelessness, and mental and behavioral problems. United Way sponsors programs that provide mentoring, counseling, case management, teen parenting prevention and support, after-school activities, tutoring, and enrichment activities to help students succeed in spite of obstacles.

Success Story: Takalya

Withdrawn and shy, and struggling in a few of her classes, Takalya needed extra help to stay on track in school. Her mom, who works at her school, heard about United Way’s Achievers For Life, a dropout prevention strategy, and reached out to Takayla’s teachers to register her in the program. Through weekly sessions, she received one-on-one mentoring and the encouragement to stay in school. Today, Takayla has earned a spot on the A/B Honor Roll, completed advanced classes, and qualified as a candidate for a college scholarship program. As for Pam, Takayla’s mentor, she plans to continue their mentoring relationship through high school. “I’ve seen first-hand that a child benefits from meeting with a caring adult each week, and I benefit from it, too.”

Success Story: Austin

Austin was having a difficult time adjusting to middle school and struggled with his grades. Through United Way’s Achievers For Life initiative, a dropout prevention strategy, he was matched with a mentor who met with him each week. During their meetings, they worked on school assignments, discussed future careers and even played the occasional game of basketball. Austin’s mentor, Antonio, recalls experiencing the same challenges in middle school and was able to give him the encouragement and confidence he needed to get back on track, earning a 3.46 grade point average for the school year.