Every year, 1.3 million students drop out of high school in the United States. Over half are students of color, and most are low-income. Low-income students fail to graduate at five times the rate of middle-income families and six times that of higher-income youth (National Center for Education Statistics, October 2011).
Since 2001, the Mission has provided academic enrichment programs year-round to educationally at-risk students attending Lake Forest and High Point Elementary, Ridgeview Middle and Riverwood High schools. We consider a child educationally at-risk if the student comes from a home where:
- English is not the primary language spoken
- The parents are not able to assist their children with schoolwork because of their own low-level of education
- The parents cannot pay for the extra help necessary for their child to succeed in school
The Mission is changing and enhancing the lives of its students in many ways. Our children face staggeringly negative statistics when it comes to education. Graduation rates for Hispanic students hover in the 50-60% range. However, the Mission’s student graduation rate is closer to 90%.
Working with our amazing volunteers, the kids truly find new confidence in themselves and see their grades progressively improve. Our volunteers inspire a ‘yes-I-can’ attitude in the kids and give them tools to succeed. That confidence and attitude instills a great sense of hope in the future.
