Milton High School has been selected to receive an AmeriCorps Promise Fellow to work with school officials to establish a new, creative mentoring program to help at risk students achieve their educational goals. The school is currently working with AmeriCorps to recruit and hire a Promise Fellow who will spend one year at Milton High starting in August. Anyone interested in the position is encouraged to visit the website www.masspromisefellows.org for more information.
Chris Masalsky, Milton Public School’s part-time grant writer, submitted a proposal this spring to AmeriCorps requesting a Massachusetts Promise Fellow to help the school create a mentoring program. According to Milton School Superintendent Mary Gormley, the high school has had a number of mentoring programs over the years, but due to recent budget cutbacks, has been unable to dedicate the personnel needed to create an ongoing and sustainable program.
Gormley is thrilled that the high school will finally have someone working full-time on this vitally important initiative. “One-on-one mentoring is proven to be an extremely effective tool in increasing academic performance and engagement among at-risk students. Our goal is to identify students with academic promise who will benefit from an ongoing relationship with a caring mentor, someone who will be able to connect the student with a host of educational services and opportunities.”
The Massachusetts Promise Fellow will be tasked with working with teachers and guidance counselors to identify students who would benefit from a mentoring program and will also be responsible for the recruitment and training of mentors. The Fellow will oversee all aspects of the mentoring program, including creating a plan for future years when a Promise Fellow will no longer be available to administer the program. Ninety-five percent of the funding for the Promise Fellow position will come from a 2010 Celebration for Education Grant awarded by the Milton Foundation for Education.
Milton High is one of only 39 Promise Fellow host sites across the state, and the only public school to be selected in this highly competitive process. Currently in its twelfth year, the Massachusetts Promise Fellowship places Fellows who commit to a year of service at non-profit organizations, schools, and city agencies across Massachusetts to create, lead, and manage youth development projects. Fellows commit to serving 1,700 hours in the host site and receive a taxable living allowance of $269/week and comprehensive health care benefits. Fellows also receive educational and training benefits as well as college loan forbearance and a $5,550 educational award upon completion of the one year of service.