The girls who are matched with mentors through nonprofit Metro Denver Partners are often from low-income, single-parent families and are referred to the nonprofit because they have trouble socializing at school.
That’s why summer school might seem a tall order for these kids. But this year, a group of girls from Metro Denver Partners spent their summer studying and taking tests so they returned to school with academic achievements at or above their grade levels.
“A lot of these girls went into the next year feeling prepared and feeling really good about themselves,” said Melissa Teasdale, Metro Denver Partners’ adolescent female programs assistant.
Metro Denver Partners received a McCormick Foundation grant that allowed some of girls to attend the Summer Youth Academy, which was developed and is managed by the Denver-based nonprofit Save Our Youth.
is more than just summer school. In addition to working through a computer-based program to get students on track academically, they participated in team-building, planted a garden and toured the University of Denver campus. They also got financial incentives and learned how to open a bank account — things Teasdale calls “empowerment skills.”
Pitou Ireland, the social worker for Martin Luther King Jr. Early College, where some of the girls are students, saw that they came to school with a new attitude.
“Their grades have gone up and we have hardly any attendance issues or behavior concerns at this time,” Ireland said.
The academy started with a one-time private grant aimed at helping North High School students catch up on their grades over the summer. The program has since earned federal funding, has grown to 10 academies throughout the metro area, assigns year-round mentors to students and focuses on the students’ emotional and spiritual well-being in addition to improving their grades.
There’s also a financial incentive that Teasdale said especially excited the girls from Metro Denver Partners. Pay was based on attendance, and their earnings were matched at the end. The total maximum the students could earn was $360.
“It changed a lot of girls,” she said. “They felt empowered to be able to pay for it themselves and also not ask their parents, who were struggling.”
Ireland said the incentive did more than just put some spending cash in their pockets.
“I think it taught a lot of things because it wasn’t just the financial. It was also learning how to save money and learning the advantage of having money, and it’s how when you work hard, you get a reward,” she said.
Bernadette Miller, whose niece attended the Partners’ Summer Youth Academy, said she sees that lesson carrying over into the school year.
“At school I was told that she worked really hard every day and that she was taking an independent role and trying to progress,” Miller said. And, she added, her niece will definitely attend the program again next summer.
Metro Denver Partners
Address: 701 S. Logan St., No. 109, Denver, 80209
In operation since: 1968
Staff (how many employees): 13¼
Annual budget: $992,538
Percentage of funds to client services: 92%
Number served last year: 564
