Unlock Every Gate to Graduation! The Case of the Cheyenne 200 Mentorship Program!

Thursday January 28, 2016
4:00 - 5:00 PM
Room 360

Graduation is the gate on the pathway to prosperity, but for credit deficient, non-proficient high school students, that gate appears closed, locked, and seemingly immovable. That is until doctors, lawyers, social workers, educators, and legislators from the community partnered with students and their families to ensure graduation for all was not just possible, but inevitable. Cheyenne High School identified 200 students who were far off-track to graduation. Presenters rallied community support and focused community resources to ensure the students remained in school, earned their credits, and walked across the graduation stage. Session participants will learn how presenters, even in the face of internal opposition, leveraged the power of partnerships with students’ families and community-based organizations to ensure mentees graduated. Cheyenne demonstrated how one can be his or her brother's and sister's keeper.

Presenters
Jane Gibson

Ms. Gibson has been the liaison and graduation coach to hundreds of off-track seniors. She works directly with families and rallies community support to address students’ academic and out-of-school difficulties.
Zachary Robbins

Dr. Robbins has turned around schools in Boston, Massachusetts and in Las Vegas, Nevada, primarily by fine tuning and developing programs that keep kids connected with school and address students’ psycho-social needs. At Boston College, he did his dissertation work on the relationship between racial identity, racial socialization, and students’ feelings of connectedness with their school. He is an advisor to the Omega Gentlemen’s club, the Youth Auxiliary of the Kappa Xi Unincorporated Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Incorporated. He is one of two African-American male high school principals in Nevada, where he serves as a mentor to several African-American and Hispanic men and women seeking administrative positions.
Javonna Underwood

Ms. Javonna Underwood is a liaison and graduation coach to off-track students. She works directly with families and rallies community support to address students’ academic and out-of-school difficulties.
theme:
leadership
audience:
186
topics:
improving graduation rate, at-risk populations, improving graduation rate