Socio - Economic Programs
Socioeconomic status (SES) is a culmination of multiple factors including education, social class, and income. Socioeconomic status is shown to be a reliable predictor of many outcomes in an individual’s life such as physical and psychological health. Hope recognizes the importance of placing a focus on the pillars of socioeconomic inequities- such as lower educational access and achievement- and operates multiple programs to start reducing the SES gap in DC metro areas and beyond.
Mentor
Helping children reach their full potential through meaningful and positive relationships in a supported and structured environment.
Hope mentor program exists to connect students who are falling behind behaviorally, emotionally, socially, or academically with young professionals and adults in their community.
Start with a need
Studies have shown countless benefits of a mentoring relationship for both the mentor and the youth mentee. To summarize: positive outcomes are found across social, emotional, behavioral, and academic areas of youth development in those who have a quality relationship with a mentor. Specifically, this translates to things such as setting and achieving higher educational goals, engaging in productive and beneficial activities, and reporting higher self-esteem when compared to youth without a mentor.
Hope’s Mentor Program mixes both school and community-based models of mentoring in order to facilitate the best possible outcome for our youth participants and our volunteer mentors.
Use passionate people
The Mentor Program is only possible thanks to our group of 80 incredible volunteer mentors and site leads. Each mentor is paired with a mentee for an entire school year (and further!). In addition to the one-on-one relationship building aspect of the Mentor Program, HOPE also hosts a fun and educational Mentor Program Night once a month for all the mentors and mentees across each respective school site. These Mentor Nights not only further strengthen the mentor/mentee relationship; they also are held at the youth’s school in efforts to improve the youth’s view on their school.
Love with no strings attached
Through the supportive and flexible approach of Hope’s mentor program, we have seen countless Mentor/Mentee relationships thrive. With consistent touch points throughout the school year to the monthly group activities at their school, Mentees grow close with their Mentor and form a bond that positively impacts their social, emotional, behavioral, and academic development. Volunteer Mentors also feel supported with the help of Hope’s program director and frequent professional development and social opportunities offered to them.
Read Aloud
Bridging the academic achievement gap for low-income students and communities of color.
82 % of fourth-graders from low-income families failed to reach the “proficient” level in reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).
Fewer K-2 students in Arlington Public Schools, particularly English learners and Black and Hispanic children, are meeting literacy benchmarks this [2020] fall.
start with a need
Early-grade reading proficiency in the United States continues to be unacceptably low for students from low-income families and children of color. The percentage of low-income Black, Hispanic, and Native American students who scored below proficient on the NAEP reading test was very high (88, 86 and 87 %, respectively) and much larger than the share of low-income white or Asian/Pacific Islander students. Studies have found that children who do not read proficiently by the end of 3rd grade are four times more likely to not graduate high school than proficient readers. Black and Hispanic children who are not reading proficiently in third grade are twice as likely as similar White children not to graduate from high school (about 25 vs. 13 %).
use passionate people
It is the recommendation of the Superintendent of Arlington County Public schools to consistently use small group sessions and differentiated instruction in small groups to address the literacy gap. This is exactly what our volunteer Reading Buddies do. Hope Volunteers are paired with struggling readers across Arlington County elementary schools to plant a love of reading in the students and establish a foundation for future reading success. Many of our volunteers come from second language homes themselves, and have a desire to help students who remind them of themselves. The goal is to not only increase their reading level, but to simply enjoy reading!
Love with no strings attached
With both small group and individual components on a monthly basis, Read Aloud students see improvement in reading comprehension, fluency, and phonemic awareness skills. Most importantly, we see an increase in the students’ desire to read as their skills improve and a confidence boost across all areas of the board. The individual touch point the reading buddy has with the read aloud student is a crucial component, in establishing trust and a meaningful connection between both the volunteer and reader - resulting in a growing desire in the student to want to spend time with their reading buddy, ultimately resulting in reading success.
Emerging Leaders
Broadening the future professional opportunities of young students by providing exposure, innovation, and experience.
Start with a need
Few institutions or organizations pair career exposure + professional skills + internships, and few students born in low income neighborhoods are exposed to professional opportunities at a young age, resulting in: Limited view of professional opportunities, disconnection from institutional supports and social capital, limited internship access, few professional mentors, and more.
The solution is a comprehensive multi-year professional development entrepreneurship program that puts students on a path toward economic security and social influence before even graduating high school.
use passionate people
Our initial aim through this program is to broaden the horizons of young students and challenge their preconceived notions of what a career can look like.
We do this by engaging talented, young professionals in a variety of careers and industries to share their career journeys with the students and open their eyes to the possibilities that await them.
Love with no strings attached
Our goal is not just to provide a momentary respite of relief or assistance to a person in need but rather to break the cycles of poverty and systemic injustice that plague so many of those we serve. Through the ELP, our hope is that we can bring real opportunities and open real doors to these students to release from that cycle of poverty and open them to a new reality of possibilities.