U-46's '10 Boys' Initiative' gets $10,000 grant

In the midst of severe budget cuts, one Elgin Area School District U-46 program is getting a bonus.

As a result of efforts from its educational foundation and local legislators, the district nabbed a $10,000 AT&T Investing in Illinois Award to support its program for underperforming elementary, middle and high school boys.

The 10 Boys Initiative is modeled after a program implemented by Boston Public Schools in 2007, aimed at helping at-risk boys beat the odds through an added support system.

About 1,200 boys participated in U-46's program last year. This year, about 1,650 boys are participating, along with more than 150 administrators, principals and community leaders who serve as mentors.

AT&T External Affairs Director David Strahl, a past Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce board chairman and current executive committee member, learned of the program from Chamber President Leo Nelson. Nelson also sits on the U-46 Educational Foundation board.

Strahl believed the program would be an ideal candidate for the company's national grant program.

"With the current economy, there's a lot of competition for private sector funding," he said.

Which is where letters of recommendation from local legislators - state Reps. Tim Schmitz, Keith Farnham and Sen. Michael Noland - came in.

Elementary and middle school students are identified for the program if they score below grade level on the district's internal Measure of Academic Progress Test. At the high school level, boys who fail one or more classes are selected.

Evidence suggests the program is working, Superintendent Jose Torres said Monday. Participating students have seen a "higher than typical" increase in reading test scores, he said. More than half at-risk high school freshmen passed their courses last year, and about two-thirds of students returning to high school did better in 2008-09 than in the prior school year.

For the initiative, students, their parents and their assigned mentor sign a goal-setting contract and a "pledge for success." Mentors monitor each student's attendance, grades, office discipline referrals, homework and test scores.

Torres said the $10,000 will be used for scholarships, leadership camps and educational materials. A committee will be established to divvy up the funds.