Dist. 87 hopes mentor program improves minority test scores

Glenbard High School District 87 officials hope a mentoring program for minorities in its high schools and feeder middle schools can help close an achievement gap that year after year shows black and Hispanic students trailing far behind their Asian and white peers.

Superintendent Mike Meissen highlighted the features of the program at a communication forum with parents Wednesday. The program recruits faculty and community members to mentor high school minorities while also matching middle school and high school students. Officials say it aims to teach students about college and high school's “unwritten rules” that are not necessarily in a handbook, such as collecting textbooks, applying for colleges and even trying out for athletic programs.

While Meissen focused on the positives found in the latest Illinois Report Card, which annually tracks progress of all Illinois school districts, he also gave parents an update on the program, which began this year and has attracted more than 100 participants. The high school program targets juniors and sophomores.

“We are encouraged,” said Pat Donohue, director of research and development. “The idea is, let's get people familiar with what it takes to become successful in high school or college. If I am a person who does not look like the majority of the students at the schools, sometimes I can be intimidated.”

The program was one of several recommendations made by the district's Minority Student Achievement Committee, a group created to address years of lagging scores. Others would increase minority hires and after-school activities.

High school students meet with their middle school groups to help them through the processes that lead to high school and into college. Each of the four high schools has team leaders charged with coordinating the building's version of the program. Additionally, college students who have gone through Glenbard meet with high school students.

“Everybody thinks college is an automatic thing, but it really isn't with everybody,” said Community Relations Coordinator Peg Mannion. “It's really a phenomenal program.”

In October, the report card painted a challenging overall picture for Glenbard. Among some groups, less than 50 percent of students met state standards in various subjects on the Prairie State Achievement Exam. Black students reached just 21.2 percent in mathematics and 32.3 percent in reading. Hispanics did not fare much better with only 39.6 percent reaching standards in reading and 43.2 percent in math.

But Donohue said he hopes the mentoring program increases those numbers in the years to come.

“This is not going to take away from other kids but it is to widen the net of success for everybody,” he said. “We are not making this up. We are going off some pretty hard achievement numbers. If you see part of your organization and it appears that one area is not producing results, well, you probably have to do something different.”