Soar to Success Youth Mentoring Program

This grant program is authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5) (the 'Recovery Act'). Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention made awards to support local organizations that develop, implement, or expand local mentoring programs leading to measurable, positive outcomes for at-risk youth. This program furthers the Department's mission by enhancing the capacity of local mentoring programs to develop and implement mentoring strategies to reduce juvenile delinquency and prevent violence.

The Clinton Community School District (CCSD) proposes to pilot an enhanced youth mentoring program, 'Soar to Success,' which targets at-risk students with significant academic and behavioral difficulties. Soar to Success will 1. increase mentor-mentee contact hours to 1.5 per week and extend the mentor-mentee relationship to a 2-year minimum commitment; 2. prepare highly trained mentors by equipping them with the skill sets necessary to work effectively with children who exhibit significant behavioral problems; and 3. integrate into the District's after school and summer Community Learning Centers (CLCs) in order to provide mentors and mentees with structured and monitored activities that decrease risk of violence and substance abuse by promoting protective factors. Soar to Success will reduce the risk of academic failure, the incidence of anti-social behavior, and the risk of substance use/abuse among at-risk students at Bluff, Jefferson, Eagle Heights, Whittier, Washington, Lyons, Lincoln, and Clinton High Schools as measured by local, objective data, including: pre- and post standardized academic testing, pre- and post CCSD disciplinary incidence data, and pre- and post mentor, teacher, and parent behavioral indicator surveys.

This award will sustain approximately 2 jobs and will create 3 new jobs; thus the project achieves the Recovery Act objective of promoting economic recovery by preserving or creating jobs. CA/NCF