Search: Education/Literacy

Staying In School: How Two Faith-Based Initiatives in Phoenix Are Keeping High-Risk Teens on the Path to Success

By Amy L. Sherman (Sagamore Institute Faith in Communities, 2004)

Sunny Phoenix is the site of two successful faith-based initiatives encouraging school retention by high-risk Hispanic and Native American youth. Neighborhood Ministries operates the “I Can Do It” program, an impressive, multi-faceted partnership with over 30 public schools. New Beginnings Church has launched its own charter high school, James Sandoval Prep, offering a “family-feel” small school that is succeeding with kids tossed out of traditional public schools.

This in-depth case study describes the background and development of these programs, the challenges they have faced, and the lessons learned.

Reach for the Stars!

Year-End Student Evaluation

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT TUTORING?
(FOR STUDENTS ONLY)

Site:
Student's Name:
Tutor's Name:
1. Since you started tutoring, do you feel you are doing better in school?
0 Yes 0 No

2. Do you read more "just for fun"? 0 Yes 0 No

3. Are your spelling grades better? 0 Yes 0 No

4. Are your math grades better? 0 Yes 0 No

5. What books, games, or activities have helped you the most during tutoring?

6. What do you like about tutoring?

7. What would you like to see changed about tutoring for next year?

8. Would you like to be tutored again next year? 0 Yes 0 No

9. What would you like to say to your tutor?

KidREACHAfter-School Academic Mentoring Manual, updated June 2003

Resource Kit for Hispanic Faith Leaders

This toolkit offers resources for Hispanic faith leaders who wish to launch a new outreach or enhance their current community serving programs. The program profiles will stimulate creative thinking on what kinds of service initiatives are possible and plausible. Each profile describes a particular community serving program of a Hispanic congregation; discusses the genesis of the initiative and the relationship between the congregation and the service program; and offers advice to faith leaders who might wish to imitate this kind of outreach. The resource guides are tools for peer-to-peer learning and networking. Hispanic leaders in a particular region, or with an interest in launching a particular kind of service program (e.g., tutoring or ESL classes or a food pantry), can use these directories to find other faith leaders to contact for helpful information and direction. The website listing points Hispanic faith leaders new to the topic of social service ministry to a variety of Hispanic organizations that have rich experience in this field.

Program Profiles

1.  A Holistic Community Center: El Encino and Redeemer Covenant Churches//Centro de la Comunidad de Servicios Holísticos: Las Iglesias El Encino y Redeemer Covenant  
English Version
Spanish Version

The Bernabe Community Center serves the families and children of the Downey, Norwalk, and Santa Fe Springs neighborhoods through four main programs: soccer schools for youth ages six to twelve years old; ESL classes at the church; a counseling center offering free counseling services provided by trained professionals; and parenting classes taught at local schools. 

2. College Prep Ministry in Boston: Leon de Judah//Ministerio de Preparatorio Universitario en Boston: Leon de Judah
English Version
Spanish Version

Leon de Juda’s Higher Education Resource Center (HERC) helps inner-city students to prepare for college. Its “Let’s Get Ready” program focuses on strengthening students’ academic skills while its weekly mentoring ministry matches urban teens with Christian college students who can help the high school students to grow more holistically.         

 3. Reaching Teens in Houston: El Tabernaculo//Alcance de Juventud en Houston: El Tabernaculo
English Version
Spanish Version       

Crossroads Youth Ministry attempts to evangelize and disciple teenagers from families regularly participating in the life of El Tabernaculo Assembly of God as well as from unchurched families in the area. Youth Pastor Max Torres’ principal strategy for reaching teens is to penetrate the public school campuses where they spend so much of their time. For 25 years, Max has been a visible community leader on campus and in the streets, reaching out to troubled kids and gang members.

Resource Guides

1. National Resource Directory of Hispanic Compassion Ministries

The Directory provides the first-ever state-by-state listing of Hispanic congregations that are reaching out to their neighborhoods and cities to meet pressing needs. It contains brief descriptions of and contact information for over 300 congregations from 35 states.

2. Listing of Hispanic Faith Networks

This document lists fourteen networks of Hispanic churches that have some emphasis on community outreach. These networks were identified in the course of the Hudson Institute’s Faith in Communities office’s research throughout 2003 on behalf of AMEN (the Alianza de Ministerios Evangelicos Nacionales). For each network, a brief description, a listing of the principal leader(s), and contact information is provided.

Helpful Websites and Organizations

Nueva Esperanza (Philadelphia, PA)

Nueva Esperanza, Inc. is a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to the establishment of Hispanic owned and operated institutions that lead to the familial, economic and spiritual development of our communities.

Latino Pastoral Action Center (Bronx, NY)

The Latino Pastoral Action Center was established in New York Cityin 1992 as a faith-based, nonprofit organization to holistically educate, equip and empower people to serve effectively in church and in society.

National Catholic Council for Hispanic Ministry (Phoenix, AZ)

The National Catholic Council for Hispanic Ministry provides a national network and forum for the religious, social, professional and civic advancement of Roman Catholic Hispanics in the United States. NCCHM is a vehicle for communication, reflection, dialogue and collaboration among national and regional ministerial/professional organizations, institutes, movements and religious congregations of men and women. NCCHM furthers the empowerment of Hispanics in both church and society by identifying, convoking and developing leadership among its member organizations and their constituencies.

Hispanic Churches in American Public Life (c/o Northwestern University, Evanston, IL)

This is an initiative of the Pew Charitable Trusts to examine the role of Hispanic congregations, Catholic and Protestant, in the American public square. The project has sponsored the largest-ever bilingual survey of Hispanics on issues of religion and public life.

Hispanic Ministry Center (Santa Ana, CA)

The Hispanic Ministry Center is an organization committed to community and leadership development in the Latino context and beyond. It is dedicated to the training of leaders within the Hispanic community to impact the next generation for Christ. The Center’s executive director, Larry Acosta, also hosts the Urban Youth Workers Institute.

Latino Leadership Foundation (Chicago, IL)

The vision of the Latino Leadership Foundation is to see a new generation of Latino leaders equipped to reach and transform the barrios of our nation.

Center for the Study of Latino Religion (c/o Notre Dame University, South Bend, IN)

The Center for the Study of Latino Religion (CSLR) was founded in 2002 within the Institute for Latino Studies at the University of Notre Dame. Its mission is to serve as a national center and clearinghouse for ecumenically focused social-scientific study of the US Latino church, its leadership, and the interaction between religion and community. Highlighting the ways in which religion strengthens and improves the quality of public life, the Center examines the impact of religious beliefs, leaders, churches, and faith-based organizations on Latino urban communities.