I give to the M-A Foundation for the Future because the Foundation funds the Partnership for Success, an innovative program that holistically serves the academic and social-emotional needs of under-resourced students. Many of the kids who benefit and visit the hub of the Partnership for Success'the Menlo-Atherton Student Support Center'are my students. I have tutored Menlo-Atherton English Language Development students for 8 years. In the middle of the thriving, opportunity-rich Silicon Valley is a large population of newly arrived families struggling to make rent and bills for basic necessities. Many of them have fled violence-laden streets, under-par schools and volatile political climates'all for the hope that things can be better for their kids, who are either brought or sent. These students need to master English quickly, tackle challenging classes and find a way to keep their eyes on their dreams. Now more than ever, these students need support, assistance and guidance. Menlo-Atherton High School provides them with a welcoming, enriching environment on its hugely diverse campus'it also gives them a place to be that is smaller, nurturing and meant for them. And the Menlo-Atherton Foundation for the Future makes the programming that serves their specific, complex needs possible.
Over the years, I have been so inspired by my students. There's Yanci, who came a few years ago from Guatemala with her mom and dad. She wants to be a doctor and take care of patients in a community like her own adopted home of East Palo Alto. She has gotten so much recognition and positive feedback at Menlo-Atherton and Partnership for Success staff that I know she is going to make it happen. And Kevin, an incredibly talented young man who is striving to learn to be a web-designer or computer animator. Kevin will get there with the confidence he has gained at Menlo-Atherton, where he has learned to advocate for himself. I had a student a few years back named Luis who is currently in his second year of Junior College. Luis has always worked the evening shift as he helps his parents make ends meet. He writes me notes on facebook to let me know that he is so grateful for the time and effort I put into helping him. And then, there's Alejandra, a straight-A student who persevered and got her diploma two years after finishing all her credits because she was so nervous when she took the English exit exam that she missed passing repeatedly by just one point. She kept on going and that diploma is hers now, as is steady, meaningful work.
Kids who enter ELD classes have an uphill battle. They take all their other classes in English before they have a working knowledge of the language. But, at Menlo-Atherton, so many of them beat what seem like crippling odds, because they have a place to go and a network of programs to help them; the Menlo-Atherton Partnership for Success. There, they are loved, known and understood. And surrounded by adults who believe in them. That's why I give my time and why I will always support the Menlo-Atherton Foundation for the Future. Because of the Foundation and against mounting external odds, my students can still dream.
Review from #MyGivingStory