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Princeton Alumni Helping Roosevelt Students Through APS
by Bill Healy, Education Beat Writer for Albany Park/North Park
Eight years ago, Sandra Bruno, then a senior at Roosevelt High School in Albany Park, was applying to colleges a few days before winter break at the home of Carolyn Kessler.
Kessler, at the time was director of Princeton In Chicago Schools, a group that organizes a Saturday morning tutoring program and invites Princeton alumni to judge history and science fairs, among other things.
"It was on her laptop," Bruno said in a phone interview Tuesday night. "She was teaching me how to use the internet and how to print applications." Kessler helped her narrow down her list of schools, Bruno said, even flying with her to visit schools.
Since then, the girl from Albany Park who "didn't have a clue about applying to college" graduated from Princeton and recently completed law school.
Princeton In Chicago Schools connects one of the country's best universities with a unique but struggling neighborhood school in Albany Park. The partnership has helped Roosevelt students to grow academically, given some Princeton alumni in Chicago a reason to involve themselves in educating young people, and has influenced the creation of a larger program connecting alumni of other colleges with Chicago Public Schools.
"The college application process in 2008 is as complex and challenging as it's ever been," explained David Hawkins, director of public policy for the National Association for College Admission Counseling in Arlington, Va.
Hawkins said that oftentimes public schools in underserved communities lack support services and guidance outside of school. Programs that offer support services are positive developments for helping kids get to college, he said.
Roosevelt draws its students mainly from working class families who aren't motivated to do well in school, Bruno said. "Students see parents working certain jobs and feel it's natural for them to do the same," she added.
"We could have picked a school that's a magnet school where the kids apply to Princeton anyway but we're really trying to help a school that needs the help," Charlene Huang Olson, president of the Princeton Club of Chicago said. "The challenge is not how many kids can I get to Princeton, but how many can I get to graduate from high school."
Olson said the program started more than 15 years ago but has evolved over time. In addition to their other activities, in the past the program has involved fundraising for the school, organizing career days and getting scholarships for outgoing seniors.
When Oren Pollock, 80, graduated from Princeton in 1951 with an advanced degree in Latin and Greek he hoped to become a teacher. Then the Korean War and 30 years in the treasurer's office of a large corporation got in the way.
For the past 14 years, though, Pollock has volunteered as an assistant teacher in Van Walters' algebra and geometry classes at Roosevelt two days a week for two classes each day.
"In some of these schools significant numbers of kids really don't understand or care why they're there and if you can do something to help a few of them along the way, so much the better," Pollock said.
"He's worked wonders with some kids," Walters commented about Pollock. Walters said the Princeton alumni he's seen seem to have a strong "commitment to service embedded in them."
The principal of Roosevelt High School, Dr. Alejandra Alvarez, stressed that at their school "everything is college."
Alvarez said that at the upcoming school orientation, parents and students will be shown a new video about the Princeton program. The purpose of the video is to motivate students and get parents interested in the program, she said. The video should impart the message that "college success is a possibility at Roosevelt High School. These are the supports that we have in place for you," she said.
The program's reach extends beyond Roosevelt's sprawling campus.
A retired college professor who helped start Princeton In Chicago Schools, John Fish, also helped found Alumni for Public Schools, a program out of Chicago Public School's main office which seeks to connect alumni from colleges and universities across the country with public schools in the city.
The coordinator of Alumni for Public Schools, Julie Braeutigam, lauded the Princeton group for their consistency and long-term commitment to Roosevelt.
Raj Hathiramani, 22, a 2007 Princeton graduate who works in finance, is the current co-chair of Princeton In Chicago Schools.
The biggest challenge with the program, he said, is getting students and tutors to show up on a regular basis.
Hathiramani said that to recruit more students the program has posted flyers in the school and encouraged teachers to give extra credit to students who come. They will also occasionally bring breakfast from Dunkin Donuts as an incentive for students.
Still, recently retired Roosevelt Assistant Principal Brenda Brown said, there's a "rush to get tutored before grades come out," then momentum dies down immediately afterwards.
"Those are kids," she said.
Brown said that the Princeton program has shifted their focus to English as a Second Language in the past few years, a move which has helped garner the attention of those students. Hathiramani tutored a brother and sister who were refugees from Somalia.
"The intent is to be there to help any kids that wants help," Pollock, the volunteer assistant teacher, said.
Looking to the future, Olson said that the group is working with Teach for America, which was founded by a Princeton graduate, to get one of their teachers into Roosevelt.
Olson added, "We're all tied together through our college experience so it would be great to help promote that experience. It's natural that we also have an affinity for helping Roosevelt students go to college."
Page updated 2 December 2008
