Project CARE
Project CARE (Coaches Are Role Models for Empowerment) is a new initiative of the College at the University of Rochester, the Rochester City School District, and EnCompass. The comprehensive tutoring/role modeling program focuses on K-6 graders in need of academic and social support combines numerous educational and developmental models to encourage excellence from both students and volunteers.
The goals of the program are to empower students to achieve higher academic levels, encourage higher attendance rates, promote positive behavior, and to help students develop future aspirations and goals. UR student volunteers are coaches. As a Project CARE coach, volunteers will gain valuable civic, educational, and cultural experiences as well as have great personal satisfaction. Benefiting both school children and college volunteers the Project CARE program has an unlimited potential impact for participants and the community at large.
Project CARE is partnered with the district and four schools: No. 2, No. 14, No. 19, and No. 58.
Coaches Lesson Reflection Form
Schools Today - Monthly Training and Support Session
Resources for Coaches
Refresher Training for Coaches
Students Connecting to City and Learning - Democrat and Chronicle Article
School #14 Coaches With Their Youth at Project CARE Reception, May 2, 2006
Logistics
Project CARE is specifically designed to support student volunteers so they can be their best. Coaches in need of transportation may contact Bryan Rotach , Assistant Director of RCCL, for assistance at bryan.rotach@rochester.edu or 275-4085. In addition to car-pooling and the Community Service Van, Project CARE utilizes the Red bus line and RTS Bus 18/19.
Upon receipt of your completed application the coordinating staff will work to assign weekly volunteer times that best match the coach and student's schedule. Volunteer placements may be available both during and after school hours, depending on the school's schedule and children receiving support. When filling out the application form it is important to clearly communicate your hours of availability.
Each month the EnCompass site coordinator for each school will lead a skill building workshop. This session will also be a good way for the group to touch base and share their coaching experiences. Dedicated staff from the planning group, including Bryan Rotach from the University of Rochester and the Encompass site coordinator, are always available for coaches with questions or concerns.
University Online Resource
UR Learning with Rochester City School District Students
The site is a starting ground for the ongoing process of becoming a skilled educator and mentor. It includes information on UR programs, city demographics, district statistics, tutoring and mentoring strategies, curriculum information, and more. Reviewing this resource is a step in becoming an effective advocate for Rochester city students, and a step in becoming a social advocate for them in a larger context. Through the aid of this site tutors and mentors will begin to understand the dynamics of educating.
Background
The distinctive College curriculum emphasizes student responsibility for their education; its values of freedom, responsibility, and community make community engagement an essential part of student learning. The Rochester Center for Community Leadership, created from a unique model of community leadership , supports the interest driven nature of the College curriculum. At Rochester we encourage our students to learn what they love and to give where they live.
During a Martin Luther King Day planning meeting in the fall of 2004 a consensus was reached that a small conference program should be held to explore urban education. Critical Issues in Leadership: Urban Education, was held and sparked conversation that lead to the idea that a tutoring/role modeling program between the College and the Rochester City School District would be the best way to create a meaningful relationship.
After the conference students sought to establish a direct relationship with the school district so that programmatic collaborations could occur. Discussions with the district began in the spring of 2005. The district, in an effort to meet the expectations of “Call to Arms” as well as systematically develop a way to coordinate volunteer training and management, found that forming a partnership would be mutually beneficial. In winter of 2005 it was decided that UR students would participate in the pilot program that would be designed under the districts hired agent, Encompass.
The College and the Rochester Center for Community Leadership believe this project complements its mission to develop, coordinate, and promote a variety of programs to connect college students to their community and to encourage them to become engaged citizens and leaders during their college years and in the future.
For information on other community events visit Community Service Network or the Critical Issues in Leadership Series.