Sister Jerome's Kids Targets College-Bound Students
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Eighy-nine percent of inner city students who enter college will drop out, not graduate, a statistic Sister Jerome Corcoran calls "horrendous."
Many of those that don't complete a post-secondary education often find themselves on some form of public assistance, placing a burden on taxpayers and government programs.
Sister Jerome, a longtime advocate for impoverished children in the community, wants to help reverse this trend through "Sister Jerome's Kids," a mentoring and assistance program that helps motivated young people succeed in making the transition from high school to college or trade school, and eventually to a career.
"We don't solve any problem by pouring money into it," Sister Jerome told an audience at the Tyler Mahoning Valley History Center downtown Tuesday. "But, a little bit of money that's used in a targeted way, for this emergency, then we hope there will be success."
Sister Jerome's solution is to select students who have demonstrated the best chance to succeed and provide them with the type of supplemental assistance that middle- and upper-class students get from their parents.
Money raised for the program would not be applied to tuition – the students have already selected their college and most qualify for Pell Grant assistance – but instead provide help for daily living needs such as food, gasoline, books, illness, school supplies, car repairs, clothes or unanticipated emergencies.
The program, launched in September, has selected 12 students who today attend Eastern Gateway Community College, Youngstown State University, the University of Akron, the New Castle School of Trades and a community college in upstate New York, Sister Jerome says.
To participate in the program, students must have a part-time job, maintain a good academic standing at a college or university, obey university regulations, and manage their finances properly, Sister Jerome says.
Sister Jerome's Kids seeks to raise $60,000 toward the program by 2014, and double that amount in 2015.
Sister Mary Dunn, a volunteer mentor for the program, says it's important to keep in close contact with the students and their parents to ensure they stay in school and graduate.
"They're not kids, but they do need guidance and need to be allowed to make their own mistakes," she remarks.
Dunn makes every effort to make sure these students are performing well academically, possess a positive attitude, maintain a polished appearance, and attend classes, she says.
"What will you do if someone drops out?'" Sister Jerome recalled a woman asking her recently. "I said, 'Over my dead body.' We decided that they were going to finish college or a trade school."