Alameda Boys and Girl’s Club Launches New Program –Open To All– For College Bound Youths and Parents
Parents seeking to send their students off to college face a labyrinthe of complex decisions, and navigating that often new, and not always hospitable terrain, can be daunting, time consuming, and involve major financial decisions and sacrifices, not to mention home-front drama and angst.
Learning the ABC’s and three R’s in school is one thing, but obtaining reliable, structured guidance in learning how to ‘play the college admissions game’ poses its own, very different curricular challenge.
Many a parent stumbles around to even begin to identify what schools —much less what subject paths to follow—are best suited for the individual capabilities and interests of their youngsters.
Compounding the complexity, is that their student may well be the very last one to really have an informed sense of where, or even if, to go.
Teens frequently fall sway to the allure of the ‘designer label,’ sweatshirt-powered panache of a school name or just amble along with the subjective, superficial, sometimes whimsical, popularity preferences of their peers and the sales pitches of so many colleges and universities seeking tuition dollars.
And for too many families, making true the dream of going to college, –if they even hold it as given—is just a fable that is or seems out of reach.
A new, community based program to assist local middle and high school students and their parents to change those dynamics is underway at The Alameda Boys and Girls Club.
Entitled “Diplomas to Degrees ”(D2D) the project, free of charge for all teen members , will help guide ABGC youths and their families decipher the ins and outs of applying for college, financial assistance, becoming skilled at identifying ‘best options’ and navigating the convoluted, red tape of the process.
The program’s design will also help aspirants become more adept and empowered in making sound and informed choices about colleges and career paths after high school graduation.
While all three Alameda High Schools, Alameda, Encinal and St. Joseph Notre Dame have College and Career centers staffed with advisors backed by online information for students and parents to access, the D2D program offers an added pillar of support, according to ABGC’s CEO, Dr. Richard Watters.
“I think the difference is we are serving 1st generation students that sometimes are overlooked by ‘counselors’ at the high school. Especially if they don’t have high GPAs and have not indicated their intentions to go on to college,” said Watters.
He also urges that student ‘buy in’ and positive outcomes for them will augment college admissions assistance offered at their schools because, “we will be able to provide more attention to the subject matter because our teens are choosing to be part of the program.”
The D2D will be more of an in-house class or “rotation,” as he described it, as opposed to the traditional ‘drop in/go online’ model of many high schools.
Watters said that the program won’t offer traditional ‘counseling’ but focus more deeply on educating and facilitating instead. “We just hired a part time coordinator, she is a college graduate and will be able to relate to our kids,” he said.
ABGC currently has 95 students eligible for the program, and will “prioritize the graduating seniors of 2024… since application deadlines and submissions are (due) this Fall,“ said Watters.
As it becomes ingrained into club dynamics, D2D will involve younger high school aged teens and middle schoolers as well.
ABGC also hopes that the allure of D2D will help grow its teen membership, which was at about 190 before Covid.
“Teens got used to being home or being on their own,” said Watters, who believes that having a safe, stimulating, after school, activity and program-rich environment will provide a better, more productive option for teens during those many hours of the day.
All teens who are not current ABGC members and who wish to participate in the program may do so, at no cost, by clicking on the “Become A Member” button on the club’s homepage at alamedabgc.org.
The special emphasis on these students aligns with the program’s premise that, “Students of color, particularly Black/African American and Latinx males, have the lowest college degree attainment compared to other ethnic groups,” and hurdles often get in the way of graduation for these youths, according to ABGC’s current grant proposal.
The program’s design will help family members and students grasp the time commitment which college requires when it comes to class time, homework loads, group projects and general study needs.
For first generation college attendees, parent lack of college experience poses another hurdle which D2D seeks to address.
To help them build the foundation for college success the program mission statement says that it will tap into each student’s cultural knowledge and personal assets with the hands on, individualized guidance they will receive.
When it comes time to identify ‘the fit’ between student and institution of higher learning, the program will focus on parent involvement, arrange for on site college visits, help with admissions essays and applications, and get them to develop a personal plan to guide them towards on time high school graduation and prepare them to navigate the stress ridden and unyielding timelines and requirements of the process.
Anyone who has undergone the tortuous process of just getting a ballpark cost of attending a given institution, researching loans of various types, filling out financial aid forms, seeking scholarships, determining whether the student must work part time to help ends meet and so on, knows about walking through the daunting uncertainty of the minefield.
The experience is even worse for those whose financial resources are limited.
For them, the cost of college can be an automatic shut out, regardless of the student’s drive and capabilities.
Case in point, we live in a nation where students and college grads have taken on the crushing burden of over 1.7 Trillion dollars in student loan debt, a massive problem unto itself.
But the youths of D2D, along with their parents, will have a helping hand with the financial element.
“The program will educate the teens and families on the process of the FAFSA, (Free Application For Student Aid) educate on costs (housing, books, tuition and fees), and help with scholarship and grant exploration.
Our partnership with the Alameda Housing Authority is offering their families $250 per semester for each teen that participates in our program, “ said Watters.
Perhaps of greatest benefit will come from providing the emotional encouragement that many teens need when they feel overwhelmed, behind the curve, or have set backs when certain schools they yearned for become out of reach and hope takes a blow.
A key inspiration for the program was renowned, forty year Alameda educator Don Sherratt who passed away in August of this year.
Sherratt, who attended Alameda public schools and graduated from Alameda High went on to Contra Costa College and Fresno State as a talented baseball player, was no stranger to the path of ascension in education and the rewards it availed.
Sherratt kept his deep roots in Alameda, went back to teach at an alma mater, Haight Middle School (now an elementary named Love) before rising to attain Vice Principalships at Wood Middle School and Alameda High.
After that, he became the HR head of AUSD, all the time leading the community as a key figure on the Board Of Directors of ABGC, where he won The Dr. John O’Hanneson Golden Achievement Award for community service and inspired leadership.
Reflective of his track record is a recollection, posted in an online obituary site, from Shirley Clem a 30 year veteran educator with AUSD whom Don hired.
“He inspired and led with integrity and honesty, and care for everyone he met. His commitment to the community and especially our youth has made a lasting legacy.”
In the words of his younger brother Rich Sherratt, who helped arrange the ‘seed money’ to get the D2D program underway, the core message behind the program and the words of wisdom he wishes to convey to all youngsters is ‘EDUCATION… EDUCATION, KIDS , EDUCATION…SCHOOLING.’ …!”
Sherratt and the ABGC both see that axiom as the ultimate meaning of Don’s legacy which will live on through D2D.
TO ENROLL YOUR TEEN IN D2D, FREE OF CHARGE, CLICK HERE: alamedabgc.org
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Those who wish to donate to D2D to help it expand and endure, can do so online at alamedabgc.org, and designate their gift to “The D2D program”, or mail a check to P.O. Box 1069, Alameda, CA 94501. Donations are tax deductible (as allowed by the IRS) according to ABGC.
