Heads Up rarely serves only one person in the family - three out of four enrolled in our programs have multiple family members participating. For example, we might teach a child how to read, tutor an older sibling for the SAT, and improve a parent's writing skills. Moreover, Heads Up enlists family members as partners in providing services. Currently we hire 18 parents as AmeriCorps members and tutors, engage additional parents as volunteer aides and field trip chaperones, and create 36 summer junior teacher jobs for older siblings. They are often enthusiastic, compassionate, and idealistic.
Undergraduates also have more flexible schedules and fewer professional commitments.
And with over half of our college students comprised of people of color, and nearly 80 percent attending college on financial aid, Heads Up ensures that children in our program can look up to young adults from similar and dissimilar backgrounds. We provide extensive ongoing training, coaching, and supervision to keep program quality high and accountable to the community. At the same time, Heads Up helps college students explore, through formal reflection seminars, how they might serve society in the long run. It changed me for the better. These partnerships align and leverage resources in support of at-risk children while ensuring that a variety of institutional stakeholders share ownership.