A virtual get together led by Mrs. Giammatteo
Tag Archives: Tag: Success
A virtual get together led by Mrs. Giammatteo
Mentors of Juniors at KCHS will meet with Mrs. Mastrone to discuss how Shepherds Mentors can support their Student through the college process.
The pandemic has shined a light on socio-economic disparities in education in Connecticut. Per the CT Mirror, this Spring during the COVID-19 shutdown of schools “In Bridgeport, a full half of the student body didn’t show up regularly for remote schooling during the pandemic compared to 19% who were chronically absent before school buildings closed.” Likewise in New Haven, public school district leadership told the State Education Accountability Committee, that during the first week of remote learning this fall an estimated 65% of the students participated. As a point of comparison, Fairfield Warde and Ludlowe High Schools had participation rates in the 90+% this September per CT Data.
Now more than ever, inner city high school students have more barriers to accessing a quality, college preparatory high school education. For 22 years, Shepherds has been addressing educational disparities in Fairfield and New Haven Counties. Our track record speaks for itself. 95% of our students graduate on time and 90% attend institutes of higher learning after high school, as compared to their public school peers graduation rates of 65-75% and college entrance rates hovering around 60%.
The needs of inner city high school students in Connecticut are greater than ever. With a donation to Shepherds today, you will be investing in a student’s future and helping solve the education opportunity gap right in your own backyard.
For over 20 years, Shepherds has been empowering inner-city Connecticut teens to build a foundation for success by helping close the educational inequality gap in Fairfield and New Haven counties.
Shepherds provides each student the tuition support to attend a college preparatory education, academic and life skills programs, and the positive role model and four-year guidance of a Shepherds Mentor.
Shepherds is repeatedly asked the question, “Who are your students?” We are able to provide the demographics of race, gender, income difficulties, etc., and these are important data points about our students. However, it doesn’t capture who they ARE.
This year, we asked the incoming freshman to write a poem entitled, “I AM.” Shepherds believes these poems are powerful statements about who our students are – what their hopes, goals, dreams and fears are.
To find out how you can be a part of changing a teen’s life, go to www.shepherdsmentors.org or contact Executive Director Dan McAuliffe at info@shepherdsmentors.org.
You can make a difference, right in your own backyard.
Dear Shepherds Friends:
Here we are in the heart and the heat of the summer… with not much else certain other than the sun will come up tomorrow and it will probably be warm if it’s not raining.
But here’s what we can tell you:
- We had an excellent response to our call for mentors and funding for the incoming Shepherds Class of 2024. We are bringing on a total 14 new students in the fall, 10 at Kolbe Cathedral High School and four at Notre Dame West Haven. This will increase Shepherds total population by four students to 65 students for academic year 2020-21.
- Each of these students and their families were selected on the basis of financial need, academic potential, and most importantly, their demonstrated desire and commitment to be successful. We look forward to them joining the Shepherds family in a few weeks.
- Most gratifying has been the many inquiries we had from prospective mentors and financial sponsors to make this large new Class possible. The willingness to make a four year commitment to change a young person’s life that has been most inspiring to us. One of the many emails from a prospective mentor captured the thought this way:
“.…Education is the ultimate “equalizer”. We as a society must ensure that all people have access to quality education and can participate fully in our society. Recent events have shown that we as a country are still far from where we need to be. I am moved to help by potentially becoming a Shepherd and sponsor and would like to learn more about your program.”
He’s signed up!
- Thanks to the generosity of respondents to the spring appeal, the financial commitments made by a great number of our new mentors, and a substantial donation from one very generous family, we were put over the top for our Shepherds Class of 2024 goal of $60,000.
THANK YOU TO EACH AND ALL OF YOU!
What do we see for the last half of the summer?
- We await information from our partner schools on the details of their re-opening plans.
- Kolbe Cathedral Shepherds Class of 2024 Cougar Camp is planned for August 17 -21.
- Most importantly, our students still need the attention of their mentors this summer. Letting them know you’re thinking of them will be a great boost to their morale.
You can also help us expand our network of friends by sharing one of our Facebook posts with your Facebook friends, sharing a Shepherds LinkedIn posting with your connections, or by forwarding this e-newsletter to friends, colleagues, and relatives. Let’s give more people the opportunity to change a life!
Best wishes for a continued safe, healthy and hopefully enjoyable summer.
Dan McAuliffe
Executive Director
dmcauliffe@shepherdsmentors.org
(203) 367-4273
At this time of year, Shepherds would be usually be gathering together to celebrate our seniors’ accomplishments and high school graduations. With the health crisis, we are unable to host in-person celebrations. However, that does not diminish our pride in our graduates.
Our students’ hard work and determination, coupled with support from their family, Shepherds mentor and Shepherds program, have led to this moment in time where we now commemorate their achievements.
Congratulations to the Class of 2020! Go forth and do great things!
June 2020
Dear Shepherds Community,
We hope that this finds you safe and healthy in these unsettled times.
As we face the devastation wrought on our country and our world by the Covid-19 crisis, we also acknowledge, as we always have, that there exists in this country great social and economic inequality. We understand and wish to extend our thoughts of support to all members of our extended Shepherds community who are both suffering from and troubled by these ongoing circumstances.
Shepherds’ mission remains the same today as it was 20 years ago. We continue to close the opportunity gap for young people in our inner cities by providing this under-served community with access to quality high school education, life skills training, college prep workshops and activities, and adult mentoring that helps to guide them during their most formative teenage years. Shepherds promotes educational and life opportunities for our Shepherds students by investing in and extending their human potential.
We are justly proud of our Shepherds alumni who do their part to make the world a better place in every way, including by reinvesting in their communities and by giving their time and energy back to Shepherds.
Shepherds continues unwaveringly in its mission of Changing Lives…One Student at a Time.
We thank you and welcome your continued support of Shepherds in our important and critical endeavor.
Sincerely,
Timothy Stuart, Chair
Barnet Phillips, IV, Vice Chair and Co-Founder
on behalf of The Shepherds Board of Directors
Jonathan is the embodiment of the Shepherds’ belief that education is the gift that keeps on giving – long after they graduate our program. He is a 2005 alumnus of Notre Dame West Haven High School and the Shepherds program. He has also given back to our program by becoming a mentor himself.
Jonathan continues to mentor in Charlotte, NC where he now lives via National Association of Black Accountants (NABA). NABA’s motto is ‘Lift as We Climb.’ “Being mentored opened up opportunities I did not know about or our family didn’t have the means to provide. I am continuing that tradition by mentoring young black accounting students,” claimed Jonathan.
Mentoring changes lives. You can too! Become a Shepherds mentor for a student in the freshman class beginning this fall. Contact Dan McAuliffe at info@shepherdsmentors.org or call 203-367-4273.
This evening, the entire Shepherds’ community at Notre Dame West Haven High School were to come together to honor the upcoming graduation of four young men: Luis, Damian, Johan and Sukeer. Due to social distancing restrictions, we will not be having those celebrations. However, we are endeavoring to honor our seniors in a way befitting their tremendous accomplishments.
Shepherds is exceptionally proud of these seniors who have come so far since their freshman year – and have robustly completed their education despite the public health challenge. Additionally, the seniors’ families, mentors, financial sponsors and the staff at our partner school, Notre Dame West Haven, should be all be recognized for their efforts to help these young men reach new heights. They say it takes a village – and these young men have many villagers who have been supporting them the past four years.
We look forward to announcing our graduates’ plans for their education in June. Until then, congratulations to the Shepherds’ Notre Dame West Haven Class of 2020! Shepherds hopes you use the gifts of your Notre Dame West Haven education and the Shepherds program to keep reaching new goals. Go forth and do great things!
