BOYLE HEIGHTS : After-School Project Pairs Tutors, Pupils

An after-school academy hopes to put children on the track to college by pairing college students and adult mentors with third- and fourth-graders and by emphasizing parental involvement.

The Boyle Heights Elementary Institute is the brainchild of Kenneth Rogers, a graduate of Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, where the framework for the program was his thesis.

Teachers have likened the academy to a private school setting where the children will get more attention.

“They will be doing things that we would all be able to do if we didn’t have 32 students in our classroom,” said Bridge Street School teacher Arturo Selva, who is on the institute’s board of directors. “They can build on what is taught in the classroom and practice critical thinking skills. What is important is the individual help.”

The program, which is to start Jan. 19, will involve 40 students from Sheridan Street and Bridge Street elementary schools in its first year. Rogers and school officials will be interviewing parents and students in the next few weeks for enrollment in the program. He is trying to attract a group of students of varying academic performance.

“We’re basing our interviews on commitment, their willingness to participate and whether they see this as an opportunity to take advantage of or as a day-care facility,” Rogers said.

UCLA teaching students will meet with the children after school for classes in science, math, language arts and history. Parents must agree to attend workshops to learn how to get the most out of their children’s teachers, homework and activities, or volunteer in the after-school program. Each of the children will be paired with a college graduate mentor.

The program, which has received initial funding of $50,000 from the Echoing Green Fellowship, which funds public-service ventures of recent graduates, will track the children through sixth grade. Rogers is seeking additional funds from local businesses and organizations to underwrite the annual cost of $1,770 per student.

Rogers worked on uniting various interests, such as the university and local businesses, to ensure the success of the program. Each has a stake in improving the education of inner-city children to increase their representation on college campuses and to ensure they will be qualified to fill jobs in the future, he said.

UCLA’s Center for Academic Interinstitutional Programs helped design the curriculum for the program and will train the college student teachers.

“Third and fourth grade is such a crucial time,” said Betty Levinson, associate director of the center, part of the UCLA Graduate School of Education. “It’s really neat to be involved in something like this that includes so many components of the community.”

Rogers added: “It’s taking so many things that are working out there in isolation. The parent program, the mentoring program and the after-school program are three components that have proven to work in other areas.”

His ties to Boyle Heights stem from when the area was a predominantly Jewish neighborhood. His grandfather bought a piece of land there in the early 1900s, which is between the two schools. Rogers hopes to someday build the institute there.