SHPE - Fall 2007 - (Page 44) LOCAL HERO T By Greg Hernandez The Santos Strategy Community Mentors and Energetic Teachers Maximize STEM Potential of South Central L.A. Teens F include corporations, professional organizations and community programs. “In our academy, we are fortunate enough to have a support structure, a group of partners that cares about our students’ success as much as we do,” Santos said. “We are successful because we have partners who care. With ifteen years ago, Manual Arts High School, located in South Central the help of our partners, anything is possible.” Though support for academic success Los Angeles, offered zero technical clubs and few programs may be lacking at home, students find it at that challenged students beyond the bare basics. The Manual Arts. Such students are paired up with representatives from organizations college retention rate was low, and teachers struggled to see the long-term such as the Society of Hispanic Professional effects of their work. In this diverse urban area with a high crime rate, Engineers (SHPE) or the Society of Mexican American Engineers and Scientists (MAES), students — 80 percent of whom qualify for subsidized lunches — didn’t see who serve as surrogate parents. The surrogate ensures that the child gets needed supthe purpose in school. port with regard to any issues they may be having in school. The Enter John Santos, the visionary lead surrogate also seeks to teacher of the school’s Imaging Science & keep the parents Technology Academy (ISTA), which was involved by informing established in 1997. Now viewed as a model them of their child’s program to help stem the shortage of techprogress and helping nical talent in the United States, his program them to understand works with the community to focus on stusuch things as college dents and help them create an academic and admissions and finanprofessional future they never thought cial aid. could have existed. “Latino and minorAs a result, today students are participatity parents as a whole ing and succeeding in technical engineering support their children education, winning competitions across the as best they can,” region, being accepted into schools like Yale Santos explained. University and overcoming what might be Almost half of John Santos’ ISTA students will study science and technology in college. “What often happens challenging personal circumstances to reach take, but we never base things on grades,” he is that you reach a point where the child’s their full potential. “Our students are the most improved in said. “We base it on such things as their academic level surpasses that of the parents. the school,” said Santos, now in his 13th year desire, and we tell kids in advance that if The parents then tend to back off, and that at Manual Arts. “It’s because we have a core they join us, they are going to have to work level of support, that enthusiasm that was group of teachers that works really hard. hard. We did away with D’s so our grading there when they were younger, kind of What we look for (in a teacher) is passion. is A, B, C and F. We don’t give courtesy dwindles a bit. They can’t help their child any more with their homework so they We pick someone who we see works well grades. You either pass or you fail it.” Of the academy’s 42 graduates last year, don’t feel as effective as they did when the with children. We don’t just care about how much they know but also how much they all went on to college. Eighteen of those stu- child was younger.” These surrogate mentors help fill that care. Teachers who care will do whatever dents are continuing in engineering and they can to learn what they need to know to technology, including one — Gina Gonzalez void but do so by including the parent in help that child. There’s that energy there. — who was awarded a full scholarship to the process. “We’re really trying to create a team atmosphere,” Santos said. “Even though Energy is contagious, passion is contagious.” study electrical engineering at Yale. The students have won numerous they might not completely understand The bulk of the credit goes to the hardworking students. Approximately 4,000 competitions including, most recently, the what’s going on, [parents] can still be supkids attend Manual Arts High School, and Southern California regionals of the portive of their child, and there’s another each is allowed to choose from among National Engineering Design Competition adult there that can tell them what’s going to eight programs/academies such as social and top prize at the Printing Industries happen when they go to college, who’s justice, business and environmental stud- Association of Southern California (PIASC) going to pay the bills, what the heck is financial aid. A lot of parents get scared ies. With 422 students, Santos’ academy is Academic and Technical Decathlon. Santos also credits the academy’s success when they hear this stuff.” the most popular program in the school. Mitchell Suarez, a leader of SHPE’s “We are limited as to the number we can to the support of more than 30 partners that SHPE R Fall 2007 44
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