Volunteers offer time to educate

By Michael Moeschler

When the doors of newly centralized Downtown College Prep (DCP) open on Oct. 21, administrators will not only welcome their current students but Santa Clara students as well.

Santa Clara Community Action Program (SCCAP) has teamed up with the administration of DCP to welcome Santa Clara student's involvement in the DCP tutoring program. Starting Oct. 21, SCCAP will provide transportation to and from DCP for afternoon tutoring sessions with the students. The sessions are offered Monday through Friday from 3:45 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Founded in 2000, Downtown College Prep is a small (300 students) charter school committed to educating students from largely working-class Latino families. The goal of DCP is that all graduating students will have the skills to enter and thrive at four-year universities.

According to Greg Lippman, principal and co-founder of DCP, Santa Clara student's involvement in the tutoring program will enhance the DCP students' optimism that entering a four-year university is an achievable goal.

"Sharing with these kids is incredibly potent in starting their imagination about a college life," said Lippman.

Downtown College Prep Program Coordinator, sophomore Marshall Davidson, is excited about the future of the program and the university's relationship with DCP.

"There's no limit really to how many tutors we can have," said Davidson. "If each student had a tutor everyday, that would be ideal. We have to keep marching toward that goal."

Davidson became involved with DCP when he was a freshman. It was the relationships that he developed with DCP students that motivated him to increase other student's interest in the program. "Working with the kids, there's a friendship that develops into a bond," said Davidson. "I look forward to building on those bonds."

Santa Clara and the Arrupe Center have been closely involved with DCP students since its opening in 2000. Lippman recalled that in the past, university students would generally tutor the DCP students as a class requirement and then stop once the quarter had ended. While Lippman praised the huge impact that these interactions had with his students, he is hoping that the new program will establish more long-term relationships.

"The longer the tutor and the student share that relationship, the more fruitful it becomes," said Lippman.

Ninth grade principal, Alicia Gallegos, an alumna of Santa Clara, has been involved with DCP since 2000. Gallegos acknowledged that Santa Clara student involvement in the program gives her students the confidence that they can be academically prepared for college life when they graduate.

Initial response to the program has been a success, with more than 60 students showing their interest in tutoring at DCP. Davidson asked that the university community continue to share their talents with the DCP students. "With Santa Clara, we've been blessed with this great education," said Davidson. "Right down the street we can put that to use with kids who haven't gotten that gift up until this point."