NYC Private Schools Blog wrote about the Student Sponsor Partners Program in 2009. It’s a good time to revisit this stellar group as additional students complete high school and go on to attend college with their help.
Krystal Diaz, a student at St. Raymond Academy, is going to attend Manhattan College thanks to the 26-year-old mentorship program.
SSP started in 1986 to address the high school drop out rate and helped 45 students that year go to college. The focus is on offering high school students college preparatory classes and mentors to help encourage them and build a solid relationship that leads to the students’ success. More than 85% of the students who enter the program each year graduate from high school, well above the NYC high school average.
Student Sponsor Partners has 26 partner schools in Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and New Rochelle. They helped 1,400 students in 2011 graduate from high school and 97% went on to college.
Partners operates on the strength of its volunteers. Sponsors provide financial support and mentors work one on one with students. Many volunteers do both.
To qualify for admission into the Student Sponsor Partners Program, students must come from low-income families and be enrolled in the eighth grade. The family’s income cannot exceed $10,000 per family member. Families must be willing to contribute a part of the cost of tuition each year. And students should be academically average to below average. For additional admissions requirements, check out SSP’s website.
