For children in blighted neighborhoods, going to college can be a lofty goal, especially when making it through school is enough of a challenge.
Rodzae James, 11, knows his neighborhood is rough, but he’s lucky to have a couple of good role models. “I look up to my brother because he was the first boy on my block to go to college,” he said.
Rodzae not only has his brother to look up to, but also his mentor, Justen Boyd, a family advocate at Family Focus Lawndale, who specializes in education and restorative justice.
Instead of bolting out of the building when the bell rings at 1:45 p.m. on Fridays, Rodzae and four fifth-grade boys at Goldblatt Elementary School in Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood headed to the library to see Boyd. For some of the boys, Boyd is the primary male figure in their life.
“Justen is like a big brother to me,” said Geraod Taylor, 12, who said his father had been in and out of jail. The fact that Boyd played college basketball, will banter about the Bulls and frequently plays ball with him in the gym is definitely a bonus, Geraod said.
Boyd, 24, mentors black males at Goldblatt Elementary, where 100 percent of the students fit the Chicago Public Schools standard for low income. He also works with two other elementary schools in the North Lawndale area.
The mentoring groups are set up by the schools and Family Focus, a non-profit community support program aimed at strengthening families and helping children. The free mentoring service, which began operating in 1976, seeks to help children overcome obstacles like poverty, violence and gangs.
Altogether, Family Focus operates seven family support centers throughout the area, all of which offer mentoring programs in schools. The group says it serves about 14,000 people each year in its family support programs, 60 percent of them under 18.
Research shows that a mentoring program can improve a student’s academic ability and self-confidence. There is little research focusing on the effects of mentoring on young African-American males, but Michael Casserly, executive director of the Council of the Great City Schools, said mentoring is important for them.
“In general, mentoring can be an enormously effective way of engaging kids and making sure there is an adult presence in their life,” Casserly said.
Last year, Casserly’s organization released an analysis of data from the nation’s 30 largest cities showing that black males lag behind in nearly every measure of educational success and are more likely to live in poverty.
Geraod does not need research to know the odds are against him.
“If you just sit on the corner all the time, you’re going to end up dead or in jail,” he said. “A black man’s life is the hardest life.”
Boyd, a graduate student at Aurora University, said reaching kids like Geraod is as simple as being available and talking about things they may not talk about at home.
“A lot of them don’t have fathers at home, so having me around gives them a positive male influence,” Boyd said.
Counselors at Goldblatt selected the boys who attend Boyd’s group at the beginning of the school year. Since the mentoring sessions started, they have shown significant academic improvement. Four made the honor roll last term, and one, 11-year-old Marzell Wilson, received the Principal’s Scholar award for getting all A’s on his last report card, Boyd said.
On a recent Friday afternoon during the Chicago Bulls’ NBA Playoffs run, Boyd and the students talked about the definition of success. Although several aspired to become the next Derrick Rose, they all talked about college and careers as well.
“Just talking about success makes us want to be successful,” said Everett Spraggs, 10.
