Community advocate helps college dreams come true for student

by Carrie Boron

December 1, 2002 | | Montgomery County, MD

After 16 years, Mary Anne Hess was tired of attending school meetings with the same faces and seeing little progress on closing the achievement gap in Montgomery County Public Schools. So, the mother of two and education writer tried a different approach.

She put her efforts into helping one person, a young immigrant student, and became his mentor. She had met the young man in a study circle on student success in the local schools. Today, this young man has successfully completed several college courses and is on his way to attaining his goal of becoming an engineer.

While the study circle program in Montgomery County Public Schools works over the long term to bring about all kinds of school and community action to help students reach their potential, the story of Mary Anne Hess shows how individuals inspired by study circles can make a difference right away.

Hess decided to join a study circle after learning about it in an e-mail listserv. "I had never really heard of study circles before, but I was interested in a group that would be more diverse and include students," said Hess.

At the request of Superintendent Jerry Weast, the school district kicked off a community-based study circle program in the fall of 2001 to find ways to close the widening gap in student achievement. The district's Department of Family and Community Partnerships and community organizations, including IMPACT Silver Spring, collaborated to organize the program.

Once in the study circle, Hess was concerned that the three students in her group, all recent immigrants from Central America, would be too timid to share their experiences in the school system or to offer their ideas to help struggling students.

"The three students had varying degrees of proficiency in English, and my first thought was, 'oh no,'" said Hess. "I had been in meetings with student council presidents, newspaper editors — the obvious leaders — but I had never been in a group with students we were trying to help."

The students surprised Hess and the rest of the adult participants with how open and honest they were in the discussions. "Everyone was intensely interested in what the students had to say," said Hess. "These students had incredibly intelligent insights."

Hess said her study circle discussion was respectful and diverse. The process helped everyone feel comfortable sharing their school-related experiences as well as their thoughts on why the achievement gap exists, she said.

"I don't think anyone felt they couldn't say what was on their mind," Hess said. "And I think that the study circle helped the three students articulate their thoughts. I don't know if they had ever been asked what they thought."

During one of the study circle sessions, Hess learned that one of the students could not afford to go to college to pursue his dream of becoming an engineer. The student immigrated to the United States three years ago only speaking a Mayan language. While struggling to learn both English and Spanish in school, he worked as a day laborer to help support his mother and younger brothers.

"He was such a determined young man, and I thought that if he didn't get the chance to start college right away, he might never go," said Hess. "(In the study circle), I got to know this student well enough that I really cared about what happened to him."

After the study circle program ended in December 2001, Hess set out to help the student go to college. "I thought, 'gee, there's enough people that even if just a few people gave a $100 here and there, I could raise enough money to get him started in school. Why should somebody else do it? I'll just take the lead,'" said Hess.

That summer, Hess worked to set up a scholarship fund. Since she was on the board of a local nonprofit dedicated to improving education and housing in Silver Spring, Md., she was able to establish a scholarship fund through the organization. While raising money for the fund, Hess spent the summer tutoring the student in English. He quickly became part of Hess's family by joining it for dinner and befriending Hess's 16-year-old son. By the end of the summer, the entire family was helping the student master his English skills.

"It's been a wonderful experience getting to know this student over the summer and to have him meet my family and practice his English with my husband and kids," said Hess.

In the fall of 2002, Hess successfully raised enough money to enroll the student in two night classes at a local college. With the help of family, friends, and the community, she raised over $1,000. "We're all so excited that he's getting the chance to start school and, one day, become an engineer," said Hess.

Her work is not over. She still meets with the student three times a week to help with his course work, and she is venturing to help other students in the same situation. She is now working to raise more money for the scholarship fund as well as recruit mentors to help scholarship recipients wade through the college process, keep track of homework, manage schedules, practice English, and more.

Would Hess recommend participating in study circles to other people? "Oh, yes, nothing can beat the small group process," said Hess. "I think that study circles really inspired me to make a difference as an individual."

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