Diminishing the Academic Achievement Gap

Presenter: Mariah James, Public Health Science, Global Public Health Scholars

My practicum project consists of mentoring children from elementary schools in Prince George’s County with the Maryland Mentor Corps program. My mentorship requires me to read with a child twice a week, assess their reading and writing skills, and then support them through activities designed to improve their comprehension, fluency, and vocabulary. By exhibiting the importance of reading and writing, I hope to foster a new outlook on learning as a whole in the children that I work with. Ultimately, I chose this project in an attempt to provide younger students with the assistance that I wish I had access to at their ages. With the right educational foundation, these students will grow to have opportunities for better health outcomes.

4 Comments

Eila Abamonga

May 06, 2021

Hi Mariah!

The work you have done with these children will definitely be something they will remember later on! How did you choose what child you worked with? Did each student receive a mentor or were select students only offered the mentorship?

mariah james

May 10, 2021

Replying to

Hi Eila,

You have such a pretty name. To answer your question, a group of children is selected by their teacher to take part in the program, and then the team leader will pair each mentor with an individual child. These children are selected because they may need extra help in certain subject areas or personalized teaching to fit their learning style. Because the University can only offer mentors based on the number of volunteers, not every child in a class can receive a mentor. Hopefully, with more promotion of the Maryland Mentor Corps program, more mentors will join!

aeshagh1

May 05, 2021

Hi Mariah!

I believe that the work that you and these mentors are doing are amazing because you it is helping shape the future of someone. Are there any similar mentoring programs for middle and high school students? How much do you think the environment of these children have affected them?

mariah james

May 10, 2021

Replying to

Hi Aesha,

Thank you so much for commenting. Because Maryland Mentor Corps focuses on elementary schools, I am unaware of any similar programs geared towards middle and high school students. I believe that the Terrapin Teachers program here at UMD might be able to provide more information regarding that. You can email them at TT@umd.edu for more information.

I think that a child's environment has a huge impact on them and the education they receive. In low-income areas, children often experience a shortage of funding, resources, technology, well-rounded educators, and a plethora of other barriers that they may not even be aware of. The shortcomings of the educational system that allow educational disparities between districts to persist are the reason…