Sarah Greenwood K-8 School Recognized by Boston Partners in Education for Commitment to Academic Mentorship

June 8, 2015 (Boston, MA) – Today, Boston Partners in Education honored the Sarah Greenwood K-8 School in Dorchester with the Pamela L. Trefler School Partner Award, recognizing the school’s dedication to their students and longstanding partnership with Boston Partners in Education volunteer academic mentors.

Each year Boston Partners in Education hosts the AMP! Academic Mentoring Party, delivering awards in seven categories to honor the committed volunteer academic mentors, teachers, and corporate partners who serve Boston’s public school students. The Pamela L. Trefler School Partner Award is presented to the school that goes the extra mile to make Boston Partners’ volunteers and programs welcome and successful additions to the school. The entire school community works together to recognize and support the volunteers in their school. The school incorporates the volunteers into the school culture and makes them feel a part of the group of caring adults who work to support the whole child.

The Sarah Greenwood K-8 School, located in Dorchester, has built a strong relationship with Boston Partners and its volunteer academic mentors over the past five years. The Greenwood is one of five Boston Public schools with a dual-language program in Spanish/English. The Greenwood School focuses on culturally sustaining practices, restorative justice, STEAM, and Ethnic Studies initiatives.

“Boston Partners is a strong partner because they provide access for students to mentors and supports that bring knowledge from the outside and the community into the classroom,” said Cynthia Jerez-Martinez, Director of Family and Community Learning at Sarah Greenwood K-8 School. “The mentors amplify student voice in their learning and reinforce the importance of new ways of inquiry.”

Since 1966, Boston Partners in Education has provided tens of thousands of children who are struggling in school with the tools necessary to become better learners, by mobilizing and training community members to serve as volunteer academic mentors to K-12 students across the BPS district. Teachers nominate individual students who could use additional academic or socio-emotional support, and Boston Partners in Education pairs a mentor to work independently each week with the student throughout the school year.

“So many of our volunteer academic mentors have shared with me their positive experiences at the Greenwood. As a mentor there myself, I know and see that the entire school community has made a concerted effort to emphasize the value of education,” said Pamela Civins, Executive Director of Boston Partners in Education. “The school has done a tremendous job creating a learning environment that meets the needs of their students, and we are proud to assist the administration, teachers, and students every way we can.”

To learn more about how to get involved as an academic mentor, please visit www.bostonpartners.org or fill out a volunteer application.