Peninsula Bridge

WPS student teaching assistants start each morning off with a cheer during the eight-week summer camp. Middle School campers return to the campus for eight weekend academic enrichment sessions during the academic year. From the upper left WPS students are Daniel Wenger, Diego Moncada, Clint Campagna, Victor Aguirre, Eric Frasch, Kendall Bell, Chrissa Trudelle, Rachel Moody, Aracely Aceves, Cierra Tanakatsubo, Andrea Gutierrez, and Dora Marron.

6 M ore than a decade ago, a bright young girl in Redwood City agreed— somewhat reluctantly —to give up five weeks of vacation and attend an academic summer camp at an upscale private school. Today, that young lady—Janette Maldonado-- holds degrees from Woodside Priory and Stanford University, and is now working towards a PhD.

The summer program that got her started, Peninsula Bridge, this year celebrates its fifteenth year of service to more than 3,000 students. WPS celebrates 14 years of involvement. Janette’s story is dramatic, but not unique among Peninsula Bridge participants. Peninsula Bridge targets middle school teens with academic promise—specifically, students enrolled at local public schools that have relatively fewer resources to support this promise. These youngsters are invited to an all-expenses-paid five weeks of summer camp at WPS, Menlo, Sacred Heart, and Crystal Springs. (Castilleja formerly offered a program and is expected to do so again soon.) Following the summer programs, students meet again for eight weekend tutorial sessions over the next school year. At some campuses, they also receive homework help during the school year.

The goal is to prepare them for college prep work by ninth grade. Entry into Algebra 1 and English 1A in freshman year is one of the best indicators of future college enrollment, Bridge directors say. Eighty percent of Bridge students have succeeded in meeting that goal, the data shows.

At Woodside Priory, students work with teachers and teacher assistants in the mornings in a math program with a science and technology orientation. The program includes recreational athletics, guest speakers, field trips and potluck suppers where families gather to learn about and celebrate their students’ work. A family-based evening of awards, with kids beaming as their successes are celebrated, is a grand finale. This year, WPS’s Bridge students also can ask for support in taking the placement tests and filling out the application forms for private high school admissions.

The students must love the program—since 2001, the attendance rate over the five campuses has averaged 95%. And 96% of participants end the summer saying they feel better prepared for the coming year.

The Priory has a strong commitment to Peninsula Bridge or something like it because it accomplishes important goals for both the school and the students, said Tim Molak, WPS Headmaster.

“We see some form of outreach as a part of our ministry. With Peninsula Bridge, I think we have learned how to do this successfully. We’ve learned that simply bringing talented students together with good teachers doesn’t necessarily lead to success. It takes a more sustained, coordinated effort than we ever thought in the beginning,” said Mr. Molak.

One key ingredient to WPS’s success is working with the same community over time. Adults on the students’ home campus and the Priory campus have learned what to expect and what works in teaching this particular group.

Another key is bringing each summer a group of students who know each other. Students cement friendships and form a core group that stays committed to academic success back at their home campuses.

The Priory’s program is more effective since putting it in the hands of an enthusiastic director who shares the students’ culture, Mr. Molak said. Dora Marron, WPS’s program director, brings a wealth of academic and professional strengths to her job. She speaks Spanish and grew up in a local Latino community much like the Bridge students.’ She graduated from WPS in 1995 and from University of Santa Clara in 1999.

WPS’s program focuses on two things—math preparation, and developing in each student a vision of competence and success, said Ms. Marron. Math achievement is easier to measure, but self-confidence receives equal attention when the program is structured, she said.

At a recent anniversary and fundraising banquet, student comments make it appear that positive attitude is important throughout the program.

• José Gonzalez, whose mom works three jobs at $10 an hour, said he and his friends never expected even to see a private high school for the academically advanced, let alone go to one. His summers at Crystal Springs gave him a different view of himself. He now is applying from public high school to top-tier colleges with every expectation of being accepted. He anticipates a life of public service in national politics. ‘We see some form of outreach as a part of our ministry. With Peninsula Bridge, I think we have learned how to do this successfully.’ –Tim Molak, Headmaster

• Demetra Jones-Schoby said Peninsula Bridge and Sacred Heart High weren’t exactly her first choices when she was young. She credits her mom’s determination and “Divine Intervention” for the fact that she enrolled anyway. Like Julie, Demetra reported finding friendship and support. She earned a college degree and today is a teacher at her high school alma mater.

Every year, some of the Bridge students apply for private high school admission. At WPS, these

scholarships because the campus knows how to support them and has now built in many of the ingredients to carry them through senior year. The students, in turn, provide a perspective in culture and life experience that the Priory wants for its student body.

WPS has provided an average of two scholarships per year to students from the Bridge program—more than $100,000 in total. So far, 11 of these students have graduated, and five more will graduate by 2009.

7

WPS students, faculty members and alumni are extensively involved as volunteers and paid teachers. These individuals welcome and benefit from the opportunity to be involved with a different community.

The five participating private schools take financial responsibility for providing facilities. WPS also provides student supplies and food. Peninsula Bridge has traditionally paid the salary of a program coordinator on each campus. However, in recent years, Bridge has had difficulty in completing that commitment, and WPS (along with other schools) has covered the shortfall in the form of a loan. Last year, WPS raised $10,000 at the school auction to fund salaries on this campus.

WPS Bridge students, teachers and supporters past and present attended a recent campaign kickoff breakfast at the Sharon Heights Country Club for Peninsula Bridge, which celebrates its 15th anniversary this year. The campaign goal of $100,000 was met within a few weeks and an additional $400,000 has been pledged over 5 years.

“At a cost of about $1,000 per student, and about 60 students a year, it is a significant budget item. But it’s well spent in return for us and them,” Mr. Molak said. WPS’s attention to pre- and post-testing, which yields documented proof of results, makes this campus a viable candidate for grant funds, he added.

Les deWitt, former WPS Trustee, was one of the founders of the program. He did it, he said, simply because of his religious philosophy. Looking for a way to make a positive difference, he and Sister Brown, a Sacred Heart nun who brought up the concept, focused on middle school as the point in a person’s life when intervention might yield lasting change for the better. In recent years, he has backed away from hands-on management, which now rests with a professional staff, and it is a satisfaction for him to see his program solidly on its feet, moving forward, he said.

8

Pictured here are, from left, Virginia Kavanaugh, Les DeWitt (former WPS Trustee and co-founder of Peninsula Bridge), Mercedes Hernandez, Tim Molak, Angelita Hernandez, Nicole Patton, Nellie Maldonado, and Gail Kimball