Tutor-Mentor Profiles
A New Start
Damari Thomas (DT to most) says Root 2 Rise was the first time he felt treated with respect by anyone except his mother - and the first time he felt like attending high school classes instead of "goofing off."
Five years after DT helped in her Lincoln Elementary School classroom in Madison, teacher Angie Hall still remembers DT's passion for helping kids, especially those who were withdrawn and wouldn't share their problems with anyone else. DT’s Root 2 Rise experience inspired him to pursue a career in special education. After DT’s high school graduation, Root 2 Rise: Thrive provided him with technology and career support. He now works at Toki Middle School in Madison.
"Root 2 Rise made students feel so connected and motivated,” says Hall. “A few were close to dropping out of high school. This program kept them engaged. It pulled them back in.”
"I know every school would want Root 2 Rise to be part of their programming."
A New Role
Andrew Cassiday says people think he needs help because he uses a wheelchair. But he says that as a Tutor-Mentor, he appreciated that he was the one offering help to others.
Andrew Cassiday originally thought he'd be helping in Kirsty Blattner's One City Schools second-grade classroom for a few hours a day through the summer, but he was so enthusiastic he ended up staying all day.
"The experience was amazing," says his mother, Amy, a teacher for 19 years. "I know of no other program where students can be consistently mentored by a teacher. Root 2 Rise instills confidence and a love of education."
"I can't think of a reason why a student wouldn't be involved with Root 2 Rise. The kids just loved Andrew. He was a real trooper," Blattner says.
"The kids bonded with me more than they might have with others because they knew I understood what it was like to go through difficult times," says Andrew, who uses a wheelchair due to spina bifida.
Andrew relished helping instead of being viewed as someone who might need help. He also enjoyed the "unfiltered" questions students asked about his disability, which most people don't ask because they're afraid of offending him.
"He was such a natural," says his mother. "A career in education now might be in his future, a possibility neither of us expected."
New Role Models
Our Tutor-Mentors are influential role models. Here's what this meant for one family.
Ashley Moncrief's daughter, Savannah, 16, had Tutor-Mentor Joseph Thigpen, Jr., in fourth grade as her first Black role model in a school. "He made a difference. Everyone looked up to him," Savannah says.
Ashley's younger daughter, Danielle, had Jayden Wilson as a Tutor-Mentor in kindergarten two years ago, and Ashley says Danielle still enthusiastically refers to him.
"Root 2 Rise is a great opportunity, particularly for students who need a second chance," says Ashley. It's very empowering for students of color, as are the stipend and the credit toward graduation.
“I grew up in Madison and attended Alabama State University so I could be with other Black students. It changed my life," Ashley says.
Savannah and Danielle have had more Black classmates than their mother did, but few Black teachers. Root 2 Rise will help erase that deficit. Many BIPOC Tutor-Mentors say they have become interested in a career in education.
A Real Partnership
“Root 2 Rise brought out a side of me I didn’t think I had,” says Martina Sancristobal, a Madison West High School student who was a Tutor-Mentor at One City Schools in Madison.
She originally volunteered for two hours daily, but often stayed for two or three times as long, eager to work with the 5- and 6-year-olds she helped, focusing on kids with special needs. ”We grew close. I think they really connected (with me) when they learned I could speak Spanish."
"Martina became a partner," said teacher Jaclyn Thompson. "I couldn't wait until she arrived, and neither could the kids. It was a sense of relief to have someone so dedicated, especially to deal with the challenges following Covid," Thompson said. Colleagues who worked with other Root 2 Rise students were equally enthusiastic.
“I wish I had received this kind of help when I was younger,” Sancristobal said. “Growing up, I always wished I had teachers who looked like me.”
The prospect of participating in Root 2 Rise was so appealing that Martina was willing to pay to do so – and was pleasantly surprised to learn that she would receive a monetary stipend for completing the program.
Martina felt “disconnected” from school at the end of her junior year, a feeling that vanished when she joined Root 2 Rise. “I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything," she said. She now plans to pursue a career in education.