University of Richmond Micah Initiative

         Whitcomb Court is a Title I (high-poverty) school within the Richmond City Public School System and is listed as one of 34 "priority" schools in the Commonwealth of Virginia. There are approximately 350 students attending in which 98% of whom are African-American. The majority of those in attendance live in the Whitcomb Court Housing Projects and the surrounding neighborhoods.  

 The Whitcomb Court Elementary School Mentoring Partnership is made possible through a partnership with Saint James's Episcopal Church. In 2001, Saint James's created a partnership with Whitcomb Court school with the hope of making a significant difference in the lives of the children who attended. In 2003, the University of Richmond Micah Initiative moved to support this endeavor by supplying student volunteers to work with a child for one hour a week. Over 100 UR students volunteered in the first year alone at this site. We hope to double our numbers for the 2004-2005 school year.

     The flexibility of this program has been a real draw for students. All students are allowed to volunteer during any one hour time slot between Monday and Friday beginning at 9am until 3pm (extended time slots on Wednesday and Thursday) with the exception of lunch time (11:30-1). Lunch time is a very difficult time to schedule any one-on-one mentoring so no mentors will be permitted to sign up between 11:30am and 1:00pm. Transportation can be made available through carpool, the Bonner shuttle, or if you would like to drive yourself you may.

    Math Buddies and Book Buddies will receive separate orientation sessions from normal Whitcomb Court volunteers. The Math Buddies and Book Buddies program was designed by the Department of Education at the University of Virginia to assist students using a specific formula for success. Each volunteer in these programs will need to go through the training for the program which consists of a film which is about 30min. and an introduction to the program at Whitcomb Court Elementary School with a member of the faculty. Math Buddies and Book Buddies begins at around 1:00pm and moves in one hour time slots all the way through 5:00pm. You may choose any of the time slots available on Wednesday or Thursday (1-2, 2-3, 4-5).

Requirements:

1. All volunteers must attend one of the training sessions at the beginning of the semester. These are lead by the Micah Initiative.

2. All volunteers should attend one lecture, or activity during the course of the semester. These include any Micah sponsored events, any events created by the Center for Civic Engagement, any program on Public Education, any Religious Program. The choice is yours! You can go to whatever you think will be most interesting to your mentoring situation. This is not mandatory but it is STRONGLY encouraged.

3. All volunteers must attend the end of semester lunch to discuss how things went during the semester, likes, dislikes, etc.

Still have questions? Get fast answers from the Chairman of the Whitcomb Court Mentoring Project on AOL Instant Messenger. Ask the Chairman at the screen name: URWCMP .

2004-2005 Academic School Year:

    August 23, 2004: Classes Resume

    August 23- September 10, 2004: Recruitment and Orientation

    September 13, 2004 - November 19, 2004: 10 Week Mentoring Session

    November 29, 2004 - December 3, 2004: Reflection Lunches

    January 3, 2005: Classes Resume

    January 3-21, 2005: Recruitment and Orientation for Students new to the program

    January 24, 2005 - April 15, 2005: Mentoring Session

    April 18, 2005 - April 22, 2005: Reflection Lunches

     Due to the fact that this is a volunteer program with children, we must insist that you try to make all of your sessions with the child you are working with. Consistency will really help to develop the learning process of the child and will create a positive bond between the two of you so that there will be no difficulties. More than two absences will disqualify you from the program and you will not be allowed to re-enter until the next school year.

                                                                                            2004 Fall Semester Sign Up

Look to see what fellow UR students have to say about Whitcomb Court Elementary School and the Micah Initiative:

Note: The following quotations were taken from an anonymous survey of the program.

1. "I think mentors/tutors should be prepared for the variety of tasks they might be asked to perform at Whitcomb. My overall experience with the school was very good. It was also nice to be able to choose the age group that I mentored."
 

2. "great program"

3. "its was very rewarding to see the kids improve over the year. [I wish I could spend] more time with the kids.
 

4. "the flexibility of deciding when to go and how much time to give. It would have been hard to do if the program didn't allow for me to be flexible with the time I gave."