Partnership Spotlight -
The Rodel Community Scholars Program

New this school year at CISA’s Metrocenter Academy is a partnership with The Rodel Foundation called Rodel Community Scholars. Out of this new partnership, two different programs have been created.

The first program, “Recover All” will have a Rodel Community Scholar working to relocate students who have dropped out or graduated from Metrocenter Academy. The project will have the scholar working to develop creative ways to locate and effectively communicate with these youth to delivery appropriate services. Students that have dropped out will be guided back to Metrocenter Academy to finish their high school education and youth that have graduated will be offered career and higher education assistance. Also the scholar will be able to recommend the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) through CISA’s ASPIRE program to those students who are eligible.

The second project is called, “M.O.M. – Moms Open to Mentoring Moms”. Rodel Community Scholars will visit Metrocenter Academy weekly to provide mentoring to teenage mothers who have returned to school. The project entails matching a Rodel Scholar mentor who is a single mother with a Metrocenter Academy mother. The mission is to provide the young mother with encouragement and support in an effort to help them stay in school and graduate.

Agbor Iweriebor, a Rodel Scholar at ASU is one of the mentors assigned to Metrocenter Academy.

“Being a single mother myself, I understand the importance of having that one-on-one relationship with someone you can trust to help you when you need it” says Agbor. She truly believes that by mentoring high school mothers, they will be able to make smarter decisions about their children, their education, and their futures.

CISA is excited about the potential impacts of these two new programs and how they correlate with the CIS Five Basics. CIS believes that all youth need and deserve:

* A one-on-one relationship with a caring adult
* A safe place to learn and grow
* A healthy start
* A marketable skill to use upon graduation
* A chance to give back to their community

Both the "Recover All” and the "M.O.M” program address one of these CIS Five Basics, adding to the long list of services CISA provides at Metrocenter to help students be successful.

CISA is continually looking for innovative ways to work toward our mission of helping students learn, stay in school and successfully prepare for life. Special thanks to The Rodel Charitable Foundation of Arizona and the Rodel Community Scholars program!