Community key to success

Editor: We are grateful to live in a community that cares very
much about our children’s future. Last week, the Tribune kindly
featured an article about a new program focused on increasing the
graduation rate of Healdsburg’s public school students from high
school, starting with a fifth grade class at Fitch Mountain
Elementary. We from Public School Success Team hope your readers
were intrigued and, perhaps, inspired by the program and the
adorable young faces in the photos. PSST is implementing the
program with full cooperation of HUSD, and PSST will follow and
assist these students until they graduate in 2017. We are starting
with one fifth grade class as a pilot program to see what works,
and plan to add fifth grade classes to the program in each
successive year. In the next few months, our family support team
will be introducing other elements of the PSST program.
PSST would like to recognize a few of the many, many dedicated
community volunteers and partners who are part of this program.
Fifth grade teacher Maryam Shamim and curriculum director Annie
Millar dedicated hours of their summer break to development and
problem-solving. Tutoring is a key element of the program, and
Lynne Brett, PSST board member and volunteer coordinator, has
worked tirelessly to develop training and support programs for our
many volunteer tutors. Several of these tutors are employees of two
PSST business partners, EandM and General Dynamics. Big Brothers
and Big Sisters of the North Bay has been training local volunteers
as mentors to families who request mentors for their children.
We believe a collaboration of schools, students, and community
volunteers will prove the value of creating a community partnership
for the benefit of our children. If you share our vision, please
contact us for volunteer or other support opportunities at www.hbgpsst.com.
Tania Amochaev
Healdsburg