Tutor/Mentor Conclusions

The children living in the area of Uptown live in fairly upscale environments. The neighborhoods are pretty safe. Even though there is still crime rate throughout Chicago, the Near North side of Chicago is one of the better areas in the city.All of the neighborhoods in the Near North side of Chicago are pretty similar with the fact that it is upper class compared to most of the areas in Chicago. The tutor/mentor programs are the only differences. Throughout the Near North Side, some of the areas have more tutor/mentor programs than others, depending on how many children live in that specific area. In order for children to be involved with tutor/mentor programs, they need to be able to afford to participate in one, as well as needing additional help with their schoolwork. There are not many tutor/mentor programs in this area because of how many children actually attend the schools. With the few programs they do have unfortunately some programs are better than others.

The south loop’s only problem was getting kids to attend the mentoring sessions. The schools in the south loop are not known for being unsuccessful or troublesome. South Loop parents hold steady jobs, earn average – or above average – incomes, and spend a good amount of time with their children. The children from the South Loop are already planning for a better future without the programs help. However, progress can always be made. If more businesses in the area were to fund such programs it would create a better environment for students for the future; most of these programs are housed in facilities that have been there for several years. If some of these companies sponsored youth sporting events it would benefit these children tremendously. Many of these kids see sports as one of the most prevalent ways to remove themselves from negative circumstances. If we are able to get these kids away from gangs, jail,drugs, and funnel them toward an education the country would be proliferating successful youngsters like never before. The poverty level would decline and the economy would overall improve. Also, if we are able to get more kids to be successful in school, imagine the power that diversity could have on the professional world. There would be much more international diplomacy and cooperation, benefitting the globe, not just America.

After researching Lincoln Park in the Near North Side of Chicago, we have come to see that this is most definitely a neighborhood geared more toward the middle and upper class. In the area of Lincoln Park, there are not many tutor/mentor programs. After researching and drawing conclusions, we feel that this could be because of majority of the schools in Lincoln Park being magnet schools, most likely offer resources and many optional tutor and mentor centers within the schools. Since the schools in the area of Lincoln Park are known for being good schools, these advantages are made readily available to these kids everyday, unlike a student from the South Side of Chicago, who may not have these resources available to them. Since the neighborhood of Lincoln Park and schools surrounding them has resources like these, there isn’t a vast need for actual tutor/mentor programs outside the schools. However, Lincoln Park does propose a few tutor/mentor programs, the number is not anywhere near the number of tutor/mentor programs in an area of the Loop or South Side Loop. Having more tutor/mentor areas in Lincoln Park would be beneficial, there are not specific needs for the program due to the great quality of schools in the area.

There are not many schools in the Loop area  due to the fact that there are only 400 students living in the area. Although, the area is the perfect place to have tutor/mentor programs. The transit systems create an easy way to get to and from the programs for a low price. This allows the Loop area to have many programs to help students from all over the Chicago land area. The Loop can be somewhat of a dangerous area for children, but with the right safety precautions it can be an easy area to get around. A way that the programs can improve is by providing hours that are safe for students to travel. The Loop is a great upbeat area that can thrill any student and excite them to learn.

The area of Old Town is quite different than the other areas we focused on.  The difference is that most of the children that live in the area, are not in the demographic of the children participating in tutor mentoring programs.  Older citizens usually reside in Old Town.  The children are more privileged in the immediate area than the other children. In this area children are more than adequately served by their schools, in fact there is such a small need, that Old Town shares its schools and tutor/mentoring program with its closest neighbor, Lincoln Park.  There are not many similarities between the areas our grouped researched.  The only similarity was the location of the area in relation to the downtown area.  There were not any specific needs that were urgent in the Old Town area because of the lifestyle of the people that live there.  In general, the people who live in Old Town are much more comfortable than those in the surrounding areas.

After researching the Near North Side of Chicago and some of their neighborhoods, we have come to the conclusion that our area is predominately middle and upper class and there are not many problems. Crime rate is relatively low for the Chicago area. This creates the thought that tutor/mentor programs are not needed in the Near North side of Chicago. Although we feel that more tutor/mentor programs in this area would benefit the children in this area, from our research, we found that most schools are magnet schools and many parents are very hands on. Since the parents of the children are hands on and they are interested in their child’s education, there is not as much of a need for tutor/mentor programs in these areas.

The next group of students that decide to take over were we left off need to focus more on the type of students that are interested in tutor/mentor programs. This way they can appeal the programs to these students and eventually get more students involved. Making the programs sound exciting and challenging for students can lure more students into the program. Also, we advise that information students give to their readers to be more focused on the type of program they are discussing. Also, giving information on the specific age groups of a program and specifics about the program can create readers to want to get involved!

Census For The Near North Side

Lincoln Park:

When it comes to the Lincoln Park area of the Near North Side in Chicago, there are only two tutor/mentor programs. One of these programs is ran through Lincoln Park High School, and the other is Christopher House located in Lincoln Park. The census for grades K-12 living in Lincoln Park is 5,4488. Christopher house serves not only children but adults in the community and neighborhood of Lincoln park as well. For grades K-12 Christopher House attends to 150 students at that age in the Lincoln Park area. As for Lincoln park HighSchool, there was no census of how many students go to the tutor/mentor program because this program is optional for students that attend Lincoln Park High School and there is no way of finding out how many students attend. Although Lincoln Park has a fairly large number of grades k-12 living in that neighborhood, the amount that attends Christopher House  not including adults is a good number.

Uptown:

In regards to Uptown, there are 3 main tutor/mentor programs, which are Asian Youth Services, Boys and Girls ubs of Chicago, and Inspired Youth. The census for the total number of people living in Uptown is 10,271. The children who are less than 10 years old made up 7.9% of the population of Uptown and children in their teenage years made up 6.8% of the population of Uptown. For Asian Youth Services about 40-70 children attend. For Boys and Girls Clubs of Chicago, this program serves more than 13,840 young people everywhere throughout the city. Finally Inspired Youth is a smaller program that started off as a Church organization, there was no exact number as to how many people attend. After looking at both the population of Uptown and the population of the tutor/mentor programs, we have realized that the number of people who participate in the programs depend on what program it is.

Loop:

When it comes to the Loop area Chicago, there were about 18 tutor/mentor programs. The most successful programs in the Loop area are Big Brothers, Big Sisters, The Chicago Youth Advocacy, ChildServ, and the YWCA of Chicago. There are only about 400 k-12 children living in the Loop area of Chicago. The majority of the Loop tutor/mentor programs did not provide specific numbers as to how many children are helped out each year. The Big Brothers and Big Sisters have helped over 3,500 students. The Chicago Youth Advocacy has helped over 5,000. The YWCA Youth of Chicago has helped over 138,000. Many programs have helped thousands of kids over the last decade and hopefully will keep succeeding as the years go on.

Old Town:

When terms of Old Town, there are 5 tutor/mentor programs. The main tutor/mentor programs in Old Town are By The Hands, Camp of Dreams, and The Chicago Park District. As of right now the census for Old Town is combined with the Lincoln Park area, so there is no actual number as to how many k-12 graders are living in the Old Town area. By the Hands serves 726 children in Old Town. Camp of Dreams serves 175 students in Old Town. Tutor/mentor programs are scarce due to the demographic of the area, which is upper middle class.

South Loop:

When talking about the South Loop, there are three main tutor/mentor programs. The Lincoln’s Challenge Program, LINK unlimited, and The Black Star Program. Currently there are 4500 k-12 students living in the South Loop. Out of the 4500, 264 k-12 student’s attend LINK Unlimited, and 150 attend the Black Star Program. Only only about 8% of the students in the South Loop area are receiving educational development outside of their schools. For the decently high level of poverty in the South Loop, this is going to be detrimental to the youth living there. The Lincoln’s Challenge Program is run through the National Guard, so there ratio of successful students is higher than the other two programs. If those other programs were to reach out to more students in the community, they would be more successful.

 

Tutor/Mentor Programs in the Near North Side of Chicago

In the Near North Side there are many tutor/mentor programs to benefit children in need. In Lincoln Park, there are only two tutor/mentor programs. One is run through Lincoln Park High School and is strictly for high school students. The other is Christopher House. Christopher House is located on Greenview Avenue and attracts the community of Old Town as well. This is a place where the community can go to further their education and financial needs. Although Christopher House mainly deals with children, they also help family in need as well. Their mission is to keep kids enrolled in school and eventually enroll them into college with a successful career. Christopher House is a very successful program in Lincoln Park and strives to help people in need. The neighborhood of Lincoln park is unique for it being located in the heart of DePaul University’s campus, the Vincent DePaul Church, and the Fullerton El Stop. http://www.christopherhouse.org/site/PageServer (Both tutor and mentor program)

In Uptown Chicago, there a select amount of tutor/mentor programs but one program that is the most successful is called Inspired Youth. This is a program that serves the academic needs of student’s containing a variety of different programs along with tutoring such as Inspired Youth Singers and the Summer Piano Institute. This specific tutor/mentor program specializes in reading and writing skills and has earned recognition from numerous organizations, including the Chicago Bar Association. Their overall success rate is pretty good and all the leaders of this program have had over twenty years of experience. This is a great way for the children to get involved with their community not only academically, but also through the variety of activities this program provides. Uptown is unique for its easy access to LakeShore Drive and proving many activities for the community to get involved in. http://www.inspiredyouthchicago.org/ (Tutor/Mentor)

In the Loop, the program ChildServ is an organization that provides unserved children and their family’s service to improve safe and nurturing home environments. Today they serve over 4,113 children and families. Their mission is to prosper into a long-term vision for children. This program educates children and their families to overcome challenges and has a high success rate. The Loop area is unique for its  central business district, and many shopping opportunities, and tall skyscrapers and highrises. http://www.childserv.org/ (Pure Mentor)

In the South Loop, the program 100 Black Men of Chicago is an after school tutor/mentor program which serves the needs of children not only academically but also physically. This is an after school program and early Saturday mornings where kids have somewhere to go to further their education. Along with academics, this program also gives opportunities to enroll in basketball camps to keep the kids active. This program is very successful and is recommended by many other organizations. Tutor/mentor programs are located all throughout the North Side of Chicago. All of these programs seem to have a high success rate because of the many opportunities that they provide the children with. The South Loop is growing rapidly, with Grant and Millenium Park so close, people living in this area have easy access to these places.  http://100bmc.org/ (Tutor/Mentor)

After researching all of our tutor/mentor programs we have come to find out that they all strive for the same goal, to keep children off the streets and in school, while helping their families at the same time. These programs are recommended by many organizations and seem to be well-liked by the community. These programs have many participants that take advantage of the many opportunities they provide.

Childhood Poverty in the Near North Side

After reading the article, we were shocked to find out that families are struggling with the high cost of living life everyday in Chicago. The conditions of the children who are living in poverty will later in life suffer, because they will not receive the same benefits that wealthy children do. Wealthier children have resources, for example books at home and help in their schools, where as children living in poverty do not receive these resources. Wealthier children have a better home life, compared to children living in poverty. Children living in poverty are more susceptible to crime and gangs because it is easier to live in a wealthy community opposed to a poorer community. In general, wealthier children have a more positive outlook on life.

In Lincoln Park, the community is generally wealthier. There are not as many tutoring/mentoring programs because the schools provide a better education than other areas in Chicago. Lincoln Park children are benefited with the resources that they are given at school. The Loop area, on the other hand, provides many tutoring/mentoring programs. These programs are there to prevent children from getting into trouble. Tutoring/mentoring programs are usually free of cost to help the children of the city. Although these programs are here to help the children, not as many children as they would like participate. Uptown provides a selected amount of tutoring/mentoring programs for children. The programs that they do have are very beneficial and do not only provide schooling for children, but they also include activities to keep the children involved and active. All of the programs positively impact the youth and it provides a safe environment outside of the streets. Old Town does not provide as many tutoring/mentoring programs because it is not as popular place for families to live. There are not as many schools in Old Town compared to cities like Lincoln Park and the Loop. There are more attractions and the town is more historical. Finally, the South Loop offers the most tutor/mentoring programs in the Near North Side. This is because the South Loop has a higher crime/poverty rate so this is the communities way of keeping the children out of trouble. These programs in the South Loop help the children stay in school and stay out of gangs. Since the parents are not there to provide for their children as much, these programs give the children an opportunity to enhance their education. From these tutor/mentor programs, children that need guidance or a place to go are able to excel not only in academics, but also in life.

Putting it all together

The near north side of Chicago consists of Lincoln Park, The Loop, Old Town, Uptown, and the South Loop. The Lincoln Park area contains the beauty of Chicago. If you live in Lincoln Park you are around a wealthier area and good school community. Many schools in Lincoln Park are Magnet schools and parents are willing to contribute to their children’s education. With the DePaul campus in the heart of Lincoln Park, the streets are always crowded with youthful excitement. As students at DePaul University, we experience the beauty and excitement that Lincoln Park has to offer everyday. It is a friendly and diverse environment bringing new culture to incoming students. The Loop consists mainly of the public transit system. Its most commonly known transit system is the “L” and the CTA busses. This mode of transportation is an inexpensive and efficient way to get around the city. The Uptown area of Chicago has many attractions, with new shops and restaurants opening every year. Uptown offers residents and tourists easy access to beautiful Lake Shore Drive and Lincoln Park. This area is gradually becoming more wealthy as time goes on. Old Town contains historical buildings giving Chicago a warming charm. Old Town is an entertaining area , and is home to the comedy enterprise Second City. It is a very desirable area to live in because it is close to everything. Old town property value is very high, and is home to various ethnicities and cultures. The South Loop is changing rather quickly. The town is becoming more developed everyday. Columbia College houses most of their residents. This area is home to the laregest homeless shelter in the Chicago. The near north side is becoming a more and more popular place to reside in. More people are choosing to move in the area and raise families. With downtown Chicago just an “L” stop away it makes the Near North Side a convienant and desirable location.

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