Tutoring and Mentoring Programs in Englewood

Yesterday I wrote about an article published in the Chicago Tribune on Sunday about living in Englewood neighborhood of Chicago and the difficulty kids face during the summer there. Today, as a follow-up, I'll write about the programs offered in the neighborhood.

Englewood is divided into two Chicago neighborhoods, Englewood and West Englewood, and you can search for programs in the Tutor/Mentor Program Locator by either searching under Englewood and West Englewood under the "neighborhoods" criteria or under 60621 and 60637 under the zip code criteria.

In total there are six tutoring and mentoring programs in West Englewood and five listed in Englewood. In Englewood, there are two Boys and Girls Clubs - Reed Club and Englewood Club and one Chicago Park District park that offers after-school homework help - Sherwood Park. Another one of the programs, Stagg Elementary Time-Dollar Institute Cross-Age Peer Tutoring has been shut down recently. Finally, there is 21st Century Community Learning Center - Family Focus of Englewood. This initiative is part of a larger organization that offers mental health support services in a variety of ways to the Englewood Community. The 21st Century Community Learning Center, according to its website, offers "after-school activities at Bond, Reed and Sherwood Elementary Schools and Woods Academy, a Chicago community school."

Of the programs listed in West Englewood, there are two Chicago Park District Parks that offer after-school homework help - Lindblom Park and Ogden Park. There's also the Academy of St. Benedict School, which offers after-school enrichment activities and tutoring to it's students.

Another program is the Englewood Family Center, Illinois Subsequent Pregnancy Program (ISPP), a program of the Children's Home and Aid Society, which offers mentoring and tutoring to young mother's as part of a constellation of support services to help the mother be a good parent to their baby and to prevent another pregnancy. They also offer a Community Schools Program, which, according to their website "The Community Schools program includes physical and mental health services, performing arts and sports enrichment activities and academic support in a holistic program design. These services include tutoring, after-school activities and in-class groups on topics such as conflict resolution for children and behavior management classes for parents."

It is unclear whether West Englewood Youth and Teen Center - Reach Out and Touch still has a program since they have no website and have not responded to my e-mails. Finally, there's the Youth-Guidance program of the West Englewood Community, located at Harper High School. Youth Guidance also offers a Community Schools Program and a STRIVE Program that lends support services to wards of the state.

While this might seem like a lot of programs, it's not. Two programs are of questionable status at this time and many work with a specific population or have long waiting lists. Simply put, there are thousands of young people ages 6-18 living in the Englewood and West Englewood neighborhoods that could benefit from the services of a tutoring and/or mentoring program. The Tutor/Mentor Connection hopes that people will read the Chicago Tribune article profiled above and read this blog article and be compelled to start a program in the Englewood neighborhood. An interesting idea is the possibility of University of Chicago students teaming up to start a program in Englewood, since the community is literally right next to Hyde Park.

If you're interested in starting a program in Englewood, or in another one of Chicago's neighborhoods stricken with high poverty and high levels of violence, I encourage you to leave a Comment on this post, but also to visit Tutor/Mentor Exchange, which has a wealth of resources for those wanting to start a tutoring and/or mentoring program. I also encourage you to contact me if you have a program in Englewood or West Englewood, or know of a program there so we can list them in our Tutor/Mentor Program Locator.