Shepherds (www.shepherdsmentors.org) is looking for mentors, sponsors and donors. We help to close the achievement gap in CT’s inner cities by providing at-risk students with a quality preparatory education and pairing them with a mentor.
The Shepherds’ program targets inner-city youth in the greater Bridgeport and New Haven area who need the support of a small class environment in order to succeed. The students who enter our program have a history of struggling academically in the public school system and tend to lack a strong support system at home. They come from families living below the poverty line, often with a single working parent, parents who have not graduated high school themselves and parents who are non-proficient English speakers. These challenges, coupled with residing in neighborhoods with low high school graduation rates, significantly decrease their likelihood of graduating from public schools and going onto college.