Marcus Nicolas: Mentors matter in bridging the access gap in Leon County schools
Imagine this: There are students in Leon County Schools who are earning postsecondary credentials including but not limited to welding, medical assistant, child development, and coding certificates. However, many of these students are not aware of the power that those credentials possess. They are ahead of the curve, and they do not even know it.
While I was collecting research for my doctoral dissertation, I asked a student how he planned to leverage his welding certificate to earn gainful employment – even if he had plans to attend a four-year institution. His response, “it’s just an elective.” I was in shock. Immediately, the conversation shifted. I moved from research mode to teacher mode. In that moment, I realized one of the gaps in our system: we need more career mentors.
Over the last year as a Leon County School Board member, I have learned that the Leon County school system does not have an opportunity gap for students to participate in postsecondary credit courses or earn industry-level, high-quality certificates; we have an access gap. Think about this: over the span of five years, on one of our majority black high school campuses, the school’s administration offered 10 different types of traditional dual enrollment courses, 10 various advanced placement courses (AP), and several career dual enrollment and Career and Technical Education (CTE) opportunities.
Meanwhile, data from the Florida Department of Education revealed that black students on that campus earned significantly fewer credits compared to their white counterpart. While there are many on-campus options from which students can select (opportunity), there may be barriers that limit their understanding in how to enroll into or navigate through the opportunity to achieve their goal (access). This is where connections with academic or career mentors serve as an invaluable resource to the district: demystifying postsecondary education and de-stigmatizing career and technical education.
I am convinced that mentors are one of the key contributing factors to mend the access gap. A mentor who helps a student understand how to navigate educational and career choices can play a huge role as an on-ramp for postsecondary attainment or earning an industry-level certification.
Organizations like 100 Black Men, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and Leon County Schools all have their own mentorship programs. The three, along with ASPIRE Capital Region, however, recently have joined forces and entered a memorandum of understanding to launch the Big Futures program.
The pilot program at Griffin Middle School pairs a middle school student with a mentor. The mentor equips the student for success at the postsecondary level. One hour per week can change the life of the student. Consider being a mentor through this wonderful program or any of the mentorship opportunity in the district. Visit the Leon County Schools website at https://volunteers.leonschools.net/ to complete a volunteer application today.
Marcus Nicolas, Ed.D, has served as an educator in Leon County for 16 years at the secondary and postsecondary level. He is also a member of the Leon County School Board, representing District 5.
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Mentors matter in bridging the access gap in Leon County schools
