TUTORING & MENTORING

Our expectation is that every one of our students and their family makes a commitment to participate in every opportunity that our program offers them. We hold very high standards for our students and we expect them to be met. When individual needs arise, we act as a liaison between teachers and parents, keeping the students on a successful and focused path. Their commitment is critical to the fulfillment of our Mission that each student will be successful in middle school and high school in order to be accepted to and attend college. It is that Determination To Succeed that drives our students to work above and beyond what is expected of them.

After-School Tutoring

During the school year our students attend mandatory bi-weekly after-school study sessions. They receive one-on-one attention from our staff, local high school volunteers and experienced tutors. They receive homework and test preparation help, subject-specific tutoring as well as math and writing enrichment. In addition to these academic services, the Determined to Succeed staff mentors and counsels the students on issues ranging from peer pressure to current events.

Determined To Succeed has inspired me to make goals for my future.”

-Ali, 9th grade Hamilton High School

Every program DTS has provided us with has helped us in every way!”

-Sara, 9th grade Hamilton High School

I like that DTS gives us journal writing which really boosts our English skills.”

-Jonathan, 7th grade Palms Middle School

College Prep, Counseling and Weekend Workshops and Tutoring

Determined To Succeed’s learning curve has been a steep one! We learned a tremendous amount from our first group of graduating students and the paths they took to get to college. Essential to their success was choosing the right classes, intensive writing and math workshops, specific subject tutoring, an early start to college research, comprehensive, intensive SAT/ACT test prep and college counseling. Most of these services take place on the weekends. The course load for the average college-bound high school student is very demanding, and our program provides all the resources necessary for them to be competitive and confident in their studies.

The weekend writing workshop helped me learn about different types of writing styles and how to actually write them.”

-Daniel, 7th grade Palms Middle School

DTS always helps me with my homework assignments and projects. It helps me raise my grades and have better attendance. I’ll never decide to leave DTS because without it I wouldn’t achieve like I am now!”

-Lizardo, freshman- Syracuse University, Fall 2012

 

SUMMER ENRICHMENT

Summer enrichment is a key component to the unique nature of our program. It is during the summer months when many students regress academically. To ensure that our students do not lose their scholastic momentum, we enroll them in programs specifically chosen to match their interests, academic needs and grade levels. We have recently added an emphasis on Community Service and Shadowing opportunities. Our students have become empowered by being able to give back!

I really like the summer programs.”

-Cory, 9th grade Hamilton High School

We are all excited to attend UniCamp. For most of us it will be the first time we are away from home.”

-9th grade Hamilton High School students

Here is a glimpse of summer 2012!

Our objective for all of our students is to introduce them to a wide variety of academic and enrichment opportunities that they are not exposed to during the school year. They may discover a passion in an area that they can further pursue in middle and high school, college or even as a potential career!

~ Book Roots Playwriting & Word Slam Performance Workshops

Book Roots developed these workshops specifically for Determined To Succeed! Nikki and Elizabeth, the women who created the programs are school librarians, Children’s Book World associates and have an MFA in Playwriting and a Law degree between them! Each student will write, produce and perform their original work during the course of the sessions.

~ Camp Harmony

Some of our high school students will return for a second summer as volunteer counselors at Camp Harmony—a 20-year old program that gives LA homeless youth the opportunity for a week of the fun-filled traditional summer camp experience many other children experience during childhood.

~ Destination Science Leadership

Several of our high school students will participate in this Leaders-In-Training science program. It is a hands-on counselor in-training experience for students interested in gaining leadership experience focused on science. The students will receive a full day of training prior to the start of the 2-week camp.

~ Determined To Succeed Writing Workshops

A former high school English teacher, Elana Gimble, New Roads assistant College Counselor, Emma Coleman and our own Angel Honda developed a writing workshop for our 9th grade students based on their summer reading requirements for Hamilton High School and a workshop for our students transitioning into college.

~ Iridescent Summer Camp – Underwater Robotics

The underwater robotics course involves Sea Perch robots, which are remotely operated underwater vehicles. The SeaPerch Program, created by the MIT Sea Grant Program allows students to build underwater robots for various research activities.

~ Mathnasium

Our students will continue to hone their math skills through our Mathnasium curriculum on a weekly basis during the summer.

~ USC Summertime Writing

This is a summer writing and college preparation program for graduating seniors entering college in the fall. Several of our college bound students are participating in this rigorous program.

~ UCLA UniCamp & Unicorps

Our high school students are attending this 75-year-old program for the first time this summer. We hope this will become an ongoing tradition for us. It is an overnight camp created to give low-income kids from Los Angeles the camping experience of a lifetime in the mountains near Big Bear. All of the counselors are either current or former UCLA students.

Quotes from our students’ experiences during summers past….

My experience at Camp Eagle was one in a million…hopefully, I can serve as a role model to one of those kids—and that’s the best I can ask for.”

-Ivan, Tufts University, fall 2012

This summer I took my first trip to New York. We went to see a play called Westside Story, and it was amazing.”

-Vicky, Cal State Sonoma University, fall 2012