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Mission: To have University of Pennsylvania students serve as tutors and mentors to 1st-4th grade students at LULAC’s Young Reader’s Program.

Goal: To create an environment for academic and social success in school for the elementary school students.

Objective:
1. Thursdays: To incorporate reading days for the students. Penn tutors will assist students in reading upon finishing their homework.
2. Fridays: To implement activities that are both educational and entertaining. The majority of the activities will be related arts and craft.
3. Monthly Books: ACAMP will strive to provide the students with their own books at the beginning of every month through its relations with First Book.
4. Annual Field Trip: To expose the students by inviting them to the Penn campus at least once a year.
5. CHAC: To join the CHAC community and become more involved with Civic House for program improvement and advertisement purposes.

Significance:

The program allows for Penn students to reach out to the North Philadelphia community through serving as important mentors to the elementary school students in the Young Reader’s Program. In addition, the elementary school students will be able to gain exposure to college by bonding with Penn students and their annual field trip to the Penn campus.

Overview:

In 1995, ACAMP, was founded by ACELA (La Asociacion Cultural de los Latinos Americanos). ACELA in partnership with La Casa Latina and CIVIC house provide outreach to Latino/a high school students. The tutoring program initially started out as a program geared towards middle school students in North Philadelphia, which is a predominantly Latino neighborhood. ACAMP specifically provided 4th-6th grade students with academic support and reinforcement, established a long-term relationship with the students, instilled within students a stronger motivation to continue with their education and to excel to their fullest potential, and provided students with a first-hand look at the college experience.

ACAMP runs an afterschool program at a local North Philadelphia elementary school in collaboration with LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens). While the after school program runs throughout the week, ACAMP works with the students on Thursdays and Fridays. Since 1995, ACAMP's mission has been to provide educational/moral support to the students by Penn tutors (ACAMPers) in order to obtain a level of academic achievement and motivation that will allow the students to pursue higher education and ultimately gain admissions to the University of Pennsylvania.

Today, ACAMP no longer works with middle school students, but with elementary school students in their 1st-4th grades. On Thursdays, we focus on the "Academic" aspect of ACAMP through assisting with their homework and providing them with challenging worksheets. On Fridays, we turn towards the "Mentoring" part of the program by running small arts and crafts activities that are both fun and educational. In addition to Thursday and Friday ACAMP at their school, the program plans and organizes events where the students visit the Penn campus and begin their first physical exposures to a college/university environment.

ACAMP runs every Thursdays and Fridays from 3:00-6:00pm. There are currently both 20-25 ACAMPers and elementary school students. Becoming an ACAMPer is open to the entire University. The program is a perfect place to give back to the community as well as creating a close friendship between the elementary school students and among ACAMPers.

Thursdays: Based on past years, ACAMP Thursdays have been tough to incorporate on a regular basis due to schedule conflicts for ACAMPers. We have, however, moved ACAMP Thursdays to even Tuesdays for some semesters because of ACAMPers’ availabilities. While Thursdays are designated for academic days, we have only been able to briefly go over homework, followed by playing games. The long-term goal for Thursdays would be to have books for each student to read and have the tuturs assist them in their reading. Unfortunately, ACAMP currently does not have enough funding nor resources for Reading Days. (Possible sources, Civic House, First Book, CHAC, and Center for Community Partnership – America Reads).

Fridays: ACAMP Fridays have been the most successful part of the program. The number of Friday ACAMPers range from 10-15 every week. Fridays are designated for Fun Fridays and the day is devoted to activities that are both educational and fun. The activities that we do are mostly related to arts and crafts although we have done skits and role playing in the past. In addition to the main activity, we begin the day by reading a book outloud to the students while sometimes even having students act out the story. The books that we read range from culture books for self-esteem books. The books that we select are from the ever growing ACAMP Library.

Monthly Books: Beginning in 2002, ACAMP began an on-going partnership with First Book where First Book provides ACAMP with distributing books upon application and need. Throughout the year, First Book monitors ACAMP’s distribution performance and at the end of each academic year, ACAMP once again re-applies for more books to be distributed the following year. The books are to be distributed on a monthly basis. Please note that each order takes about 9 weeks.

Annual Field Trips: Each year ACAMP attempts to organize a field trip that invites the Young Reader’s Program to the Penn campus for first-hand exposure to the college atmosphere. In the past we have hosted an Easter Egg Hunt and the event proved successful. Planning out the event itself takes quite some time due to the need to work with multiple parties. From ACAMP’s end, it is important to find a date and location to host the event. The date chosen should not conflict with Penn’s schedule. As for the location, choosing a place that is safe and making reservations prior to the event date is a must. From the Young Reader’s Program’s end, the event date too should not conflict their schedule. Additionally, the program will need to provide the parents and the school with permission slips for the field trip and early dismissal. With regards to transportation, we have turned to the subway system to get the elementary school student to the campus (using the Civic House van is not an option because it is against Penn regulations). However, the Young Reader’s Program have offered their own form of transportation in the past and therefore prior consultation should ease the problem. Given the amount of time and organization that is required, begin planning at least a month or two in advance. Asides from an Easter Egg Hunt, Trick or Treating and Scavenger Hunting events have been discussed.

Civic House Vans: Every week ACAMP relies on the Civic House vans to get to the North Philadelphia community. In order to drive the vans, it is necessary that potential drivers attend a certification session that is offered monthly. For reservations of certification sessions, contact the Department of Risk Management at http://www.finance.upenn.edu/riskmgmt.

Contact La Casa Latina: lacasa@pobox.upenn.edu.

La Casa Latina mosaic design by Mario Guadalupe Cruz and Michelle A. Ortiz

La Casa Latina is a division of the
Office for University Life (VPUL)
at the University of Pennsylvania