A mentoring and tutoring program initiated by the School of Education is boosting the self-esteem and academic skills of children from the West Grove community.
During a community event at Elizabeth Virrick Park, MarieGuerda Nicolas, left, associate professor and chair of educational and psychological studies in the School of Education, speaks with some of the UM student mentors and counselors involved in the Kulula Project.
The first time they met Daryl, the group of University of Miami students involved in an after-school initiative that serves at-risk children thought the 9-year-old boy was too angry to be helped. The youngster kept to himself, refusing to join the other kids in daily activities meant to build self-esteem.
“With a father incarcerated and a mother in and out of drug rehab, he had every reason to be angry,” says MarieGuerda Nicolas, associate professor and chair of the Department of Educational and Psychological Studies in UM’s School of Education who created the Kulula Project, the mentoring and tutoring program in which Daryl is enrolled.
