With the rapid spread of COVID-19, we are reminded of the need to take care of our communities, families and ourselves.  The PSP staff has compiled two sets of resources to provide information and direct help to our community members. Please feel free to share these with anyone else you think may find them helpful.

• We have created a Community Resources page to provide links to a variety of help – from unemployment information to free meal sites to guidance on addressing the anxiety that many of us feel right now. The document is split into 5 sections to help you find the resources in your own community: California, El Monte, Lennox, Fort Bragg/Mendocino and Ukiah. We will continue to update it, so check back regularly. You’ll find it under our News & Events page menu.

• We created a new page on the PSP website dedicated to ideas for virtual mentoring activities. As our leaders continue to call for social distancing, PSP is committed to sustaining mentoring relationships. This new page provides links to activities that mentors and scholars can use to continue your monthly (or more) engagement by phone, video call or text. Facebook messenger, Zoom, Skype and Google Hangout are all great ways to see each other during our break from in-person gatherings.  

• PSP will reimburse current PSP scholars and mentors for supplies needed to complete school work at home, or to do any virtual mentoring activities. To maintain social distancing that supports community-wide health, you should be buying those supplies online, instead of going out to stores. We have suspended all in-person mentoring activities through March 31. I’ll be back in touch with new information that will when that date comes closer.

• To protect the health of PSP employees, we will be working from home until at least March 31. You can still reach us by phone, email and by text.

It is times like this that reinforce the importance of community connections and emphasize our interdependence on one another.  Thank you for all that you do.  We will continue to be here for you.

This year PSP is introducing a new component to our programming: Community Gatherings. These Gatherings will be held  four times per year at each of our Southern California sites. The vision for these gatherings is to build a stronger community by bringing together students and mentors for shared learning and to strengthen their mentoring relationships. PSP held our first Community Gatherings in Lennox and El Monte just before Halloween. 

With over 100 scholars and mentors in attendance at the meetings, PSP led college exploration workshops differentiated by grade level. Eighth and ninth-grade attendees learned about the importance of visiting colleges and preparing for high school success. Sophomores and juniors gained an understanding of why college fit is important and how to leverage fly-in programs to their advantage. Seniors received application support and solidified their college list. (You can review & download materials after the jump.)

As Halloween was around the corner, mentors and students divided into teams to compete for the best decorated pumpkins title. It was an evening filled with creativity, knowledge, and community.

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The Los Angeles Times posted a moving tribute to Partnership Scholars Program founder Dr. Glenn Langer this week. Below are some excerpts from the story about his life and legacy. We are honored to carry his legacy forward into the future. 

Glenn Langer, the cardiologist who helped disadvantaged students attend college, dies at 91 

When Glenn Langer retired as head of the UCLA’s cardiovascular research lab in 1997, he dipped into his retirement savings to buy books, calculators and tickets to museums and theaters.

Not for himself, but for disadvantaged students at Lennox Middle School.

Years earlier, during a visit to the school’s science fair, Langer had been impressed by the studious and motivated youngsters from the community east of Los Angeles International Airport. But he was saddened to know that less than 15% of the students from Lennox would go to college. So he decided to do something about it. Read the rest of this entry →

Partnership Scholars Program (PSP) is hiring for a bilingual (English/Spanish), highly organized, dynamic individual who can support the Executive Director and Program & Operations Manager in all aspects of administering PSP’s mentoring and college access programming. Opportunities for advancement and increasing responsibility. Our office is in Lennox (Inglewood), CA and this role is a part-time, office-based position. Occasional weekend and evening hours will be necessary to staff PSP events. Hourly rate is $20 – $25. The position is 20 hours per week, with flexible scheduling within office hours of Monday – Friday, 8:00 am – 5:30 pm.

Click here to read the full PSP Program Assistant and instructions to apply for the position.