The Long Goodbye

Saturday, CAP and our students began the weeks-long trek to the end of the school year. Our journey together will include a school awards ceremony, graduation (!), one last mentoring celebration with our community partners, and so many other small gatherings that we can’t begin to count.

But this one celebration was special to the small group of attendees. Four years ago, CAP launched a mentoring program in partnership with community organizations and the John Muir High School Reinvention. We recruited 10 freshmen into this pilot program and matched them with adult mentors from the local community. Over the years, we visited a number of colleges, attended an awesome leadership retreat in the San Bernardino mountains, explored Los Angeles, and focused on what it means to be “college ready.” (Want to learn more from a student’s perspective? Read Lizeth’s blog post!) Through our adventures, our devoted group of students, mentors, parents, and staff became family.

Our little party at Pinocchio’s Pizza on Saturday celebrated this group’s accomplishments. All of the students who completed this program are headed to college, and they all showed up with their mentors and family members to celebrate. As a surprise, Dajonies, who moved away last year and therefore was unable to complete the CAP mentoring program, attended the luncheon with her former mentor, CAP board member Lynda McNamara. We cannot possibly say enough about the wonderful accomplishments of this group. But more words aren’t really necessary–the pictures tell the story quite well! Enjoy.