Mentee Profile - Jean Baptiste

As a new sixth-grader at Pollard Middle School, Jean Baptiste carried burdens most Needham students can’t imagine. He lagged behind other students academically: his years in Hyde Park, where he had switched schools almost every year, failed to prepare him for the rigors of the Needham system.  His mother came from Haiti and spoke Creole as a first language, so she could not offer much academic support, and divorce left Jean without the presence of his father. For the first time in his life, Jean had entered a school where he was in the minority, and he had to break into the social scene with few black peers. Moving from Hyde Park to Needham was “a cultural shock for me,” recalls Jean.  “I feel like I started my education in sixth grade.”

Although Jean had caught up to most of his peers by the time he entered high school, he says he still didn’t do very well and wasn’t a hard worker.  Based on his struggle to focus academically, he was invited to join the mentoring program during his junior year. As Jean reflects, “I’d make decisions, but I didn’t really know what were the right decisions. Because my mom came from a different culture, I didn’t have someone who really understands how things are done here to help steer me.”  Mr. A. [Abdal-Kallaq], Jean’s mentor, filled that role.  The two began meeting together during and after school – playing basketball, attending a Celts game together, and chatting. “We learned to trust each other,” says Jean.  “He’d talk to my teachers, and I’d trust him to keep me going in the right direction.” Mr. A. emailed Jean and his teachers – sometimes daily – to check on homework and grades and send reminders. They also started talking about college – a place Jean hoped to go but thought he could not afford.  Mr. A encouraged Jean to visit colleges, talked about the types of schools Jean would like and where he might be accepted, and guided him through the application process.

Jean considers the mentoring program instrumental to his success. “There are so many kids in Needham, it’s hard for teachers to help everyone. One person can really have an impact,” he says about his mentor.

[back to mentee profiles]