Needham Steps Up: The Early Years

The Needham Steps Up mentoring program was the brainchild of a group of activist moms living in the Needham Housing Authority (NHA) in 2000.  Lacking both resources and formal education, they felt powerless to help their children as they wrestled with homework and attention issues.  “There weren’t a lot of support programs available outside of what was available to families with more means,” says Cheryl Gosmon, a resident and mother of two.  “Our kids were struggling and dropping out.” 

 

In an effort to bolster their children’s academics, several moms established a volunteer homework club and even a book club, but those weren’t enough.  When they learned that the Congregational Church of Needham had a grant program, four of the moms appeared before the committee to propose a more structured alternative: a tutoring program.  “Our goal was to help the kids stay focused, graduate, and go to college,” says Gosmon, who received the $20,000 grant to establish the Countdown to Success tutoring program in 2003.  “We weren’t aiming for trade or vocational school. We wanted to break that cycle of poverty, and the more education you have, the higher earning potential you have.”

 

Countdown to Success was a success –– within the first two years, all five of the enrolled high school juniors had matriculated at college, but Gosmon and others noticed that some of the tutors were contributing more than just academic guidance.  The tutors were advising the students on how to navigate through school and stay focused, and even on resources offered by the town, such as scholarships for SAT prep classes.  Gosmon realized that the key to keeping kids “on track” was providing a trusted adult who could offer guidance and support in many aspects of life. 

 

With the goal of shaping Countdown to Success into a more comprehensive mentoring program, over the next two years Gosmon’s group met with professionals from the community, studied existing mentoring programs, held focus groups, and honed their vision for the program.  In 2006, Gosmon’s group was awarded $55,000 from the Congregational Church of Needham, and Steps to Success was born (later renamed Needham Steps Up).  In this program, income-eligible students at Needham High are matched with adult staff members who mentor them through their senior year.

 

When the funding expired and the program was at risk of discontinuing, a group of community members stepped up in 2010 to create a fundraising organization to make sure low-income Needham students continue to get the support Gosmon had envisioned.

 

Thanks to Countdown to Success and Needham Steps Up, over a dozen students have gone on to college and, in some cases, post-graduate programs.  Gosmon notes that, while not every child receiving mentoring services lives in NHA, the positive effects of Needham Steps Up ripple most profoundly in public housing.  “After the first generation of NHA kids went to college, the seed had been planted for the next generation,” Gosmon explains.  “They say to themselves, ‘Yes, I live in public housing, but I know I can achieve, and I have to achieve, and it’s doable.’”

 

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