MPP relaunched Project Northstar, a tutoring and mentoring program based in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of Washington, DC, in November 2009. Tutoring is held every Wednesday at the Josephine Butler Parks Center at 2437 15th St. NW. starting at 6 pm.

We are continuing to seek new tutors and students interested in getting help with their homework or their academic skills--or who would like a mentor. If you are interested, please contact Stephanie Grimes at sGrimes@mppi.org or 202-288-5332, or Noah Wiseman at nwiseman@mppi.org or 1-800-590-1145 x259.

The following description of Project Northstar, Inc. reflects its activities in 2008:

History, Mission and Goals

Project Northstar is a one-on-one tutoring program for children who are homeless, living in foster care, or living in poor, underserved neighborhoods in Washington, D.C. Incorporated as The Homeless Children’s Tutorial Project, Inc. in 1989, Project Northstar has served over 1,000 homeless, formerly homeless, and at-risk children from homeless shelters, public housing projects, and foster care homes. The organization was founded by a multi-racial coalition of young community leaders from the DC Chapters of the Coalition of 100 Black Women and Concerned Black Men, and attorneys from three local area law firms.

The program’s mission is to link racially diverse volunteers with Washington DC’s homeless, formerly homeless, and at-risk children in one-on-one tutoring sessions designed to strengthen the basic learning skills of those children. Our goal is to prepare children to perform better in school by providing them with consistent educational assistance, positive role models and extracurricular activities that broaden their horizons. We accomplish this goal by creating a supportive atmosphere that stresses the importance of education and helps to strengthen self-esteem and empower the students to reach their full academic and personal potential.

Description of Current Programs, Activities, and Accomplishments

At the heart of Project Northstar’s efforts are more than 200 volunteers representing the founding organizations, local universities, government agencies, corporations, and other individuals interested in the welfare of children living in the District. These volunteer tutors meet one-on-one with students Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday evenings at one of six locations— DC Village, the CCNV/2nd and D Street Shelter, Hine Junior High School, the Josephine Butler Parks Center, and a Salvation Army Center. Our newest site represents a partnership with So Others Might Eat (SOME). Our students attend one session each week. The children of Project Northstar come from DC Village, the CCNV/2nd and D Street Shelter, the Park Road and Spring Road Family Shelters, the Edgewood Terrace Apartments, Brookland Manor Housing project, private foster homes and low-income neighborhoods around the District.

Volunteers make a minimum commitment of one year to a student enrolled with Project Northstar. Through this commitment, volunteers provide not only tutoring, but also consistency in the lives of the children. Many tutors remain with Project Northstar for years beyond their initial commitment. During tutoring sessions, we focus on homework supervision and teaching or reinforcing important basic skills in the areas of reading, writing, and math literacy. To ensure sessions build on what students are being taught in school, Northstar staff establishes and maintains an on-going dialogue with the parent/guardians and teachers around the specific needs of the student.

The tutorial program is also designed to instill appropriate individual and group behavior among the students. Along with the academic component, we make the wealth of cultural, recreational and educational resources throughout the District more accessible to the children of Project Northstar. Recent activities have included visits to a minor league baseball game, The African Continuum Theater’s presentation of the plays Gris Gris at the Source Theater and Buffalo Hair at the Kennedy Center, and a tutor Take-Your-Student-to-Work Day. In addition, a local photographer recently taught a four-week workshop that culminated in a small exhibition of student photographs at the Parks Center and students contributed to a theatrical presentation done by the Tsunami Theatre Company.

Awards

For its efforts, Project Northstar was one of twenty-one organizations nationwide to receive the 1999 President’s Service Award through the Points of Light Foundation. We were one of only five educational programs accorded this honor nationally. In October 2000, the DC Coalition for the Homeless recognized Project Northstar for its work with children living at the Spring Road Family Shelter.