Redmond Proficiency Academy awarded ASPIRE grant

Redmond Proficiency Academy has been awarded an ASPIRE Grant for the 2013-14 school year.

ASPIRE, a one-on-one volunteer mentoring program operated by the Oregon Student Access Commission (OSAC), offers all students the resources and encouragement to access education after high school.

Currently, the program has more than 140 sites across Oregon, operating with a site coordinator and trained volunteer mentors.

“The ASPIRE program has significantly changed the culture of our students at RPA,” said Jody Carrell, ASPIRE site coordinator. “It gives our students peace of mind knowing that they have that mentor guiding them toward their future goals whatever they may be: college, military or trade school. ASPIRE is an amazing program and I am proud to be a representative of it.”

The ASPIRE program is run entirely by trained volunteers who dedicate their time to work with students one-on-one. The goal of the program is to help guide students and their parents through the process of deciding their path after high school.

ASPIRE Volunteer Mentor George Hegarty says, “I feel that being an Aspire mentor is one of the most important things that I do as an educator. As a mentor, I’m able to talk with students about the process of making their professional dreams realities. In many ways, talking in this very real way makes education matter more, as students can see how their intellectual and social development now is linked to their lives beyond high school.”