Who we are:

Mentors for Academic and Peer Support (MAPS) was founded in 2000 by UCLA students from the Muslim Student Association (MSA), dedicated to working with youth in Watts under the guiding doctrines of educational equity and transformative resistance. Within this framework, 15 years later, the project continues to work within the Watts Community at David Starr Jordan High School as well as working in Downtown Los Angeles at Los Angeles School of Global Studies and The Islah Academy in South Los Angeles. 

How you can help:

Our current biggest need is funds for transportation. Since we are going from UCLA to our three sites multiple times each week, our vehicle rentals and gas costs are significant. To complete our programming for the remaining school year will cost approximately $2,000. This will pay for 3 vans each week for 10 weeks, plus four vans for a student field trip.

• Donate to help us reach our goal 

• Share our campaign on social media

Our programming includes:

• Tutoring - SAT/College Preparation for 11th and 12th grade students and academic development personalized to each student’s classes for all grade levels. 
• Peer advising- Focuses on establishing relevant curriculum and building solid foundations with the students as MAPS staff help them process their experiences and their identities. 
• Workshops that focus on college as a familial decision and financial assistance, especially for AB540 students. 
• Field trips to supplement college preparation and the yearlong curriculum.
  

Where we work:

Jordan High School

Mayor’s Partnership for Los Angeles (PLAS) Jordan High School is located in Watts, an area known for its low income and high crime rate. Most of the residents in Watts live at or near the poverty line with a median household income of $25,161 (one of the five lowest in the county); and a majority of MAPS students have a sibling or other family member in jail, or have witnessed gang violence themselves.

Many of the students lack the necessary emotional and mental support to succeed in their academics; and as a result, many students are unable to pass the CAHSEE and have to retake the exam several times in order to graduate. Additionally, students are overwhelmingly unaware of the SAT and other college entrance exams; those who are aware are ill-prepared to score well on the exams.  

• In 2011, Jordan earned an API score of 516, where the minimum required by the state is 800.

• Only 2.5% of students at Jordan scored at a proficient or higher level for math and 11.6% of students scored proficient or higher for English on the California Standards Test.

• Also, 45.5% of residents are under the age of 18 (among the county’s highest), demonstrating the need to dedicate more attention to youth.

Los Angeles School of Global Studies

The Los Angeles School of Global Studies (LASGS), a Title 1 school, is a new technology school established in 2006 and located at the Miguel Contreras Complex in Downtown Los Angeles. Downtown Los Angeles is similar to the Watts area in that they both have a high crime and low income rate.

In Spring 2012, LASGS was awarded the Chad P. Wick Award for Social Justice for its success in narrowing the achievement gap for underserved students and graduating college and career-ready students. The motivation these students demonstrate in spite of their challenges is extraordinary. The LASGS students attended MAPS' first meeting with their school’s administration to advocate for themselves and for the MAPS program to come to their campus, an act unprecedented in MAPS history. This demonstrates a level of ambition unparalleled by any other MAPS site and underscores the importance of establishing the MAPS program for these students. Not only is there a need for the MAPS’ resources and services at LASGS, but the motivation of its students suggests that the MAPS resources and services will be put to good use.

• The median income in Downtown LA is $15,003, the lowest in LA county, with 99% of students qualifying for free lunches.

• Despite these adverse conditions, the student dropout rate is 5.4%, relatively low in comparison to the LA Unified School District average dropout rate of 6.3%. The students are strongly motivated to attain higher education and build better futures for themselves, and their teachers support them throughout this process.

Islah LA Center

The Islah Center grew out of Masjid Ibaadillah, a mosque founded in 1985 to serve the needs of the rapidly growing Muslim community in the South Los Angeles area. Its vision is to “foster a dynamic and vibrant space for Muslims in America’s inner-cities by inspiring the larger community towards critical civic engagement exemplifying prophetic compassion in the work for social justice and human dignity beyond the barriers of religion, ethnicity, and nationality.”

Project Islāh LA, partnered with Masjid Ibaadillah to plan a multi-phase project to develop community members. In 2012, Islāh LA awarded Masjid Ibaadillah a grant specifically to put on various youth and family events throughout the year. Currently, the Masjid is working on establishing themselves in their permanent building to serve as a community center focused on social justice, education, cultivating the arts, and serving community members.

This year MAPS will work with the leadership of Islah LA to support their new K-6 school. This will allow MAPS to work specifically with disadvantaged Muslim youth. The masjid’s website specifically lists accommodating the needs of Muslim youth as one of the major challenges they are facing, and MAPS hopes to help meet this by providing a curriculum designed to nurture a critical conscious and college-orientated mindset.