About
IHAD-EPA
|
Origin
of “I
Have a Dream” – East Palo Alto
The East Palo Alto chapter of “I Have a Dream” began
in 1992 through the initiative of Dave Michael, Thad Walen,
Nick Folger, and Peter Dumanian, graduate students of Stanford
Business School (GSB), and some of their classmates.
Over the next year and a half, a core group of 20 GSB students
refined the idea and raised enough money to “adopt” the
entire 3rd and 4th grade classes at Flood Elementary School
in East Palo Alto. In May 1992, the business students pledged
ongoing academic, social, and financial support, including
stipends for college tuition.
A little over a decade later, the program has been amazingly
successful. All 72 Dreamers graduated from high school, in
a district where normal graduation rates are below 50%. After
high school, 80% of these young adults enrolled in two or four-year
colleges/universities.
In 2001, IHAD-EPA adopted its second group of Dreamers (60
1st graders) at Costaño Elementary School. IHAD-EPA
will provide support to this same group of Dreamers until they
graduate from high school. Of the Dreamers in the current program,
57% are Latino, 32% are African-American, and 17% are Pacific
Islander.
|
Our
Mission
IHAD-EPA helps Dreamers realize the following three goals:
1. Achieve academic excellence
2. Develop respect for self and others
3. Attain professional, social, civic, and ethical development |
To fulfill the program’s promise, IHAD-EPA maintains
a full-time staff to form personal relationships with the
Dreamers and their families and to serve
as a support and resource for academic and personal problems. The staff also
serves as a liaison between Dreamers and their families and the school.
|
|
|
