Dallas tutoring program provides affordable options as kids prepare to head back to school
DALLAS – School is almost back in session and some students are already getting ahead with the help of a North Texas organization.
St. Vincent de Paul might be known across Dallas for its thrift stores, but in the back of one of the stores, they have full-sized classrooms where they help tutor young students to reach their full potential.
While summer is a time to relax for many kids, Miguel Lopez is laser-focused.
"I just stay focused on what I really want to do," he said. "I don't want to know what they think, I want to know what I think."
He's not your average incoming freshman. In the fall, he'll attend Bishop Lynch High School in Dallas on a scholarship. He says he wouldn't be there without the help of his after-school tutoring program.
"It has helped me a lot," Lopez said. "When I'm done with homework, I also help other kids when they're having questions, exams, quizzes, everything."
It's called StudyTime.
"We really help guide them through the steps of applications for the private high schools and applications for the colleges and we walk them through the financial aid steps," said Melani Guerra, who runs the program for St. Vincent de Paul. "It's available for Kindergarten through 8th graders. They have to get their own way to our different locations, and it's $5 per month, per family."
Guerra said that right now, the program mostly serves Spanish-speaking families, and it's helping them achieve things they may have thought unthinkable.
"Our kids are doing really well in those high schools and then they come out college ready and we have our first-time generation college students that are going on into college and we'll soon be graduating our first round of students," said Guerra.
Lopez wants to be a part of that growing legacy so he can give back.
"It just got into my mind that when I grow up, I want to help people as well," he said.
If you want to support the StudyTime program, you can volunteer as a tutor or donate supplies or money.
To find out how to apply or donate, click here.
