How Pathways will use proceeds from Equity Through Education
 Background
 The Pathways Program
 Pathways Results
 What Program Participants Say

How Pathways will use proceeds from Equity Through Education

The proceeds from Equity Through Education™ are used to fund the Pathways bursary program. To date, Equity Through Education proceeds funded bursaries for 106 Pathways students. The bursaries fund post-secondary applications and/or tuition fees.

Proceeds from 2007 will focus on program expansion to four neighbourhoods:

• Toronto – Jamestown
• Toronto – Lawrence Heights
• Montreal – Verdun
• Montreal – Little Burgundy

• Pathways to Education is a program that was developed in 2000 by the Regent Park Community Health Center. It is a best practice model that is now being replicated in other communities.
• Regent Park is the oldest and largest public housing project in Canada. The average family income is $18,000 per year, less than half that of other Canadians. It is one of the poorest communities in Ontario.
• Over 80% of residents are immigrants. English is a second language for nearly 60% of Regent Park adults.
• Regent Park has twice the number of single parent families as the rest of Toronto.
• There are no local high schools in Regent Park. High school students are, therefore, scattered to 37 high schools and must use public transportation to get to school.
• Before Pathways, the high school dropout rate in Regent Park was 56%, twice the city average. Since 2000, Pathways has reduced the dropout rate to 14%.
• Education and income are the two most important determinants of health and the consequences of a high youth drop out rate extend beyond the waste of human capital.

The Pathways Program

Pathways provides four integrated supports over four years of secondary school:

• Academic Support: Tutoring in five core subjects four nights per week in the community;
• Financial Support: Bus tickets earned through attendance, plus a $4,000 bursary to be used towards post secondary registration/tuition that is disbursed directly to the institution;
• Social Support: Group mentoring and specialty/career mentoring; and,
• Advocacy: Student Parent Support Workers are a bridge between the community, parents, students, schools and the Pathways program.

Pathways Results

Pathways students outperform their peers at the same schools and their peers in other comparable communities. The following results reflect a full compliment of students from 2001 – 2005. Compared to Regent Park youth before Pathways, the program has:

• Reduced absenteeism by 65% across all four cohorts
• Reduced the percentage of youth with serious attendance problems by over 75%
• Reduced the percentages of the most academically at-risk students by two-thirds
• Increased the five-year graduation rate by over 75%
• Seen a 90% acceptance rate for four-year graduates who applied to colleges and universities.

The first 45 young people to graduate from Pathways will, over the course of their working lifetimes, contribute $10 million tax dollars. Half of this amount will be paid in provincial and federal taxes and half will be realized as savings to public expenditures like corrections, health care and social assistance.

What Program Participants Say

"Because of Pathways to Education, I’m going to University... I’m going to be a lawyer! I now know it’s possible, because it’s not just me who believes in me." (Student)

"Growing up in this neighbourhood can be challenging – avoiding the potential influence of drugs and crime…Pathways is kind of like your parents…[It] can be tough – there are high expectations, and we always do our very best. In return, we are supported through whatever trials and challenges we face." (Student)

"Pathways has offered us new hope, new possibilities, and new successes…Many [students] learned that they too can go to university or college, that they too can become doctors or lawyers…Through Pathways’ inspiration and encouragement, many students have found their passion in life" (Student)

"I was so afraid of going into high school and leaving my community for the first time to go to school... Pathways to Education has made it easier, I know that my SPSW (Student Parent Support Worker) is at my school and if I have problems I can go to her for help." (Student)

"They (SPSWs) say: here are your boundaries-maybe you should step back and think about what you are doing right now, or, go for it-it’s a great opportunity for you. They are both a coach and a referee for us." (Student)

"One of the things I hope my daughter or others will do when they graduate is to come back and be an example, come back and say: listen, I came through this program, it IS possible." (Parent)

"It (Pathways) is a model for what we should be doing for all students who need a little bit of extra help to succeed in school. The potential there for helping other students in other neighbourhoods is enormous." (Principal)

"Tutoring offers more than just credits, it offers people who you can relate to, who are probably having the same difficulties as you." (Student)

"What’s so great about tutoring is you can walk into the room with your homework not started yet, you walk out and its done" (Student)

"A mentor is older, but your age still, you can talk to them like a best friend." (Student)

"When my mom heard about Pathways she was so relieved cause TTC really adds up." (Student)

"Pathways is making Regent Park a better place, a better society, and its helping the community to grow." (Student)

"It’s (Pathways) giving people, not just students in this community a sense of opportunity and accomplishment." (Student)