Student Mentor and Adviser - Hmong College Prep Academy Position Title: Student Mentor and Adviser Employer Name: Hmong College Prep Academy Paid Position: $2,700 Address 1: 1515 Brewster Street Address 2: City: St. Paul State: MN Zip: 55108 Phone: 651-209-8002 Fax: 651-209-8003 Email: futuresuccess@hmongacademy.org WebAddress: www.hmongacademy.org Contact/Supervisor: Mrs. Christianna Hang, Director and CEO Supervisor e-mail (if different): chang@hmongacademy.org Alternate Contact/Supervisor: Ms. Jane Craig, Summer Institute with Yale intern's supervisor Alternate Contact's e-mail: jcraig@hmongacademy.org Student from previous year (if applicable) : Eric Baudry, Kwabena Boateng, Shruit Satish Student from previous year's email (if applicable): Brief Description of Agency or Firm's Mission: Hmong College Prep Academy is a non-profit, charter, public school partnering with Hmong community leaders and families to advance academic excellence, leadership, and future success for first generation K-12 students. The Academy provides a small learning environment and rigorous college preparatory curriculum. Many teachers and staff are bilingual and all emphasize the value of Hmong culture and language, while instilling the knowledge, skills, and motivation that students will need in order to pursue higher educational opportunities and future careers. The Twin Cities metro area has over 50,000 Hmong. Most of these families were forced to emigrate from the hills of Laos after siding with the U.S. during the Viet Nam war. In fact, over 40% of all students in the entire St. Paul public school system are of Hmong origin. Many have arrived directly from refugee camps in Thailand. They have a distinct and unique culture, with many families being unfamiliar with western educational values. Hmong College Prep Academy has over 60 faculty and staff members, and over 550 4th-12th grade students. The Academy is located near both Hamline University and the Minnesota state fairgrounds with access to local cafes and ethnic restaurants. Describe the value of the proposed Internship to the Agency/Firm: Hmong College Prep Academy is deeply committed to providing services to all students in the form of academics and personal, social and career/college guidance. In the past, Hmong students have for the most part attended community and local colleges, or worked directly after graduation. They have been less inclined to consider applying to more selective colleges and thus these have very few, if any, Hmong students attending. The more assistance and direction our students receive, the more confident and prepared they will be to attend more selective universities. Thus Yale interns constitute a very important new resource for our students, who are already extremely excited about the possibility of working with the mentors. Describe the value of the proposed Internship to the Intern: Yale interns will have the opportunity to interact with a unique Asian indigenous culture with its own language, art, music, protocals, customs, and clans. Interns will be provided with training and developmental opportunities, along with materials and resources. They will also be exposed to a charter school ranked by U.S. News and World Report as one of four best charter schools and thirty nine best high schools in Minnesota. Yale interns will have the opportunity to build strong relationships with a small group of students and to learn and improve their teaching and mentoring skills. Interns will be part of the developmental process in assessing student needs, developing plans and goals to address these needs, and then assessing their impact or outcome as related to student learning, growth and development. Job Description (should include: hours of work, job responsibilities, reporting structure -- chain of command, a description of the intern's "typical" day): Hmong College Prep Academy is recruiting a team of 3 interns to teach an innovative program in its fourth year of implementation. The program is designed to transform the mindset of our high school students in terms of their capacity to successfully pursue high quality post-secondary educational opportunities. Thus interns will be instrumental in creating a cultural shift for Hmong high school students to begin applying to colleges such as Yale. Until now, most Hmong College Prep Academy students have not believed they could attend selective colleges. We are seeking to recruit interns who can motivate, and model behaviors that support potential attendance at selective colleges. Interns will plan, write, and deliver lessons in Reading, Writing, and Math. Other activities may include field trips to colleges, lessons on applying to college, financial aid, scholarships, college essays, etc. The first 4 weeks will be orientation, recruiting, planning lessons and field trips, creating a schedule, and an acclimation to the school and community. Our students attend the intensive 5 week program for 6.5 hours beginning at 8am, Monday through Friday. Interns may experience an extended day. The final 1 week are post reporting and organizational time. Interns hours will vary according to work load, the 5 week program time is typically longer hours than the pre and post weeks. Management Goals: (should include: role of supervisor, frequency of intermediate reviews, expectations of intern, and an explanation of how the intern fits into the organization's goals -- please indicate whether supervisor works full-time or part-time): Expectations include interns being fully prepared for each workday bringing questions and ideas. Full time supervisor will meet on a regular basis to entertain the questions and ideas. Training and meeting frequency will be arranged according to the intern's needs and program needs. The interns will be provided a space to work collaboratively. They will meet on a daily basis to plan lessons, assess the program, and evaluate student's needs. Full time supervisor will be available on a daily basis to assess interns work, provide guidance, and creative input. Special Job Requirements (i.e. transportation, language, technical or other skills): Interns will be selected based on their ability to be enthusiastic about working with high school students. We are looking for motivational leaders, good teachers, and self-disciplined individuals. Possessing a desire to learn about the Hmong culture and Asian values will be important. Professionalism and a positive attitude will be expected. Dress code is business professional. Transportation: Students are responsible for coordinating their own transportation to and from the workplace. Additional Information: You will need to apply for permission from immigration to work off campus (Optional Practical Training) to engage in a BAA internship. OPT applications can take up to three months for immigration to process, so advance planning is required. These applications must be submitted through the Office of International Students and Scholars. For full information on the OPT application process go to http://www.yale.edu/oiss/immigration/common/f1students/opt.html or contact monica.weeks@yale.edu