The grant will support the university’s Hilltopper Pathways: Out of School Reentry and Support Program, which serves 6th through 8th grade students who are involved in the justice system or are considered at risk.
West Liberty University’s Hilltopper Pathways: Out of School Reentry and Support Program has received a Momentum Initiative Grant in the amount of $249,397 from the West Virginia First Foundation. The Hilltopper Pathways initiative is aimed at supporting middle school students who are involved with the justice system or are considered at risk, and provides kids with academic tutoring, mentoring, social-emotional learning, physical wellness, and creative enrichment during the “high-risk” hours that immediately follow school dismissal.
According to an article on West Liberty University’s website, Dr. Sherri Theaker, who serves as the Dean of the College of Education and Human Performance, was quoted as saying of the Hilltopper Pathways initiative, “This work is personal to me. I grew up here in the Valley, and I have seen the brilliance and resilience of our young people. I have also seen how easily their potential can be dimmed when they do not have the support they deserve. Our local schools fight for these students every day, and West Liberty University stands with them. We have always believed in the power of education to transform lives, and Hilltopper Pathways is that belief brought to life. Hope grows when young people are given real opportunities to see themselves differently. When we surround students with positive, research-based activities and mentors who genuinely care, they begin to uncover strengths they never knew they had. Hilltopper Pathways is about opening doors and showing our youth that new possibilities are not only imaginable, but within reach. When a university, its schools, and its community come together with intention and heart, we can change the direction of a child’s life and help their future shine a little brighter.”
The Hilltopper Pathway initiative is aimed at 6th through 8th grade students in Brooke, Hancock, Ohio, Marshall, and Wetzel Counties who are involved in the justice system or are considered to be at risk. The program was developed by the university’s College of Education and Human Performance to be a collaborative effort that partners school districts with community organizations to provide at-risk students with structure and trauma-informed support during the hours that immediately follow school dismissal.
The program will serve 25 students in its first year, with teachers and university faculty members providing the kids with tutoring, mentoring, enrichment, and physical wellness activities to help them gain routines, confidence, and the ability to self-regulate. The various goals of the program include increasing the participants’ school attendance records and grades, and reducing the number of disciplinary referrals the students receive.
The Momentum Initiative Grant is given out to institutions and organizations that are working to address substance use disorder, prevention, and recovery throughout West Virginia. There were 75 other institutions or projects that received this funding, totalling $18 million.
For more information about West Liberty University, visit the school’s website.