Overview: LEEP based on SOI

Whether 61% of Los Angles Latino high school student drop out (RAND) or Mayor Villaragrosa’s 50% do, far too many kids in LAUSD’s crowded classrooms fail to graduate and are significantly disadvantaged for life. Urban schools all over the country are experiencing various versions of this unhappy state, which the Federal "No Child Left Behind" law was passed to cure. There are disagreements about the potential of that legislation, but there is probably little belief that, all of a sudden, youngsters’ brains aren’t what they used to be.

page from SOI assessment—it's not like “No Child Left Behind” tests

PACT is convinced that lay citizens mentoring 9-15 year olds, one-on-one, off school grounds in non-school hours can—and are— needed now to help alleviate this crisis in education. Using the Structure Of Intellect (SOI) assessment and enhancement to meet this challenge NOW—while LAUSD works to complete its enormous $12.4 billion school construction program and its proposed administrative and teaching initiatives are actually effected.

In 2007, PACT, with the assistance of Middle School counselors, and with partial funding from the Del Rey Neighborhood Council, successfully completed a pilot test of its long-planned Life and Education Empowerment Program (LEEP). Beginning with SOI’s three-hour, timed-in-segments assessment of ten students’ math, reading and thinking processes—each student's learning capabilities were determined, ranking them on national norms with indicated career choices.

The LEEP Mentor’s Role

Mentor Qualifications open-hearted adults, who can see they have a way to make a difference with an at risk 9-15 year old, can include bright high school and college students earning community credits. All adults accepted will have their references screened and will be fingerprinted. This entails a voluntary commitment to 12 weekly sessions, for 2 hours each session, mentoring the same child. There is plenty of time to develop rapport and to help them with their homework. Recreational activities will also be included.

On the first meeting the mentor goes over the student’s 20-page evaluation, stemming from the 3-hour assessment. The assessment will include evaluations of 24 learning capabilities a student is really GOOD at—as well as what is at an average level, and what really needs work.

Over the next 10 sessions, once a week for 2 hours, the mentor helps his charge puzzle through the 150-page workbook, which is individually derived from each student's initial SOI assessment.

After this 10-week sequence, the student repeats the 3-hour SOI assessment to document the progress he/she has made, best highlighted by the mentor.

Once SOI has identified the learning abiiltities that need development, we can start the student on a “mental fitness” program. SOI has exercises that will build these mental muscles.

        Meeker-SOI

The Role of the LEEP Student

Once accepted into the LEEP program, a middle or elementary school student is in for self-discovery and an enhancement of learning capabilities, a constructive “all about ME!” experience like nothing before. Having committed to the 3-hour pre- and post assessment, having puzzled his/her way through the workbook, the student has learned about learning. It’s like riding a bike: once learned, never forgotten. All guided and personally reinforced by a mentor.

The SOI/LEEP program brings about a student’s conscious awareness of how to think through the academic subjects essential for graduation from high school. This can be implemented and duplicated by lay citizens starting NOW.

Beyond SOI—
Extraordinary Help for Extraordinary Deficiencies

PACT is aware of and is interested in application of recent science-based technologies that can ameliorate serious “brain issues” of 9-15 year olds, once they are identified.

Through brain mapping of electrical activity within the brain of a child, the FDA-approved neurometric analysis provides a more precise view of a subtle brain disfunction such as: attention deficit disorder (ADD), learning disabilities, depression, dimentia, mild head injury and obsessive/compulsive disorder (OCD).

From this analysis, specific neuro-development training protocols are devised for each individual's need, with the objective of overcoming the disabling handicap through mentored interaction with computer-driven scenarios.

For more information about this approach: www.crossroadsinstitute.org