All Illinois high school students must take the SAT, which the State of Illinois adopted as a graduation requirement last year. Research shows that students who take advantage of SAT prep courses have higher scores than students who do not; however, many of those prep classes and resources are financially unattainable for some families.
Peoria Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Sharon Desmoulin-Kherat and Richwoods High School Senior & PPS Board member, Mary Sherman, recently connected with a Bradley University Foster College of Business Instructor, Becky Wood, to address this issue. The conversation resulted in the donation of 30 SAT prep books for PPS and a plan to connect Bradley students with PPS high school students for mentoring and SAT coaching.
Dr. Simon Petravick, advisor for Bradley’s Beta Alpha Psi chapter (an accounting honor society) acquired grant funding from the national organization to pay for the books, as well as other expenses associated with the mentoring program.
Bradley students from Beta Alpha Psi and the Association of Latino Professionals for Finance and Accounting (ALPFA) will mentor/coach PPS students on Saturdays and during after-school prep classes throughout the month of March. Additionally, they will speak at "all-class" assemblies and existing college prep programs about the importance of beginning college preparation early.
Teens frequently pay more attention to advice and ideas from their peers than from adults. Wisdom from Bradley students will hopefully encourage those who thought attending college was impossible, to take a closer look at opportunities.
