Ravenswood Run Sunday, April 29

TOMORROW'S HOPE RAVENSWOOD SCHOOL

FOCUS:FUTURE

PARTNERING WITH OUR NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOL TO PREPARE STUDENTS FOR WHAT’S NEXT

  Developed as an initiative of Ravenswood Community Services, focus:future is an outreach program that provides mentoring and motivational support to students at Ravenswood School.

Over the past several years mentor volunteers from All Saints’ Church and the greater community have worked in small group settings with Ravenswood’s eighth graders using a unique curriculum that helps them select and apply to various high schools throughout the city. Navigating the process of applying to high schools in the city of Chicago is involved and confusing. The goal of f:f is to provide information and clarification about the high-school application process as well as to motivate students to consider a variety of school options based on their own interests and abilities. Volunteers support students by assisting them with curriculum materials in the classroom once a week during the months of October and November.

You can participate by:

• Volunteering to work with students in the classroom
• Participating in program development
• Organizing speakers
• Creating special events

For more information, contact Jennifer at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

REALITY FAIR: A DOSE OF THE REAL WORLD AT RAVENSWOOD SCHOOL 

Reality Fair is a half-day event sponsored by Ravenswood Community Services. Each year, the 7th and 8th graders of Ravenswood Elementary School study a unit on careers and budgeting. They prepare by researching and choosing a career, finding out how much they would earn, and then attending what we call “The Reality Fair”.

Each class spends about an hour walking through something that resembles “The Game of Life” in the gym where they learn about how to walk through a monthly budget given a randomly assigned set of life circumstances. Roughly 30 volunteers plan and staff the event taking on a variety of roles such as bankers, car salesmen, travel agents, and debt counselors. Students then take this experience back to the classroom and further explore their choices through various classroom activities.

Recently added to the program was an interviewing module for eighth-graders. Students request, prepare for, and attend an interview for a mock position in their career field. Volunteers come to the school and conduct one-on-one interviews during the week preceding reality fair. These hours are flexible, although they must fall within the regular school day.

You can participate by:

• Joining the planning committee
• Securing event sponsors and/or donations of premiums for students
• Designing promotional materials and event t-shirt
• Volunteering to work a station the day of the event
• Volunteering to conduct one-on-one mock interviews
• Planning set-up, decorations and logistics in school gym

For more information, contact Helen at  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .