San Angelo-based program offers free tutoring for Texas’ foster youth | KTTZ
Jennifer Lisson is the founder of Weekly Hands on Independent Tutoring, or WHIT, a non-profit organization aiming to encourage children in foster care to value their education.
Lisson said that children in foster care are often not just slightly behind in school but are often a few years behind their peers.
“We had a student who was in the ninth grade who was testing at a second grade level,” she said.
Often this causes students to act out or quit school because of the fear of their peers looking down on them.
Only half of students raised in foster care complete high school, according to the National Foster Youth Institute.
In the year 2021, nearly 30,000 children were in foster care in the state of Texas.
Before WHIT started, Lisson was in contact with a student who was being sent to detention on a regular basis.
“She said ‘I actually like it, I don’t have to stand in front of my peers and let them know how stupid I am,’” Lisson said.
The student was intentionally going to detention to seek out one-on-one help with school work
Jordyn Ramirez is a student tutor with the WHIT program for two years.
“I was immediately captivated by their mission,” Ramirez said.
A huge pillar of the program is just being there and consistent for the students. The program offers a structured, consistent environment for students to learn in.
“It’s such a big thing, especially for students who are in situations where consistency is not something that’s very common for them,” she said.
According to a study published in the Journal of Community Psychology, family structure plays a large role in dropout rates.
Ramirez said she has learned how to be comforting while still being motivational to children who are facing issues a lot larger than school.
“It’s allowed me to see that reality closer, and it’s a really sad reality for a lot of kids,” Ramirez said. “ It’s also such an important one that, as an educator, you understand.”
She has set out to make education as interesting as possible for the kids she works with, often using Mad Libs to teach parts of speech or turning sight words into a game.
“It’s really cool to see that they're not only excited to work with you but they are excited about the academic stuff that they’re doing also,” she said.
Rebekah Beltran is the director of operations for the WHIT program.
She said she got started at WHIT after the founder, and her friend, Jennifer Lisson reached out to her about starting the non-profit.
After working with children in foster care for most of her adult life, and having two adopted children of her own, Beltran was on board.
She said the program is not just an acronym for tutoring, but is named after Whitney, Lisson’s daughter who was killed by a drunk driver.
“Whitney was very philanthropic; she loved to help others that were less fortunate than her, she had a very giving heart,” Beltran said.
She said the kids are always excited when they know they are getting matched with a college aged student.
“The fact that it is volunteering for these children, that means something to them,” Beltran said.
Since the program relies on volunteers, students feel chosen by the college students who are taking time to help them.
You can check out possible ways to get involved with WHIT through their website at whitprogram.org.
Tutor Recruiting Video
August Pfluger Support
The WHIT Program presenting on a Panel at the Texas A&M San Antonio Cisneros Conference.
Current WHIT tutors and TAMUSA Honors Students, presented on a panel for a breakout session at the conference. The panel was facilitated by TAMUSA Honors Director, Dr. William Bush. This roundtable panel explored the transformative and meaningful experiences of the WHIT tutors/panelists, in hopes of encouraging others to become tutors for children in foster care.
Thank you TAMUSA for your continued impact in helping children in foster care receive free tutoring!”
Pictured Left to Right: TAMUSA Honors Director-Dr. William Bush, WHIT tutors: Angelynna Fonseca-Puente, Alberto Hernandez-Ontiveros, Clara Rodriguez, Grace Opiela, Chole Bruno, and WHIT Director of Operations- Rebekah Beltran.
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