PGP Supports Education for Detained Youth in D.C.
Ajhani Carroll, a Howard University student tutoring at the Youth Services Center (YSC) in Washington, D.C., reflects on the impact of her tutoring experience: “Tutoring with the Petey Greene Program has allowed me to help students achieve their academic goals, while simultaneously learning about and challenging the carceral state. It is my hope that I have had a positive impact on all of my students, but it is without question that they have had an exceptional impact on me."
The Petey Greene Program has provided tutoring for over 60 students at Youth Services Center since November 2020, when the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Education in Washington, D.C., invited the PGP to support detained youth whose education had been disrupted by the pandemic. A dozen volunteers from Howard, Georgetown, George Washington Universities and the University of Maryland provided virtual tutoring for students working towards a high school credential or taking college classes.
“It is my hope that I have had a positive impact on all of my students, but it is without question that they have had an exceptional impact on me.”
In the fall of 2021, Maya Angelou Academy (MAA) began providing education for students at YSC, and the tutoring partnership has expanded. As pandemic restrictions eased, 18 PGP tutors, including Ajhani, began providing in-person tutoring. In addition to working with small groups of students during study hall periods, one PGP tutor—a research scientist at the National Institutes of Health—works with a MAA science teacher to facilitate hands-on scientific demonstrations.
“We are so grateful for the support of our Petey Greene [Program] tutors,” said Adrian Dhanaraj, Assistant Principal, Maya Angelou Academy at Youth Services Center. “Our scholars benefit not only from the academic support but also from the exposure to the college and professional experiences that tutors bring to our classrooms…. [O]ur scholars have shared how they look forward to their tutoring sessions where they get support with their homework and study for the SAT. Despite the difficult circumstances our scholars are in, they have big goals for their futures. Petey Greene [Program] tutors have been helping these young people get closer to achieving these goals.”
“ Our scholars benefit not only from the academic support but also from the exposure to the college and professional experiences that tutors bring to our classrooms.”
The majority of the tutors at YSC are students at Howard University, where the PGP developed its HBCU Forward Initiative, which prioritizes engaging and supporting Black volunteer tutors at historically Black colleges and universities.
YSC students have expressed appreciation for the opportunity to develop relationships with tutors who look like them. “As a Black tutor I am able to relate to students and create an environment that is both comfortable and receptive,” Ajhani explains. “I believe that feeling seen and heard is instrumental in a student's learning process.”
For Ajhani, tutoring with the PGP is directly related to her commitment to furthering social justice: "My passion for challenging injustice fueled my decision to become a Petey Greene Program campus leader and tutor at Howard University. I am beyond grateful for the opportunity to serve and advocate on behalf of system-impacted individuals.”
“Tutoring with the Petey Greene Program has allowed me to help students achieve their academic goals, while simultaneously learning about and challenging the carceral state.”