Tutoring Pal's

Tutoring Pals Overview

The achievement gap in Santa Barbara is well documented and continues to be a major problem. This achievement gap is specifically identified within our minority student population. Santa Barbara PAL is "home" to a very large cultural/minority population within the City of Santa Barbara. Santa Barbara PAL's unique connection to our very culturally diverse community allows us to identify many youth that would normally "fall through the cracks". We have contacts with many families/youth and can easily identify youth that would benefit from our program. We presently have 60 youth identified and the number continues to grow. Our program will include a Cal-SOAP tutors and Westmont student volunteers that will meet and work with the teen’s one on one. We will focus on tutoring, but also mentoring the students. It is a major focus of our program to not only address current educational needs, but also actively encourage and support higher educational opportunities for the youth as they graduate from Santa Barbara. Each youth is given an assessment of needs and level of commitment and is then assigned to a tutoring mentor. For the one-on-one tutoring, the youth will meet with their tutoring mentor a minimum of 2 or more times weekly, the tutoring mentor then sends an introductory email to each of the youth’s teachers to create a strong web of support. Parents are contacted monthly (unless additional contact is needed) and made aware of their youth’s progress and informed on how they can continue to support their child. Assignments are checked daily through their EDU and grades are kept on file weekly. Santa Barbara PAL provides any additional school supplies needed throughout the school year.

Each tutoring mentor receives training from our staff and meets daily with our Tutor and Family Coordinator. The youth will additionally, attend field trips to local and out of town colleges and universities. The youth are also required to participate in community service projects throughout the school year. Additionally, we have social events in an effort to educate and support the wellbeing of the entire family. This educational gap must be addressed immediately, if we are to stop the negative consequences of not educating ALL of our youth to be positive and prospering members of our community.

Our Goals

To enrich the educational experience of youth at risk of academic failure by giving those one-on-one or small group tutoring.
Address the achievement gap by providing tutoring support and homework help as well as support for studying for tests as well as ACT and SAT exams.
To improve youths lives by connecting them with college students and a higher education way of life.
Teach independent living/life skills, instill creativity, and promote the youth's self-esteem.
Students will know more about college life and their options for after high school.
Parents and Educators will see a positive behavior change in students overall by the end of the school year.

Meet Your Tutoring Pals!

Max Ahuelican

“Hello! My name is Maximiliano Ahuelican, but the students call me Max. I recently graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a degree in Sociology. I am from Orosi, a small town in the central valley where higher education wasn’t always someone’s first choice. I want to be able to help students reach that possibility by being a mentor and tutor to them. They are the seeds of the future. "

Marina Dalarossa

My name is Marina Dalarossa. I grew up in the Bay Area but my family is originally from Brazil. I am currently a freshman at UCSB considering a major in Global Studies or Linguistics, and in my free time I love watching movies, playing guitar, and reading books!

Vale De La Torre

"Hello! My name is Valeria, I go by Val or Vale. I am a first generation college student from a small city in East Los Angeles. I am currently attending UC Santa Barbara and will be graduating with a degree in Sociology. My goal is to help kids find their path and follow their dreams. I am determined to help teens go to college and support them the best that I can."

Jennifer Lopez

Hello! My name is Jennifer Lopez (students call me JLo). Originally from Garden Grove in Orange County (near Disneyland), I recently graduated from UC Santa Barbara in June 2017 with a degree in Sociology and another in Chicanx Studies. I am passionate about being a mentor and tutor for youth and strive to make higher education possible for each and every student. Although I did not major in Math while I was in college, I do love the subject and enjoy helping students with understanding math lessons. Overall, I hope my experiences as a first-generation, college graduated Latina inspire the youth around me.

Sonia Rosenbaum

Ricardo Placencia

A Santa Barbara native, Ricardo attended local schools until he transferred out from SBCC. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Cell/Molecular Biology from California State University Dominguez Hills. Ricardo was a Resident Teacher at King/Drew Medical Magnet high school in south Los Angeles, teaching regular and honors Biology. His passion for community outreach and service led him to conduct research, tutor/mentor students, and serve as the program coordinator for a health fellowship. You might catch him out surfing, playing soccer or hiking our local trails.

Madalyn Schultz

My name is Madalyn Schultz. I'm a first-generation college student from a small town in NorCal. I am a third-year at UCSB, studying Sociology, Spanish, and Education. I love to tutor and to encourage students (and all people) to understand the value of education. After college and grad school, I plan on becoming a high school teacher.