Jul 23, 2009 5:23 pm US/Pacific
Inspiring San Francisco Students To Choose College
Jefferson Award Winner: Virginia Marshall
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5) ―
Virginia Marshall invites her students to dream.
"Guess what!" she tells a class of middle school students gathered for summer school. "Some of you guys can become President of the United States!"
As director of the Citywide Tutorial Program for the San Francisco Unified School District, Virginia sees that kids get the educational help they need to reach those dreams.
"We know that between K and 2, we must challenge our students, we must set them on the right track, and we must let them know the education is a way to change their lives," she says adamantly.
Every week at five different community centers in the city's most challenged neighborhoods, Virginia overseas a staff of dedicated teachers who not only offer kids a safe haven after school, but also a rigorous academic program.
"They help you with your math and they do reading with you and it's fun," says nine-year-old Bryan.
Ten-year-old Lester adds, "Before, I used to work alone, but now they help me with my school work and it's like really fun."
Toure Clark is a program graduate who teaches part-time while taking pre-med courses at UC Berkeley.
"I started this program in 7th grade," Toure remembers. "At the time, my mom and me were really struggling. My mom's a single parent."
Toure's just one of the hundreds of success stories Virginia celebrates. In her thirty years of education, she's worked hard to inspire: from creating the annual Honor Roll Celebration recognizing African American students with high GPA's to raising money so kids can visit college campuses.
"This is what a teacher works for, an invitation from one of your students who is graduating from college," she says proudly.
And she still finds time to mentor high school students like David Booth Metwally.
"College has always been a goal for me, but she's really reinforced it," David says. "She really -- without her, I wouldn't have gone to college, I don't know what I'd be doing."
But he knows where he will be this September: at San Francisco State University.
"I'm very proud of you!" Virginia tells David, giving him a big hug. "We're changing the world one child at a time."
So for inspiring thousands of students to take the path to higher education, this week's Jefferson Award in the Bay Area goes to Virginia Marshall.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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