Mike's Story

Not long ago, Delores was at the end of her rope with Mike. His bad grades were matched by a bad attitude and Delores had run out of hope. That was the situation when a Treehouse educational advocate first visited the pair. “You can advocate,” Delores told the advocate, “but this one will not listen. You won’t get through to him.”

The Treehouse advocate disagreed. “When a foster parent sees a child as a potential educational success story rather than a potential failure, it makes a tremendous difference,” she says. “I needed Delores to join with me. I asked her to come along for the ride while we tried to guide Mike into making some good choices.”

The educational advocate got Mike talking about his interests, and he confessed a fascination with engineering. She helped match him with a mentor at Boeing, and has watched his motivation spike. Now Mike visits Boeing twice a month with his mentor, who helps him with homework – and sometimes the other engineers jump in to help! When homework is finished, Mike gets to sit in on non-confidential meetings and explore the history of flight. Focusing on what he enjoys has been great for Mike’s academic performance. His math and language arts skills have been steadily improving, as has his understanding of history.

Mike’s new attitude changed Delores’ mind about his potential. She is working with him to create new educational goals and make plans for the future.

Read more about Treehouse's Educational Advocacy program.