Original link: http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/malden/2010/10/educator_provides_support_for.html

By Kaileigh Higgins, Globe Correspondent

On aSaturday morning two weeks after the earthquake in Haiti last January,11 students walked into a Malden classroom ready and eager to learn.

Thestudents, all of Haitian descent, were part of a pilot program,Cross-Town Enrichment Center (CTEC), run by Nekita Lamour, a Maldenresident who is a native of Haiti. For 13 weeks, these studentsreceived MCAS tutoring, academic support for their regular classes, anda course on Haitian culture and language.

Lamour, a formereducator in the Cambridge public schools for 27 years, saw the need foran out of school program for these students, and worked for three yearsto get CTEC up and running. Eventually, she received a $4,000 grantfrom the Malden Redevelopment Authority, in addition to smallerdonations from the Tri-City Community Agency and Eastern Bank, and wasable to run the program with volunteers from local universities.

Manyof the students participating in CTEC, including recent immigrants andothers born in the United States, struggled academically and didn’treceive the one-on-one attention during the school week that theyrequired, Lamour said.

“The whole education process relies on the schools,” said Lamour.“We need to develop a mechanism to work with the communities, theschools, and home.”

Over the course of the 13 weeks, thestudents from different backgrounds helped each other with language andcultural barriers. Immigrant students taught the US students Creole andhelped them get in touch with their culture, and native students helpedwith their English.

Lamour also indicated the importance ofhaving parents involved in the process. Many of them attended sessionsand wanted to learn themselves.

The students who participated showed much improvement over the weeks, both academically and socially, according to Lamour.

“Theywere really engaged and wanted to be there,” said Lamour. “What Ireally saw improve was their interest that they show in learning.”

Lamourhopes to have the program up and running again this January, andpossibly expand to include more surrounding communities.

"Hopefullywe can use this as a model for more programs," said Lamour."We need towork with the communities and the schools to provide support for thechildren."

To learn more about CTEC, contact Nekita Lamour at nplamour@aol.com.