MAPS Eco Explorers Mentorship Program

What is MAPS?

Every year Portland State partners with Together We Are Greater Than and Alder Elementary to match college student mentors with elementary students for one-on-one and group mentoring. Alder Elementary School has a large population of students who face economic barriers in a diverse multilingual and multicultural area. Historically, MAPS (Mentor Alder Portland State) mentors have worked to strengthen and cultivate students’ aspirations for future career and/or university achievement at an early age. 

In the 2024-25 school year, we are excited to launch a new program, to provide mentorship and student support through the development of a bilingual “Eco Explorers” garden club at Alder Elementary! Mentors will be paired with small groups of students within the garden club and work in both larger and smaller group settings to help kids develop science, math, and social-emotional skills through hands-on activities both in and outside of the garden. Activities will be designed in English and Spanish, so that students in Alder's Spanish immersion program can participate in their native language

Becoming a MAPS Eco-Explorer mentor is a great way to help make an impact in the lives of these students through hands-on education and small-group support! Mentors will participate in mentor training during Fall term on Tuesdays or Wednesday afternoons in mid-November and continue in January; the garden club will start up in late January and run through Spring. 

Garden club will run on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons between 1-5pm during Winter and Spring terms; students commit to one afternoon shift for both terms. For the 2024-25 year, transportation is provided from the PSU campus for up to four student mentors on Tuesdays and Wednesdays; students with their own transportation can meet directly at the school. 

I am so thankful to have had this opportunity to learn and grow with my student.

The application to become a MAPS Eco-Explorers Mentor for the 2024-25 year will be reviewed on a rolling basis through end of October. Early applications encouraged! If you'd like more information, contact volunteer@pdx.edu.

Fall Term: 

  • Recruitment of new PSU student mentors through October
  • Students are interviewed for the program
  • Onboarding and training begins by  mid-November

Winter Term: 

  • PSU student mentors continue training in early January and begin garden club in Alder Elementary
  • Students travel to Alder weekly (on Tuesday or Wednesday afternoons) to help lead small groups of students in hands-on activities based on garden education, STEM, and social-emotional learning.

Spring Term: 

  • Students continue to travel to Alder weekly (on Tuesdays or Wednesdays) to meet with students for the after school garden club; more activities will happen outdoors as the weather improves and planting season is in full swing. 
  • In May, PSU student mentors are involved in helping with "Alder College Day @ PSU" when all Alder kindergarten classrooms come to the PSU campus to "experience college" for a day.

 

History of the MAPS Program

In the 2011-12 academic year, Portland State University adopted a grade level (Dreamer class) at Alder Elementary School through the I Have A Dream Foundation (IHADF) Oregon (now called Greater Than). PSU made a pledge to support IHADF's goal to help low-income students in a particular grade level achieve success in school, college, and career. Alder Elementary is a school in the Reynolds School District rich with diversity and resilience, in which 27 different languages are spoken by students and their families. Greater Than's mission is to support and empower students from poverty-impacted communities to thrive in school, college, and career.

Our Partners and Sponsors 

Alder Elementary School
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