ASPEN
TREE
ASPEN
TREE
ASPEN
TREE
ABOUT US
Raised by a single parent.
Our founder, Zachary (Cross) Frenette was raised by a single parent in an economically disadvantaged neighborhood. He overcame these and other challenges and went on to obtain an advanced degree from California State University, East Bay. However, to this day the majority of his adolescent contemporaries have never enrolled in college and many have not yet graduated high school. The disparity between these two life paths is the basis of the Technology Enhanced Supplemental Tutoring (TEST) Program.
Unfortunately in the 1990’s supplemental tutoring programs were sparse and generally the functional equivalent of evening daycare, with one unqualified parent mentoring more than twenty students. Further, teachers in his district who offered tutoring were confined to the hours in a school day and were not compensated to be available after school hours.
The single company in his region that offered tutoring services charged parents a steep hourly rate that was inaccessible to his family. These for-profit programs lacked meaningful technology, purposeful incentives, and individualized attention. In response to these circumstances, TEST was designed to capitalize on Local Education Agencies’ (LEA) resources by offering alumni mentorship to at-risk high school freshmen. Subsequent to the formation of Aspen Tree, our partnership with Custom Resumes was forged to further support our education initiatives.
In a recent Arizona study, 37% of at-risk students and one in three youth overall report that while growing up they never had an adult mentor or tutor. Additionally, high school freshmen are at a greater risk for dropping out of school than any other grade level. The TEST program is designed to overcome these known barriers to success. The program’s structure supports underserved freshmen by providing individualized tutoring and employing economic incentives for those students who successfully achieve the goals of the TEST intervention:
“There is widespread agreement that America’s school system is in desperate need of reform, but many educational interventions are ineffective, expensive, or difficult to implement. Recent incentive programs, however, demonstrate that well-designed rewards to students can improve achievement at relatively low costs” (Allan, B. M., & Fryer, R. G., 2011).
The TEST intervention has been specifically structured to overcome known obstacles to success by offering a unique approach to supplemental learning. The program offers comprehensive services at no charge to economically disadvantaged freshmen. This program enables students who would otherwise be excluded due to their economic status. The TEST program capitalizes on LEA resources by pairing experienced alumni with incoming freshmen. Further, by requiring parent oversight students will benefit from an intimate and expanded support network that in turn bolsters the students’ maximum learning potential. The TEST intervention is also flexible because individualized tutoring occurs in-home or at local community centers. The program is unique in its approach to supplemental education in that it uses learning devices and digital instruction to engage students in an innovative way, while still maintaining human connectivity and mentorship.
QUESTIONS? CALL
623-546-1190
333 E. MCKINLEY ST.
Phoenix, AZ 85004
MON-FRI
8 am — 5 pm
SEND EMAIL TO
info@aspentreeaz.org
QUESTIONS? CALL
623-546-1190
333 E. MCKINLEY ST.
Phoenix, AZ 85004
MON-FRI
8 am — 5 pm
SEND EMAIL TO
info@aspentreeaz.org
QUESTIONS? CALL
623-546-1190
MON-FRI
8 am — 5 pm
333 E. MCKINLEY ST.
Phoenix, AZ 85004
SEND EMAIL TO
info@aspentreeaz.org