Santa Ana Unified School District is the recipient for the Pio Pico Academic Volunteer Mentor Program;

The Pio Pico Academic Volunteer Mentor Program (AVMP) was initiated in September 1996 to engage adult volunteers throughout the community to provide one-on-one support to English Learners in order to improve their academic achievement in listening, speaking, reading and writing. The need for an academic mentor program was great and the impact of a caring adult on a child’s life is immeasurable.

The AVMP taps into the assets that a broader community brings to a school setting in order to met a particular learning need. Since 1996, the Pio Pico AVMP has successfully matched 1,000 plus students with adult volunteer mentors. On average, students increase 1.5 to 2 reading levels over the course of the school year.

The program is collaboration between the district, the county, the city and other community entities. An important part of the program is Orange County’s commitment. The county provides a volunteer coordinator and more importantly most of the volunteers at Pio Pico are employees of county departments. The county passed an ordinance in 1996 that allows employees to participate in volunteering at the school one day a week. In choosing this program for the award the CCS panel of judges expressed their appreciation for the involvement of the whole community and especially the county in this effort and the long-term sustainability the program has achieved.