By: Ashmar Mandou

It was a record breaking evening for the Logan Square Neighborhood Association (LSNA) on Tuesday, June 2nd at Gage Park High School when over 600 parent mentors, in addition to school principals, community advocates, and state legislators gathered at high school auditorium to cheer on this year’s graduating class of the Parent Mentors Program. This year marked the 20th Anniversary of the Parent Mentor Program, a group that has provided thousands of hours of academic support to students across Illinois. In the state, the program is now run by 16 community based organizations in 70 schools. Due to the program’s evident success, it has been replicated in six states Washington, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Colorado.