Anisa Sahoubah, director of the ACCESS Youth and Education a Department stands with Murad Kofaan, a former student of the CCLC program who now mentors others.

DEARBORN — ACCESS, formally known as the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services, received a $2.5 million grant from the Michigan Department of Education, renewable for five years and totaling $12.8 million, to expand its 21st Century Community Learners Centers (CCLC) program. 

 “I know the news headlines are saying ACCESS received this award, but we really see this as an award for children in the communities that we serve,” said Anisa Sahoubah, director of the ACCESS Youth and Education Department. 

On Tuesday, ACCESS held a press conference at its Youth and Family Services Center, where it announced how the grant will be used.  

The group’s Youth and Education Department will serve 19 high schools in Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, Detroit and Hamtramck. 

The grant will allow ACCESS to employ 190 educators dedicated to assisting these student populations in a unique collaboration with school administrators to maximize impact without duplicating efforts. While the primary goal of the program is to improve student academic standing, in many cases, ACCESS staff has identified other obstacles to learning. These include a family history of low literacy and educational attainment levels, poverty, absence of a parent, bullying or feeling undervalued. 

 “We realize we can’t do this alone, which is why we made sure right from the beginning that we connected with the principals, that we contacted with the superintendents and everyone who had a specific knowledge of what these students needed,” Sahoubah said. 

Dearborn School District Superintendent Brian Whiston also spoke at the conference, saying that ACCESS has worked with the district by helping it educate students. 

“The reason that we need to celebrate this program is, not only is ACCESS making a difference in the lives of children it is making a difference in the lives of families,” Whiston said. 

The year-round program will benefit more than 1,100 under-served students from various backgrounds, including Arab Americans, African Americans, Latinos and Southeast Asians, in grades K through 12 by helping them build core academic, life and leadership development skills. 

The program also removes barriers to learning through individualized daily academic support and exposure to opportunities they would not otherwise have access to, such as career and college exploration, employability/internship opportunities, advocacy, and community engagement. 

Speaking at the conference, Murad Kofaan, 19, discussed his experience as a student with the CCLC program. He currently serves as a mentor to other students in the program. 

Kofaan talked about how much his mentor impacted his life through the program. 

“You have taught me so much and now it is my turn to pass down the torch, and have a positive effect on the students life,” he said. 

Kofaan also said his mentor impacted his life in more ways then he’ll ever know and that the program encouraged him to challenge himself and think harder. 

“And because I knew that they cared about me I didn’t ever want to disappoint them,” he said. “I look forward to coming to school every morning because I knew I was part of the 21st century program.” 

According to Sahoubah, national research suggests that 69 percent of all Michigan students were not proficient in reading in 2013. The statistic increases to 81 percent for low-income students.  She said the grant will allow the agency to work one on one to break the cycle of low academic achievement. 

A recent survey conducted by Michigan State University’s Outreach and Engagement Department revealed that regulatory participating elementary school students of ACCESS’ 21 CCLC showed a 94 percent improvement in their reading and 98 percent improvement in their math scores during the school year. 

Hassan Jaber, the executive director of ACCESS, praised Sahoubah for leading the effort. “I am proud of her leadership,” Jaber said.