Giant LEAP: your after-school hours just got a whole lot better.

"I want to be a rapper of a fireman when I grow up," says 10-year-old Justin Silva.

Jeremy Black, 17, asks Justin to stop talking and get to work on his English assignment. Then Jeremy, a high school honor student, pulls up a chair next to another young boy. "Let's try it this way," Jeremy suggests, patiently explaining the assignment until the fifth grader finally understands.

Jeremy takes his responsibilities seriously. He's a mentor. That means he's part teacher, part confidant, and part big brother. But the kids he helps just think of Jeremy as a good friend. He volunteers for LEAP, or Leadership, Education, and Athletics in Partnership, an after-school program that meets from 3:30 to 6:00 p.m. at schools and computer learning centers in New Haven, Conn.

Hours Well Spent

The LEAP program matches kids with mentors, called counselors, who help with academics, play sports, and give needed attention to LEAP kids.

The LEAP program assigns one counselor to every four kids. The junior counselors are local high school students, and the senior counselors are college students. Many of the counselors are "graduates" of LEAP. Since LEAP started in 1992, more than 10,000 young people have taken part in the program.

LEAP is guided by four main principles: L for leadership offered by the counselors; E for education, whether through reading aloud or homework; A for athletics; and P for partnership, exemplified in the mentoring program and in the community support LEAP receives.

Leap at the Chance

Admission to the program is on a first-come basis, so students must leap fast to get in. LEAP pairs kids with team leaders who know--literally--where the kids are coming from. Counselor Tayshaun Bell, 19, grew up in New Haven and now plays basketball for a local college. Bell's mentees, the kids he works with, think he's cool because he's an athlete and wants to pursue a career in law enforcement when he graduates.

On the way to the Conte/West Hill School where his group meets, Bell and his mentees join up with other LEAP kids in their group. Then they meet their junior counselor, and the whole group walks to the LEAP site together.

Kids Learn to Excel

More than 90 percent of LEAP kids read at or above grade level. Counselor Barnetta Haywood, 18, chooses books that have characters and ideas that her mentees will understand. During reading time with the middle school girls, Haywood reads aloud from Let the Circle Be Unbroken, by African American writer Mildred Jacobs. Then she asks questions about the story to make sure everyone understands. All the girls raise their hands, but no one yells out.

For many students, the "reading circle" is one of the best things about LEAP. Devann Butler says reading stories makes her want to create stories of her own. "I want to be a famous writer," announces Devann.

Athletics: More Than Fun and Games

Like many young people, LEAP kids enjoy sports. The girls who meet with counselors Naa Opoku and Iyanna Willams love to jump rope. One afternoon, they read Tamika and the Wisdom Rings, a story about a girl who moves to a new neighborhood. The girl makes friends at school because she is good at double Dutch, a jump-rope game using two ropes that are turned in opposite directions. Double-Dutch jumpers recite rhymes as they jump in order to keep rhythm with the spinning ropes.

After finishing the story, the counselors suggest that the girls compose their own rhymes to say while jumping rope. In the gym, the counselors grab jump ropes and the girls line up and lean forward. The ropes soon become a spinning blur as the girls care fully work their way between the ropes and begin to chant their rhymes.

Soon it is Naa and Iyanna's turn to jump. The younger girls take the ropes and begin snapping them one over the other. Naa's feet don't move fast enough. She goes out right away, and the girls tease her. Naa laughs. Iyanna lasts longer in the whizzing ropes. And when the rope turners start to step clockwise as they turn, Iyanna takes the challenge. Naa and the others nod to each other, impressed. The girl can jump.

Partners in Understanding

LEAP's success is built on dedication--the dedication the counselors have to their mentees and the mentees have to the program. Each counselor speaks with each LEAP parent at least once a week. Parents like LEAP because they know their children are in a safe place and are receiving attention from helpful older kids.

Proof of the program's success comes from many sources, including teachers who say LEAP kids have better attendance records and cause fewer problems than other kids.

At day's end, each group forms a sharing circle. Kids and counselors take turns talking about good things they "picked up" that day and bad things they "left behind." Counselor Iyanna says she left behind the hurt feelings caused when a friend gossiped about her.

At 6 p.m., the groups walk home. For many kids, the hours after school are boring and empty, but for LEAP kids and mentors alike, these hours are the best part of the day.

Summer Counselors: Get a Jump on the Future

Paulie Silva and Anthony Spencer, both 12 years old, look up to their mentor, Tayshaun Bell, and want to follow in his footsteps by becoming LEAP counselors. They plan to remain connected to LEAP as LITs--Leaders in Training.

LITs work with junior and senior counselors during daylong summer programs at different LEAP sites around New Haven. On weekends during the school year, LITs help run basketball games for younger kids.

Both Paulie and Anthony feel that volunteering for LEAP is a great way to help younger kids and become role models themselves.

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In 1999, LEAP was awarded the MTV/Youth Service America Award for community service. LEAP has also received awards from national organizations and the U.S. government. For more information, log on to LEAP's site: www.leapforkids.org

REVIEW/DISCUSS

* What is a mentor? (someone who teaches, helps, and is a friend to someone else)

* Does a mentor have to be an adult? (No, he or she can be a peer, an older student, or an adult.)

* Why do most kids in the LEAP program read at or above grade level? (because they focus on education, whether through reading aloud of homework)

ACTIVITIES

1. Have students find out what kinds of after-school programs are available in your community. Some suggestions for resources are sports teams, clubs, church groups, and recreation departments. Brainstorm together and write as many after-school activities as your class can think of. Then have students make posters to advertise all the activities kids can be involved in after school. Encourage students to try one of the activities, even if they have never done it before. They may find that they really enjoy something new and may make some new friends.

2. Work with your local high school administration to allow older high school students or college students to come into your school as mentors. There are many ways to do this. The students can come during their lunch period, before or after school, or as a part of a community-service program. Have your students write letters to the high school describing what a mentor is and why they would like to have mentors.