The Covenant of Youth · Maryland & Virginia
We prepare students for the test, and for the life that comes after it.
The Pelote Academy partners with schools and families to build reading comprehension, financial literacy, mathematics, and science skills in young people — and to stand beside them in everything else they take on.
Our mission
Our hands. Our promise. Their future.
The Pelote Academy’s mission is to guide and support youth in achieving their academic goals while cultivating strong mental well-being through mentorship, education and intentional preparation for life’s challenges.
Our vision
The Pelote Academy will transform the lives of youth by redefining support systems through integrated academic enrichment, mentorship and mental wellness care.
Every child we serve walks into a room where adults have already agreed on one thing: this young person will not be handled, managed, or passed along. They will be taught, believed, and held to a standard worth reaching.
What we teach
Five pillars, one standard
Each pillar runs as a standalone block or as a full sequence. Schools choose the mix. Families get the same curriculum in our community program.
Reading Comprehension
Decoding is only the entry fee. We teach students to hold an argument in their head, question the writer, and say back what a text actually claims.
- Leveled small-group instruction
- Vocabulary in context, not lists
- Reading across science and history texts
- Pre- and post-assessment each cycle
Financial Literacy
Money is a set of habits before it is a set of numbers. Students learn how earning, saving, credit, and cost of living actually work in their own zip code.
- Budgeting from a real paycheck
- Banking, credit, and interest
- Cost of a first apartment and first car
- Paying for training and college
Mathematics
We close the specific gap in front of the student rather than reteaching a whole year. Diagnostics first, targeted instruction second.
- Skill diagnostic on intake
- Foundations through Algebra I support
- Test-taking strategy and pacing
- Weekly progress report to teachers
Science
Hands stay busy. Students run investigations, record what happened, and defend a conclusion to the group.
- Lab and field investigation blocks
- Scientific writing and data tables
- Science-fair project coaching
- Career exposure in STEM trades
School Activity Support
Whatever the school is already doing, we staff it. Tutoring blocks, clubs, tournaments, performances, field trips, and study hall.
- Homework and study-hall coverage
- Club and team chaperoning
- Event volunteers on short notice
- Transportation support — in development
Mentorship
Every student is known by name by at least one screened adult who tracks how they are doing — academically and otherwise — and who talks to the family.
- Assigned mentor per student
- Monthly family check-in
- Goal-setting and follow-through
- Two-adult rule at all times
Mental Wellness
A student who is not okay cannot learn. We build the everyday habits that steady a young person, and we connect families to licensed care when more than that is needed. We provide supportive services, not clinical treatment.
- Stress, focus, and self-regulation skills
- Group sessions on handling pressure and conflict
- All staff certified in Youth Mental Health First Aid
- Referral pathway to licensed providers
- Family guidance on accessing care
Two ways to work with us
In the building, or after the bell
In-school partnership
We work inside your building, on your schedule, under your policies. Our staff are screened, badged, and supervised by a named site coordinator.
- Pull-out or push-in instructional blocks
- Before-school and lunch tutoring
- Test-preparation intensives
- Data shared back on your reporting cycle
- MOU, insurance, and background checks on file
Community program
Our own out-of-school program for families who want more than the school day allows — afternoons, Saturdays, and summer.
- Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
- Saturday academy
- Summer learning-loss intensive
- Parent workshops on money and school navigation
- Sliding-scale tuition and scholarships
The Covenant of Youth
What every adult here agrees to
A covenant is not a slogan. It is a set of obligations that bind the people who made it. These four articles govern everyone who works or volunteers under our name.
Safety before everything
Every adult passes a criminal background check and child-abuse registry screening before contact with a student. No adult is ever alone and unobserved with a child. Every staff member and volunteer is trained as a mandated reporter and reports suspected abuse or neglect immediately, without exception and without internal debate.
Teach to the standard, not to the label
We do not lower expectations for a student based on their history, their address, or what a prior file says about them. We diagnose the actual gap, teach to it directly, and measure whether it closed.
The family is a partner, not an audience
Parents and guardians hear from us on a schedule, not only when something goes wrong. They can see their child's assessments, attendance, and goals at any time, and they can end their child's participation at any time.
Prepare them for the life, not just the grade
Reading, money, math, and science are the tools. The purpose is a young person who can hold a job, keep a household, read a contract, ask a hard question, and carry themselves with self-respect.
Signed by every adult who takes the pledge
The people behind it
Who we are
You are trusting us with your child. You should know exactly who we are before you do.
[ Founder photo — a clear, well-lit headshot. Replace this frame with the image. ]
Our story
Why The Pelote Academy exists
[ Your founder story goes here. Three or four short paragraphs. What you saw that made this necessary, what you have done before this, and what you are promising these families. Write it the way you would say it out loud — families can tell the difference. ]
[ Second paragraph — your background and why you are qualified to lead this. ]
[ Third paragraph — what you are committing to. ]
— [ Your name ], Founder
Team & board
[ Name ]
Program Director
[ Two sentences: background, and what they are responsible for here. ]
[ Name ]
Board Chair
[ Two sentences. ]
[ Name ]
Board Member
[ Two sentences. ]
Every adult listed here has cleared criminal history, sex offender registry, and child abuse registry screening. See our screening policy.
For principals and district partners
A partnership you can put in front of your board
We come to you with the paperwork already done. Here is exactly how a partnership starts and what you receive.
- Screened, insured instructional staff
- Instruction aligned to the Virginia Standards of Learning and the Maryland College and Career-Ready Standards
- Pre- and post-assessment data per student
- Attendance and participation reporting
- A single named point of contact
- Coverage for activities you are short-staffed on
- Space and a schedule block
- A staff liaison for coordination
- Roster and consent forms for enrolled students
- Access to the data needed to measure growth
- A signed MOU before the first session
Accountability
What we measure, and what we will publish
We are new, and we will not put numbers on this page that we have not earned. Here is what we track from day one. Results are published at the end of each program cycle.
Academic growth
Pre- and post-assessment scores per student, per pillar, reported as growth against that student's own baseline.
Attendance and persistence
Session attendance rate and the share of students who finish the full cycle.
School-reported outcomes
Course grades, benchmark scores, and discipline referrals, where the school shares them.
Family engagement
Share of families reached on schedule and attending at least one workshop.
Safety record
Screening compliance rate, incident reports filed, and time to resolution. Published in full.
Student voice
End-of-cycle survey asking students what changed and what did not.
Give your hands
Volunteer with us
You do not need a teaching degree. You need patience, a clean background check, and the willingness to show up on the same day every week.
- Reading partner — 1 hour/week
- Math tutor — 2 hours/week
- Financial literacy guest instructor
- Event and field-trip chaperone
- Career-day speaker
- Administrative and setup support
- 18 years or older
- Criminal background check and child-abuse registry check
- Two references
- Child-safety and mandated-reporter orientation
- Commitment to one full program cycle
- Submit the volunteer interest form
- 15-minute phone conversation
- Background screening, paid by us
- Orientation session
- Shadow one session, then start
Employment
Work here
Full job descriptions, pay ranges, and application instructions are on each posting. All positions require successful background screening before a start date is issued.
Policies and procedures
Read before you enroll, volunteer, or partner
Every policy below is public. Schools may request the signed versions and our certificates of insurance for their files.
Get in touch
Start the conversation
Speak with someone
Master Bey
Sean Pelote
The Pelote Academy
2000 14th Street NW, Suite 104
PO Box 73465
Washington, DC 20009-9993