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During the 2007-2008 school year, we set out to visit poorly performing high schools across Quebec. As we talked to thousands of kids about student engagement, we asked them one question: “What would motivate you to stay in school?” Their answer was simple: “Projects that are interesting and relevant to us.”

Whether they were passionate about the environment or technology, starting a business or creative arts, they wanted to be engaged in hands-on, real-world experiences. After speaking with students, many of their teachers and principals would approach us and say, “We don’t ask our students often enough what they want.”

The feedback we received from students and teachers inspired an idea. We returned to Montreal and approached both Concordia University and the Social Development Society of Ville-Marie about becoming partners in an innovative program to counter high school dropout rates and increase academic success in our local high schools.

The idea was simple and yet had never been implemented in Canada: hire university students and recent graduates, and send them into poorly performing schools to implement projects that motivate teenagers to stay in school, strengthen their school spirit and give them a sense of belonging. The university students would be present in the school and committed to working with the teenagers 15 to 25 hours per week throughout the 36-week academic year, from September to June.

This model set the stage for a mutually beneficial exchange. Children in the most disadvantaged schools got a chance to be involved in compelling activities, undergrads and recent graduates gained real-world, as well as career-related experience to complement their studies.

Seeing that this model would create invaluable opportunities for their students and grads, Concordia University agreed to finance the salaries of the university students who would work as project coordinators. The Social Development Society of Ville-Marie agreed to provide complementary funding for a pilot project, which took place in two Montreal schools in 2008-2009.

We decided to implement our activities in the schools with the lowest academic standings in Quebec.