<em>&#x93;Two things that help one move out of poverty are education and relationships.&#x94;</em></p><p>Cristo Rey Kansas City, a Catholic college prep school, has the education part well covered. </p><p>On relationships, though, the midtown school is seeking help.</p><p>Mentors are needed for Cristo Rey students entering college. Most are the first in their families to do so.</p><p>Note &#x93;money&#x94; was not in the above quote from Ruby K. Payne, an educator whose theories on class differences are well-known in urban schools. She doesn&#x92;t negate the impact of money, but she is expert at decoding how unwritten rules of middle-class life can stymie those trying to rise into it. </p><p>Her work explains some of the challenges Cristo Rey&#x92;s first graduating class faced last year.</p><p> One Cristo Rey grad walked away from a nearly full-ride scholarship. His father called mid-semester. The son needed to work, support the family.</p><p>Another almost quit college because her single-parent mom needed the car to get to and from work. The family didn&#x92;t live near a bus line. Soon, she was late or missing classes.</p><p>And one girl nearly left her out-of-state university when presented with about $1,000 in unexpected fees. </p><p>Cristo Rey doesn&#x92;t want handouts for students. It wants college-educated people to help guide students in fixing their own jams or avoiding them altogether.</p><p> Children raised in low-income families tend to be oriented toward the present. In their homes, day-to-day worries often prevail: getting money to fix a car, buy gas, pay the rent or feed children.</p><p>This can become an ingrained way of thinking, with less energy devoted to the future, setting goals. But college is all about planning, managing time and being comfortable in changing social and academic settings.</p><p>Obviously, college can challenge any child. But if the student&#x92;s parents never attended, problems can multiply. And it&#x92;s more likely that some unwritten rules about how the middle class sees the world &#x97; like college being crucial for success as opposed to viewing it as valuable but still a rather abstract concept &#x97; might not have been ingrained.</p><p>This year, like last year, all of Cristo Rey&#x92;s graduating seniors have been accepted to college.</p><p>The school is 62 percent Hispanic, 34 percent African-American, 1 percent Asian and 3 percent Caucasian. Few colleges can match that ratio. So many grads, used to being the majority, will find themselves the minority.</p><p>But the issue is more class background, not race. A middle-class childhood can translate into learned attitudes of entitlement, an ease with asking for help, resources and planning skills to keep students focused on earning that degree.</p><p>The right mentor can help. </p><p>To volunteer, call Sister Linda Roth, 816-457-6044 or send email to <a href="mailto:lroth@cristoreykc.org">lroth@cristoreykc.org</a>.