by Amanda Williamson
The Clarke County School District reports that on average, 69 percent of the county’s elementary and middle school children are economically disadvantaged and several organizations on the University of Georgia’s campus want to help out.
Economically disadvantaged students in the United States tend to make lower test scores and have higher dropout rates than those with stable-income families.
To help the Athens community and Clarke County schools, many UGA student organizations focus on tutoring and mentoring children in local after-school programs. Many of the programs are flexible with student schedules and encourage students to be as involved as possible.
Darby Blake, a communication sciences and disorders junior from Marietta, Ga., initially began tutoring to fill a class requirement.
“Kids are so funny, and it was something I looked forward to each week,” Blake said of her weekly visit to Fowler Street Elementary School. “I loved watching the material make sense to them and working with the same kids week after week. You were able to see them grow and progress academically.”
Blake tutored through a program called the Center for Latino Achievement and Success through Education, an education research and development center on campus.
Paul H. Matthews, the assistant coordinator and outreach director for the center, said the primary focus of this organization is K-12 overall development, especially concerning the Latino community.
“On any measure that you want to look, at whether it is graduation rates, test scores, attainment, grades, there is a substantial gap between Latino and non-Latino populations,” Matthews said.
The center’s concern is to encourage involvement of UGA students with the children in the Athens community. The center helps coordinate between students and tutoring programs at many Athens schools and nonprofit organizations.
Thomas Lay After School Program is another organization designed to link university students and Athens children. The program is held at Thomas N. Lay Park and Community Center, where the children can work on homework or play games with the mentors and friends.
“I started freshman year and fell in love with the kids,” said Lindsey Moore, the
volunteer executive director of the program and biological science senior from Kennesaw, Ga. “It is just an outlet for me to focus on what’s important in life.”
The Thomas Lay program asks that university students dedicate one day each week to visit the center, which helps to form closer bonds and a source of consistency for the children. With help from UGA students, these children get a “congrats” on a spelling test or a “good job” on math homework that they may not hear elsewhere.
“Most of the children don't get the academic support they need at home, so it’s great to be able to help them in that area,” said Katie Morgan, a biology and genetics major from Carrollton, who also volunteers with the program.
There are many programs where children can be assisted with homework or play games, but there is one organization that teaches children to run their own business.
Students in Free Enterprise is a nation wide organization that teams up with universities to promote a knowledge of market economics, through programs such as Junior CEOs.
“We go to the Boys and Girls Club for a weekly visit and set up teams,” said Adam Ames, a member of the local Students in Free Enterprise group and senior in management information systems.
Each group of children is led by a couple of university students and a group leader. Once the groups are formed, a type of product is chosen by the entire group, and they learn how to run their own fictitious business. Each year of the project, volunteers noticed how excited the children were to start their own business, Ames said.
Whether a student volunteers to help with homework or start an imaginary business, they are helping children that might not get the encouragement at home.
“It gives you the nice, warm, fuzzy feeling in your heart,” Blake said of volunteering. “You get to make new friends and have new experiences, and you might as well help because the roles could just have easily have been reversed and you could be the one needing help.”
To contact CLASE, information can be found at: http://www.coe.uga.edu/clase
To contact Thomas Lay After School Program: ugathomaslay@uga.edu
To contact UGA SIFE for more information: http://www.uga.edu/sife/index.htm
Edited by Shaye Weaver
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Some good sources here. They're all talking in abstractions, though, instead of specifics. Nice editing to make it clear that Katie Morgan is a volunteer with the Thomas Lay program; now push for a specific experience she's had that can help us understand what she does and how it feels. Who's been her favorite student to work with and why? What's an example of a time when she really could tell she was making a difference?
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