Greenville St. Joe earns governor’s award
By Fabvienen Taylor
JACKSON — On March 20, students, faculty and staff from Greenville St. Joseph School and Stern Enhancement School received a the 2009 Governor’s Award for Outstanding School-Community Partnerships.
Two other partnerships, Jackson Public School District and Ask for More Arts and the Pascagoula School District and Backpack Buddies, also earned the award.
Gov. Haley Barbour of Mississippi presented the honors at the 2009 State Seminar and Governor’s Award Luncheon, sponsored by the Mississippi Association of Partners in Education.
“We are extremely excited about receiving the award and even though we got a great deal of gratification out of serving the community and serving in that reading program, it is certainly nice to be recognized for it, and certainly by the governor,” said Paul Artman, St. Joseph principal.
Stern Enhancement offers two programs for its students. The Enrichment Program is for students reading below grade level (or not reading at all) and concentrates on reading, composition, vocabulary, and mathematical skills. The Challenge/Advanced Program is for students who are high academic achievers.
Judy Long, head of the parent center at Stern, said the St. Joe students work with kindergarten through third-grade students.
“Our wonderful St. Joe juniors and seniors really become big brothers and big sisters to the children,” said Long. “They help with reading for the students who need it, not all of them need it. It is a tutoring program for reading but is also a mentoring program. Our young kids love it,” said Long.
Over the six years of the partnership, 60 St. Joe students worked with 90 elementary students. Students at St. Joe and the other three Catholic high schools in the Diocese of Jackson perform community service (100 hours) as part of the curriculum.
During the St. Joe/Stern partnership, a Book Buddy Program was established and the St. Joe volunteers supported Stern’s Family Reading Night, Back-to-School Picnic, Fall Festival, Red Ribbon Week, Arts Festival Week and other events.
Stern students also interacted with St. Joe parents and teachers in various school activities at St. Joe.
As noted in the award statement, the 1,000 hours of volunteer time resulted in an average increase of at least one grade level in reading achievement; about 40 percent of the second though fourth graders scored at or above grade level; average daily attendance increased to 97 percent and an increase in the volunteers’ awareness of the importance of being role models.
That awareness helped St. Joe senior Maggie Artman, 18, decide on a career.
“Being a role model for them, watching them look up to me, get excited when when they would see me coming and seeing them learn has made me want to be an elementary school teacher,” she said.
This year Artman tutored a second grader and a third grader.
“Helping both of them to read and teaching one them, Liz, how to count money showed me how I changed their lives, and that made me want to be a teacher and change other kids’ lives.”
St. Joe students — different ones each day — travel to Stern three times a week, spending an hour tutoring or interacting — playing games, talking — with the students.
Artman said St. Joe students love going over to Stern. “When they get back to St. Joe they still wear their visitor sticker from Stern. It is kind of like a badge of glory for them.”
“They come back from college to see the kids if they are still at Stern.”
Long said the interaction between the Book Buddies and Big Brother/Big Sister program is a two-way street.
“It’s enjoyable to the St. Joe students and they learn a lot too. Many of them learn what it’s like to be ‘on the different side of the tracks, to see how the other side lives.”
St. Joe senior Mabry Bailey, 17, sensed, during interactions with her book buddy, that he needed more attention.
“He would be so very, very happy when I brought him a little treat that I thought he must not get them very often.
“He told me I was a good helper. We would go word-by-word through a book and I would tell him how to pronounce each one. After he knew how to pronounce them he told me he would go home and read by himself.”
“It has just been a really good experience. It makes me feel so good to help the little kids,” Bailey said.
Long said the Stern students get excited when it’s time for the St. Joe students to visit.
“Some of the kids are in kindergarten. They may not know what day it is but they know what day their big brother or big sister is coming.
“They will stand at my desk and say, ‘Today is the day, is my big brother or sister coming.’ I wish more adults could see it because it is a wonderful program,” Long said.
The Challenge/Advanced Program is for students who are high academic achievers.
