By Sharon Omahen
University of Georgia
Working with a pilot school in Spalding County, University of
Georgia researchers hope to improve poverty-level students’
educational success through service-learning projects.
“Poverty breeds low education levels and vice versa,” said
Jeff
Jordan, an economist with the UGA College of Agricultural and
Environmental Sciences and the originator of the project
idea.
Over the next year, Jordan and Lew Allen and Kathy Thompson of
the UGA College of Education will work with the administration
and eighth-grade social science teachers at Cowan Road Middle
School in Griffin, Ga.
Seed grant funded
They’re using a seed grant of $21,857 from the UGA Poverty and
the Economy Faculty Research Grants Program.
“Persistent poverty exists in Georgia and in Spalding County,”
Jordan said. “Since the UGA Griffin campus is here, we want to
reach out and help the local community.”
More than half of the CRMS students receive free or reduced
lunches, Jordan said. And of the students who are chronically
absent, 85 percent come from low-income homes.
The UGA team decided to focus on the eighth grade because of
the
drop in high school student numbers. Of the Spalding students who
enter high school, 54 percent don’t graduate.
“We have to find a way to get these students to school, keep
them
in school and keep them motivated,” Jordan said.
Increasing graduate numbers
Studies show that high school graduates earn at least 40
percent
more than nongraduates. “Improving that alone will … positively
affect the poverty level,” he said.
Thompson assured teachers the project won’t make their jobs
harder. “This initiative will be directly tied to the state
social studies curriculum,” she told them. “What will change is
the way you teach and the way the kids learn.”
As UGA elementary and social studies education faculty
members,
Allen and Thompson have seen firsthand the success of similar
projects. “Students get excited when they see a connection
between their academic work and real-life issues,” Allen
said.
CRMS is already known as a community-minded school, Jordan
said.
“We want the students to be actively involved in the community
and see firsthand how their efforts can reduce poverty,” he
said.
Jordan said the project isn’t just community service.
“Our goal is to connect what they’re learning in the classroom
with the activity they’ll do in the community,” he said. “The
projects will link back to the school curriculum.”
Allen said the researchers, teachers and students will develop
the project. “We don’t have a prescription of steps to follow,”
he said. “We want the students to develop projects based on the
needs they see in their community.”
Student input essential
Teachers polled the students on poverty in the community.
“They’re concerned over the look and appearance of where they
live,” said CRMS assistant principal Laura Jordan. “And they want
jobs to be available by the time they’re old enough to work. They
want jobs because their families need for them to work, not
because they want material things.”
Several students wanted something to do in their free
time.
“They need something to focus on so they stay out of trouble,”
she said. “Many want to go to the public library. But
transportation isn’t available, and it’s too far away for them to
walk there.”
The school’s administration fully supports the project.
“We’re excited about this project because it could open a lot
of
doors and avenues to help our students be more community-minded,”
said CRMS principal Hoby Davenport. “I hope we find a link to
improve attendance and student CRCT scores.”
“The big vision is to have the school become a beacon for
other
schools,” Allen said. “This project is a seed, and hopefully more
good seeds will grow from it and we can share our efforts across
the state. We’ll also be creating better citizens, as they’ll be
more aware of the community around them.”
