Reading Proficiency Mini Grants: Reading proficiency is a critical skill set that influences educational attainment, lifelong learning and career opportunities. Local and statewide data show that many underserved students face challenges scoring proficient in reading in third and eighth grades. In some districts, students are held back based on reading scores. The L2CF offered matching reading proficiency mini grants to parents/guardians of students who were being challenged in reading. The L2CF agreed to match up to fifty percent of the cost of supplemental reading instruction. An application process yielded three (3) scholarship winners who will receive professional reading instruction in advance of the statewide assessment scheduled for April 2017.
ACT Awareness and Tutoring: The Foundation aims to increase area students’ awareness of the implications associated with scoring twenty-one or higher on the ACT. To that end, two ACT Prep initiatives were supported. The Foundation sponsored six (6) student registrations for an all-day ACT workshop that was hosted by Mississippi State University’s Learning Center. At least seven households were impacted. In addition, door prizes were provided to help promote and recruit students to participate in a My Brother’s Keeper ACT tutoring experiment. Approximately twenty students were impacted.
Summer Learning Enhancement Institute: The L2C Foundation collaborated with the Mississippi State University Council on Minority Affairs (COMA), Wal-Mart Foundation, and the Starkville-Oktibbeha My Brother’s Keeper Challenge (MBKC) to offer a summer enrichment program that included mentoring, education, healthy snacks, and sports/recreation. The institute ran for eight weeks and concluded with a “Day of Fun” field trip. Over three dozen boys were impacted.