Clark State Community College will host a literacy camp this summer for the youth of the Springfield Promise Neighborhood. Parents and guardians who reside in the Springfield Promise Neighborhood are encouraged to attend the “Community Promise: A Family Education Initiative” event with their children on April 19 to learn more about the free camp.
“Parents will also hear about an opportunity for them to take a free course at Clark State,” said Dr. Theresa Felder, vice president of student affairs and Greene Center operations. “The course will be a customized First Year Experience course, which will include assistance with completing the college application and the FAFSA, placement testing, orientation to academic programs and student services, career exploration and college-related skill building.We will give parents a campus tour, while the students participate in an age appropriate activity.”
Felder said Clark State is supportive of early literacy efforts and will be partnering with the Springfield Promise program to provide services to assist in this area.“We also would like to provide assistance to families who are interested in developing workforce skills or would like to pursue a college degree,” she said.
Kanesha Scott, STEM programming manager for Clark State, said this is the first time that Clark State and Springfield Promise Neighborhood have partnered for an event like “Community Promise: A Family Education Initiative.” She explained that the Springfield Promise Neighborhood is defined by the “Promise Zone” - a specified area determined by city government in association with community partners.
Springfield Promise Neighborhood is a placed-based and asset-based poverty alleviation project. It works with residents in a 110-block area in Springfield, Ohio. The premise of Springfield Promise Neighborhood’s work is that the long-term goal of poverty alleviation depends upon the academic and social success of children.
“We have been working with the Springfield Promise program to support efforts around early literacy,” said Scott. “Some of our Early Childhood Education students have been hired as AmeriCorps literacy coaches and are working in the elementary schools.”
The Promise Zone area has contiguous boundaries and between 10,000 to 20,000 inhabitants with a poverty rate equal to or above 32.5 percent. In the poverty zone established by the City of Springfield and in cooperation with the Springfield City School District, the area covers the attendance zones of Perrin, Lincoln, Fulton and Kenwood schools.
“Community Promise: A Family Education Initiative” will be held at 5 p.m., Thursday, April 19 in the Applied Science Center, Room 125 on Clark State’s Springfield campus at 570 East Leffel Lane. Call the Clark State Youth Outreach office at (937) 328-6079 by Tuesday, April 17 to RSVP.