Colquitt Educational Foundation celebrates mentoring program

MOULTRIE – In early May, the Colquitt County Educational Foundation held an end-of-year party honoring mentors, proteges, and parents/guardians. The event was held at Cox Elementary with food provided by Joe Kems Catering.

Students and guests joined CCEF board members, principal Kristi Gonzales, and assistant principal O’Tessa Pelham for the celebration.

Literacy mentors were able to meet the parents and guardians of the students they mentor, creating a special close to mentoring sessions for the 2023-2024 academic year. CEEF currently provides 17 mentors to Cox, Stringfellow and Funston elementary schools, with the most mentors at Cox. Mentoring will resume in September.

“We’re thrilled to watch this program grow and develop year after year,” literacy mentor coordinator Dale Rickett said. “And making time to come together to celebrate milestones and encourage the students is an important part of the program’s success. With school being out for summer, we like to remind guardians and caregivers of the importance of reading every day to help prevent summer learning loss.”

Now in its third year, CCEF’s early literacy mentoring program’s purpose is to provide support to students in grades kindergarten through fifth, focusing on relationship-building and literacy skills such as letter/letter sound recognition, sight word recognition, fluency, vocabulary acquisition, and comprehension. Volunteer mentors are trained in effective mentorship, child safety practices and procedures, and read-aloud strategies. They also spend time practicing mentoring skills through facilitator-led activities that reflect possible real-life scenarios.

CCEF has trained more than 40 individuals as mentors and will host another free training session on Thursday from 8:30 a.m.-noon at the Moultrie-Colquitt County Chamber of Commerce.

To register for the next training session or learn more about the foundation, contact Rickett at [email protected] or (229) 402-4071 or go to the Colquitt County Educational Foundation website at www.brightercolquitt.org/volunteer.

The Colquitt County Educational Foundation exists to increase the literacy rates of Colquitt County children and youths through mentoring and support of educational innovation in the classroom and the community, and to ensure a quality work force pipeline in the county.