Excellence in education

By Staff
ATLANTA Debra Farmer of Meridian is one of thousands of young people around the nation serving as a tutor, literacy coach, mentor and friend through Hands On Atlanta AmeriCorps at Cook Elementary School.
AmeriCorps is a federally funded program that places full-time, stipended volunteers in service all over the county. In urban and rural areas across the nation, AmeriCorps members help meet the nation's critical needs in the areas of public safety, education, human needs and the environment. HOA Corps members serve as teaching assistants, tutors, mentors and volunteer coordinators at 31 elementary, middle and high schools in the Atlanta Metro area.
In one-on-one tutoring sessions and after-school programs, Farmer and other HOA AmeriCorps members help students improve their reading abilities, test scores, school performance and self-esteem. In HOA AmeriCorps afterschool programs, students find that learning is fun with activities such as cooking lessons, magic shows, creative writing, field trips and special presentations. HOA AmeriCorps members also work to connect classroom learning to the real world and to instill a lifelong commitment to community service and involvement by arranging service learning projects such as constructing butterfly gardens, tutoring younger students, visiting seniors or landscaping local parks.
HOA AmeriCorps members receive a living stipend and after graduation, an education grant of up to $4,725.
Julie Marie White of Little Rock graduated from East Central Community College in December as a President's List Scholar. She plans to continue her education in the Associate Degree Nursing Program at Meridian Community College.
White is the daughter of Kenneth and Bobbie White.