News Release
Grant
Made to Support Americorps Members in Coahoma County Schools
Hernando, MS (August 25, 2005)– The Maddox Foundation and the Community
Foundation of Northwest Mississippi today announced that a grant of
$54,000 has been awarded to the Coahoma County School District. The
grant will support the placement of 18 full-time AmeriCorps members in
schools throughout Coahoma County.
The members are part of the America Reads Mississippi (ARM) program.
During the coming school year, each volunteer will provide 1,700 hours
of community service to the schools. The volunteers tutor
pre-kindergarten through middle school students in reading before
school, during the school day, after school, over school breaks, and in
summer school programs. When schools are closed, they serve in local
community agencies and tutor, recruit volunteers, and mobilize the
community in service activities meeting local needs.
“Education
has long been a major focus of the Maddox Foundation, and we also have a
long-standing partnership with the Mississippi Commission for Volunteer
Service, so this program is consistent with other work we have
supported,” said Maddox Foundation President Robin Costa.
“When we heard about this emergency need, we thought that this would be
an ideal investment for the Maddox Advised Fund,” said Tom Pittman,
president of the Community Foundation. “We are thrilled that the Maddox
Foundation has agreed to support this program through our organization,
and look forward to working on other educational needs in Coahoma
County.”
AmeriCorps members have been publicly recognized by school boards, city
and county governments, and the media for their ability to “get things
done” for their schools and communities. Funded every year since 1998,
with 270 full-time members across the state, and with a statewide
waiting list of school partners, ARM has been recognized nationally as a
“model AmeriCorps program” and was recently named the state’s lead
agency for National Youth Service Day.
As a result
of the services performed by ARM AmeriCorps volunteers during the
2004-2005 school year, 69 percent of students served increased their
reading level by one letter grade, while 27 percent of students recorded
a two letter grade increase and 4 percent of students reported more than
a two letter grade increase, according to an independent evaluation of
the program. Some school principals and superintendents also report that
schools earned a higher State Department of Education accreditation
level (based on high-stakes statewide testing) with the tutoring help of
ARM AmeriCorps members as a valued part of their school’s instructional
team.
Additional information about the Community Foundation can be found at
www.cfnm.org, or
obtained by calling 662-449-5002.
About The Maddox Foundation
The Maddox Foundation is a private foundation that supports educational and other service programs in northwest Mississippi and middle Tennessee. With assets of almost $110 million, it is one of the largest foundations in Mississippi. The grant to the Coahoma County Schools is being channeled through the Maddox Advised Fund at the Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi, a separate fund established by the Maddox Foundation earlier this year to support programs of a strictly local nature in Northwest Mississippi.
About The Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi
The
Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi is a publicly-supported
community foundation that serves Coahoma, Desoto, Lafayette, Marshall,
Panola, Quitman, Tallahatchie, Tate and Tunica Counties. The Community
Foundation has been working with a group of Coahoma County leaders for
most of this year to establish a local education fund for the support of
the county’s public schools.
Media Contacts:
Maddox Foundation: Michael Ward, 662-449-3699
Institutions of Higher Learning: Randee Williams, 601-432-6380
MS Commission for Volunteer Service: Marsha Kelly, 601-432-6738
Coahoma County School System: Pauline Rhodes, 662-624-5448