Middle school mentoring camp aims to develop leadership

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By Keith Farner keith.farner@gwinnettdailypost.com

As of Tuesday, July 14, 2015 © Copyright 2015 Gwinnett Daily Post

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Adults and students participating in the first SummerLeadership Camp serve and receive lunch on Tuesdayat Moore Middle School. The week-long camp is put onby Gwinnett County Public Schools’ Community-BasedMentoring Program which strives to offer mentoring toat-risk students and help their social and academicdevelopment. The program also recruits, trains andretains men who serve as mentors, providing supportand encouragement to at risk middle school students.(Staff Photo: Keith Farner)

Photo GalleryMiddle school mentoringcamp aims to developleadership

The Gwinnett County PublicSchools’ Community-BasedMentoring Program this week isputting on a summer camp thisweek for 55 male students. It’sdesigned to offer hands-on andengaging activities that involveleadership skills, financial literacy,civic engagement, lawenforcement and education.

LAWRENCEVILLE— Paul Parker hasserved as a mentorfor middle schoolstudents in Gwinnettfor five years. Alongthe way, each timehe takes in an eventhe said gets moreout of it than thekids.

On Tuesday atMoore MiddleSchool, there wasParker in the middleof a room of fifth-and sixth-gradersbrainstorming withthem how to take anmusic artist and finda producer to makeand promote a songthat becomes a hit.

“Their leadership is stronger than what we give themcredit for,” Parker said. “They have a great influence onone another and we have to just learn to help themchannel that into a positive aspect.”

That was just one element of a week-long camp running

Paula Richards-Bell helps eighth-grader Shamar Moody onTuesday with business skills likedesigning a business card and agreeting card. They participatedin a week-long SummerLeadership Camp at MooreMiddle School put on by GwinnettCounty Public Schools’Community-Based MentoringProgram. (Staff Photo: KeithFarner)

this week put on by the Gwinnett County Public Schools’Community-Based Mentoring Program. It’s called theSummer Leadership Camp and 55 male students signedup to attend. It’s designed to offer hands-on and engagingactivities that involve leadership skills, financial literacy,civic engagement, law enforcement, education, math,language arts enrichment, music and mediaentertainment and entrepreneurship.

The camp will end on Friday with a visit to the CollegeFootball Hall of Fame in Atlanta.

“We think this is a need to keep the kids engaged overthe summer,” said James Rayford, director of academicsupport with the district, who said an informal surveyfound the camp as a popular idea among parents. Hehopes to grow it next year to 75 students, or more. “We

felt this a great opportunity to expose them to some things that theymay not have seen during the school year.”

The overall goal of the mentoring program is to help at-risk studentswith social and academic development with men who serve asmentors. Part of its mission is to help students make decisions that willpositively impact their lives and prepare them for high school.

The camp sessions are taught by GCPS employees andrepresentatives from business and community organizations such asPrimerica, the Wisdom to Believe Foundation, Wells Fargo, AtlantaInstitute for Music and Media, e3 Creative and Sports Serve. Thestudents will also participate in a golf clinic, a basketball clinic andteam building skills.

Eighth-grader Peter Lauderdale said he enjoys it because his friendsare there, and it’s bigger and offers more field trips than other summercamps. He’s been a member of the mentoring program for three years.

“It’s a great way to get interactive and have fun and be with people,” hesaid.

Parker said he hopes to learn what excites the students, and find out what their pains and struggles are.And he wants them to develop camraderie and friendship. It’s a different format from the school year, butalso from other summer camps.

“The parents are feeling like the students are getting some mentoring in a whole day or whole week contextwhen it’s usually just a few hours a day or a week,” Parker said. “The kids are getting some stability for alonger period of time. It’s also giving the kids some structure for a week, and that’s what they need, structureand discipline.”