A Publication from the Office of the President
In this Issue ...
Tri-County’s Top Students Honored at Ceremony...........4–6
Imagine TCTC Spotlights STEM Careers............................. 7
First Gradfest Held April 6.......................................... 9
April 2016
ECD Wins CHE’s Excellence in Service Learning Award A service learning project that pairs Early Childhood Development (ECD) students with at-risk kindergarteners to improve the children’s language development skills has won the S.C. Commission on Higher Education’s Commendation of Excellence in Service Learning. ECD Program Coordinator Meredith McClure traveled to Columbia May 5 to accept the award. Laura Wells and her kindergarten buddy at La France The annual competition recognizes Elementary School. three of the most commendable service learning projects from the nominees across the State. One award is presented to a public four-year college or university project, one to a public two-year college, and one to an independent college or university. The project, called Meeting Early Needs through Oral Reading (MENTOR), involves a partnership with La France Elementary School where each ECD 131 Language Arts student is paired with a kindergartener, or a buddy, who is at risk in his or her language development skills. The MENTOR program was piloted in the fall of 2014 and was repeated in fall 2015. It will become an embedded High Impact Practice as part of the ECD program’s fulfillment to the College’s QEP for SACSCOS. The ECD students are tasked with creating activities to engage these “at-risk” children using strategies that have been introduced and studied during the lecture portion of the ECD 131 class. After creating active-learning plans, the ECD students engage with their buddies through planned activities that strengthen their language arts, as well as their social skills. “It’s more than just reading; it’s a safe place where adults care about them,” said Meredith. “Through these active-learning plans, our students learned about stages of development, and the children benefited from interaction with an adult who cares and gives them personal attention to help them to succeed,” said Meredith. After each of the 25-minute weekly visits, students were assigned reflection questions to contemplate and write about. “The goal is to create intentional teachers who are responsive and reflective,” said Meredith. “Reflections point towards growth of the learners’ relationships. A bond forms. Kids open up and share. My students light up when they see that connection with the child,” she said. Students also author and illustrate a book they share with their buddy on the last visit.
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SGA Sponsors Safe Summer Party.......................... 12
Passionate people TRANSFORMING LIVES
AND BUILDING STRONG COMMUNITIES ONE STUDENT AT A TIME.