Chapter 4: From 5% to 100%

September 2001-August 2002

The school year began with 58 Micah volunteers, 41 of them working with individuals or groups in Woodville School. Other volunteer opportunities besides mentors/tutors and classroom assistants included:

Mrs. Person continued as school principal, Betsy Carr continued as Micah consultant, and Buford Scott continued as head of the St. Paul’s Micah Committee.

A new approach matching mentors and students was implemented, as Jannie Laursen identified children on the higher end of the achievement spectrum who still needed help and encouragement for pairing with mentors.

Exciting developments at the school this year included Mrs. Person receiving a large grant from the Virginia Department of Education to fund the Woodville Literacy Initiative, a professional development program focusing on effective literacy training for faculty. Also included in the grant were funds to train tutors to increase their skills to help students learn.

Parent involvement at the school increased at parent/teacher conferences and at the Holiday Family Dinner. A Family Literacy Center opened in the Media Center two nights a week, with computers and reading materials for parents. In the fall, Communities in Schools—a  program which helps identify and coordinate non-academic services for children—began its planning process to include Woodville as a CIS school.  Betsy Carr and others from St. Paul’s Micah Initiative served on the Citizens Advisory Group, along with parent groups, neighborhood concerned citizens, the Child Memorial Guidance Clinic, Elk Hill, Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority and Good Shepherd Baptist Church.

Because of a growing program and increased demand, the Micah Committee voted in December to hire another person to assist with Micah. With Woodville chosen as a CIS school, this Micah Initiative Community Services and CIS Site Coordinator would work within the school to coordinate community, social and family services and to serve as a liaison with CIS. This marked a collaboration between CIS, St. Paul’s and Woodville. A grant from the national Episcopal Relief and Development Fund partly funded this new position.

In spring of 2002, St. Paul’s representatives joined those from St. Stephen’s, St. James’s, St Philip’s, St. Mark’s and First Presbyterian to explore how church/school partnerships could collaborate and make a greater impact with their combined efforts. The Reverend Ben Campbell, Director of Pastoral Care at Richmond Hill, an ecumenical retreat center, facilitated the meetings. 

At the beginning of our work at Woodville in 1999, only 5% of teachers asked for tutors; at the end of 2002, 100% of Woodville teachers requested help.

Mrs. Person reported that the gradual improvement in the school environment since the Micah Initiative began had affected the school state accreditation process. As a school accredited with warning because of low S.O.L. scores, Woodville was visited by state review teams for two years. In February 2002, the team praised Mrs. Person’s work and noted an increase in faculty motivation and the positive transformation of school culture. Mrs. Person’s goal for Woodville was full accreditation and the Micah Initiative pledged to help in any way we could.

SUMMER 2002

The Summer Academy was held for the fourth year, July 1-August 8, with two classes of students, teachers and classroom aides. Twenty volunteers worked in classes and chaperoned four field trips. This year’s program focused on reading, writing, oral language and math skills.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS:

OTHER CHALLENGES:

• Concerns regarding volunteer liability were raised. After input from school personnel and church staff, all mentors were required to read and sign a copy of the Diocesan Policy and Procedure on Sexual Misconduct. If mentors planned to take students on outings, written permission from a parent was required. Background checks were required for Micah volunteers who were not church members. 
• Because of St. Paul’s increasing presence and scope, we needed to hire a new person to work on-site at Woodville to coordinate our efforts. 
• Volunteers recognized the need to secure more coordinated social services for students, to encourage student leadership, and to support faculty and staff. 
• More volunteers and overall church participation was needed, in addition to finding the best way to incorporate the Micah Initiative within the existing structures of the Church.