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Church focuses on tutoring

• Tutor program officials with a local church are encouraging other organizations to begin tutoring programs to help Dougherty County's youth.

Joshua Brown

ALBANY — When Michael Moss first began tutoring Ja’Marrious Brown for an outreach program with Covenant Presbyterian Church last year, the student was failing several classes at Magnolia Elementary School.

But on his last report card, Ja’Marrious brought home all As and Bs.

“He broke down the door running to show me that report card,” Moss said about Brown’s excitement.

Brown is one of 36 students who receive tutoring every Wednesday at the church as part of an outreach that Lee Don started last year. Brown is in fourth grade at West Town Elementary School, but is the only exception for the program, which tutors Magnolia Elementary School students.

Don started the outreach program with 24 students and tutors after moving to Albany from Alpharetta. Because the program has been so successful, and because Dougherty County has such high dropout and illiteracy rates, Don said she wanted to see other churches and community organizations begin similar programs.

“The secret to this program is the one-on-one relationships, connecting with the kids,” she said. “The main thing there is showing them you care. ... The whole thing is developing relationships.”

As the children receive the attention of the program’s tutors — for about an hour each Wednesday — they can succeed in school and life, avoiding pitfalls such as gangs, Don said.

“What we really hope to do is two things: one, build relationships, because if a kid knows you care, that brings success,” she said. “And then the more they succeed, we hope to steer them away from crime toward a life of success.”

About 30 students is the optimal number for Covenant’s program, Don said, which is why she wanted to get word out about the success of it. Any community organizations hoping to start a tutoring program can contact Don for information or help organizing it, she said.

Brown said he enjoyed the program because it helped him to learn in several areas of school, from spelling to science.

“It helps you learn about schoolwork and get your education, go to college and be successful,” the 10-year-old said. “It’s fun.”

Sarah Shellhaas, a 15-year-old student at Deerfield-Windsor School, said she started helping because Don — her grandmother — asked her to.

“I love it, I love being around kids,” she said. “They’re fun to be around. They really like teenagers — they’re tired of being around adults, so they like being around the kids. We make less rules.”

Don said the students’ teachers give the program’s workers information specific to each child, who must take school-administered tests to qualify.

To tutor, volunteers must be able to read, be willing to “serve children in Christ’s love,” and be able to pass a background check, Don said.

Don can be reached through the church at (229) 436-5731.

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