FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 24, 2008 |
FOR INFORMATION CONTACT
Elizabeth Pittman 404.364.8868
epittman@oglethorpe.edu |
Oglethorpe University Partners with Atlanta’s First Charter School
ATLANTA - Oglethorpe University’s Center for Civic Engagement has a full schedule of spring service at Charles R. Drew Charter School (301 East Lake Blvd, Atlanta, 30317). Oglethorpe students will be mentoring sixth graders and volunteering for the charter school’s Quiz Bowl and after school program.
The Center for Civic Engagement (CCE) focuses on four key areas of service: education, environment, health and wellness and homelessness and hunger. Oglethorpe’s Atlanta educational partners are Ed S. Cook Elementary, Charles R. Drew Charter School, PATH Academy and South Atlanta High School of Law and Social Justice.
“Each of these partnerships has offered unique opportunities for Oglethorpe students to learn about the needs of a community while the younger students learn about the university environment,” said Tamara Nash, CCE director.
P.A.L.S. (Positive Actions Lead to Success) is Oglethorpe University’s mentorship program that pairs one Oglethorpe student with one Drew Charter sixth grade student twice a month for a semester. The P.A.L.S. get to know each other and learn more about each school as well as work on projects and activities. OU students will be meeting with their Drew P.A.L.S. March 26, April 2 and April 23 from 3:15 until 6:30 p.m.
Oglethorpe University’s third annual day of service is on Friday, March 28 from 1:30 until 4:30 p.m. Among other service projects in Atlanta, the Oglethorpe community volunteers will staff the annual Drew Charter School Quiz Bowl. On Monday, April 14, university volunteers will also staff the Drew Charter Cool Girls After School Program from 4:00 until 6:00 p.m.
CCE volunteers have worked on a variety of programs at Drew over the past two years. Volunteers have staffed the Parents’ Day Out event and the OU men’s golf team participates in The First Tee of East Lake program teaching Drew students golf fundamentals. Drew students have also attended a day at Oglethorpe’s Conant Performing Arts Center where they had the opportunity to interact with the actors and discuss the play with Oglethorpe students.
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Located in Atlanta and founded in 1835, Oglethorpe enrolls over 1,000 students representing 34 states and 36 countries. The university plays in the NCAA Division III Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. The Princeton Review’s The Best 366 Colleges 2008 edition ranks Oglethorpe in its prestigious list and also names it a Best Southeastern College. Oglethorpe University is Georgia’s only coeducational member of the Annapolis Group, an organization of America’s most selective liberal arts institutions.
Charles R. Drew Charter School – the city of Atlanta’s first public charter school – offers a curriculum, enrichment and Before and After School programs that emphasize high academic achievement and character development for approximately 800 students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. Drew students are surpassing state standards across all grades and subjects. With a teaching philosophy that encourages strong intellectual, physical, social and emotional growth, Drew is a place where children thrive and prepare for a lifetime of learning and success.
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