The Greenwood Mentoring Group kicked off its sixth annual summer enrichment program this week.
The director, Bill Clay, said he is excited to have children participating in person for the first time since 2019. “When you take these kids and you challenge them, you’d be surprised with how they rise to the occasion,” he said.
The program has two daily classes: a reading comprehension class for children ages 5 to 10 and a computer coding class for those ages 11 to 15.
“This is our second year doing coding,” he said. “We did it last year online, but it was so great, the kids wanted to come back. This year, we’re mainly taking them up to JavaScript, and they’re excited about it.”
The class, he said, teaches not just coding techniques but also the importance of technology and math, both of which are key if a student wants to pursue computer science.
So far, the reading class has 11 students, and the coding class has 15.
Clay said the classes introduce research, bring in motivational speakers and expose the children to experiences they may not usually encounter.
He said pursuing a college education is valuable but coding provides different avenues of opportunity once these children graduate high school.
The program aims to “get (the children) involved in things that are going to be vital to them in the future,” he said. “Right now, everything is slowed down. The kids are looking for something to do. It’s just like a great athlete. In order to stay in shape, you’ve got to do the things to keep in shape, and the mind works pretty much the same way.”
He said he and his staff did not know what impact the program would have when they started it six years ago, but now it has become something that really sparks intelligence and learning.
The program is free, and all donations go toward activities and materials the children use, he said.
Field trips to New Orleans and Biloxi are scheduled, and he said preparation for these trips includes research of the local communities.
“The after-school program is good,” he said, “but if you really want to see the intelligence of the children, bring them in the summer enrichment program, where they know each and every day there’s going to be one particular subject that they’re going to have to really bear down and give their very best.”
Tax-deductible donations may be mailed to the Greenwood Mentoring Group at 200 Ave. G or made via PayPal at the group’s email greenwoodmentoringgroup@yahoo.com.
- Contact Kevin Edwards at 662-581-7233 or kedwards@gwcommonwealth.com.
