FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Focus America
Launches National
Online Literacy Mentorship Program July
19, 2004--Morristown
NJ: Focus America, a NJ Non-Profit Corporation, announced a new nationwide
literacy program called Project Protégé that is scheduled to
start in September as a pilot in school districts from impoverished communities
in Illinois, West Virginia, and New Jersey. The program will address issues of literacy, diversity, and personal responsibility
for improving one's situation in life by bringing community leaders into
low-income classrooms through the Internet. Students will be assigned to a virtual classroom (using Blackboard technology)
where up to 10 students meet for a three-month distance learning course.
Each student will receive a free non-fiction book in advance of the class
start-date.
Their online mentor guides the students through the program asynchronously
(i.e. at independent times that may not be in real time simulating a typical
telecommuting communication environment). “
Communities need to become mutual sources of support for each other,” state
Shelly Zimmerman, President and Founder of Focus America. “The
Internet has created the perfect medium for delivering on-going, long-term
support for
both individuals and entire communities. Now, mentorship is no longer
limited to geographic regions. Leaders in urban cities can work with
children and adults
in rural settings hundreds of miles ...but only nanoseconds...apart through
the use of technology. “ Mentors initiate online discussions about the book so that students may
communicate via a threaded discussion board about the topics. The mentor's
role shifts
as the discussion is expanded into the following three areas: 1. How the story relates to the student as an individual or community
as a whole
2. How the story relates to what is happening in the world at large
(i.e. encouraging students to read the newspaper and research current
events)
3. How the student (or community) can apply what they have learned
to improve/change their own situation The program is provided free of charge to the school district. Focus
America locates corporate sponsors to help defray the cost of program
delivery.
For the pilot program, local companies such as Premier Medical Care
(Morristown, NJ) have offered to help sponsor the initial classes. “The reaction from the school districts has been amazing,” says
Zimmerman. “First, the program is free to the schools. Second, we are
creating a global experience for their students and their own teachers. Finally,
we are creating a nurturing and collaborative learning environment through
the introduction of technology. With more corporations like Premier Medical
offering to sponsor more classes on a national level, we hope to reach impoverished
school districts in 10 states by the Spring and 20 states by Fall 2005.”
ABOUT FOCUS AMERICA: Founded in October 2002, Focus America is a 501c3 non-profit
volunteer-run corporation that develops high school
and
college-aged volunteers
(as well as adult volunteers) with hands-on service
learning and project management skills through the creation, implementation,
and management
of individual community
service projects. Volunteers work specifically with
destitute
and underserved communities, focusing on addressing basic needs (shelter,
food, and
clothing) then introducing mentor programs to help
improve the
self-esteem of the
hardest hit members of these communities: the children.
Their
ultimate goal is to
help eliminate poverty in these underdeveloped communities
while developing the
business skills of the college-aged volunteers who
create, implement, and manage the projects. For more information, visit http://www.focusamerica.org.
CONTACT:
Anne
Marie Jarka-Hajjar, VP of Public Relations
PO Box 267
Convent Station, NJ 07961
ajarka@focusamerica.org
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