BELL program helps Richmond County students in language arts and math
Scholars honored at ceremony Monday night

By Stephanie Toone | Augusta Chronicle Staff Writer
Monday, May 17, 2010

Zach Boyden-Holmes/Staff Richmond County schools Superintendent Dana Bedden asks Jamestown Elementary third-grade pupil Quondrell Forth what he likes about the BELL after-school program.

Zach Boyden-Holmes/Staff Dr. Mac A. Bowman speaks at the BELL After School Program at A.R. Johnson Health Science and Engineering Magnet School.

Dreams are nothing without planning, preparing and, most importantly, doing.

Dr. Mac Bowman, a cardiologist and co-founder of the Augusta Heart Association, advised the participants of the BELL -- Building Educated Leaders for Life -- education program to go beyond their dreams Monday night at a ceremony honoring the 480 students who participated in the program.

"You may think, 'I won't have to make good grades until high school,' " Bowman said. "Now will make the difference. Your dream won't come true, not because you didn't have what was inside to succeed, but because you didn't plan or prepare."

BELL seeks to help elementary and middle school students plan and prepare for challenges in math and language arts classes, so they can do well in class and in life, said Roberto Gil Jr., the deputy regional director for the after-school and summer program. About 100 administrators, teachers, parents and students gathered at A.R. Johnson Health Science and Engineering Magnet School for the closing ceremony for BELL scholars.

"It's about trying to close the achievement gap," Gil said. "We don't have our assessments in, but anecdotally, I can say that five Lamar-Milledge (Elementary School) students that didn't do well on the CRCT last year passed it this year."

BELL was introduced in 1992 to students in Boston who were performing below grade level and living in low-income communities, said Gil. Richmond County is the first Georgia school district to offer the program, and the goal is to get students performing more than a year below grade level back on track, Gil said. The after-school program is offered three days a week, two hours a day, to students at 16 schools. The summer program, which will run between June 17 and July 22, will be available to students at all 35 elementary schools and at Glenn Hills Middle School. Principals at each school select students who they believe would benefit.

Superintendent Dana Bedden said the true testament to BELL's success would best be presented by a student. Jamestown Elementary third-grade pupil Quondrell Forth volunteered to share his views on the significance of BELL.

"It's a program where you can learn anything about math and reading," Quondrell told the audience. "I think I should continue with BELL, so I can pass math and get better grades."

His grandmother Cynthia Brown said she can attest to the effect the program has had on her grandson. After struggling with math last year, Quondrell passed his CRCT in math and reading. He also seems interested in learning more about math, she said.

"I'd say even in the last six weeks, he's asking me for more help and trying to work out problems," Brown said. "He really loves it, and I think this is what he really needed."

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Mission of BELL

Building Educated Leaders for Life exists to increase the academic achievements, self-esteem and life opportunities of children living in urban communities. The organization was founded in Boston in 1992 and expanded to provide educational programs to children in Baltimore; Charlotte, N.C.; Detroit; Flint, Mich.; and New York City.

Today, BELL is mobilizing a corps of more than 1,000 certified teachers and highly trained tutors to educate more than 11,000 scholars.

Results of programs across the country:

·		BELL scholars gain four months' grade-equivalent skills in the BELL summer program.
·		BELL scholars outpace national norms in acquiring new literacy and math skills, according to diagnostic test data. Scholars are gaining academic ground at a faster rate than their peers.
·		Eighty-two percent of scholars demonstrated improved self-management skills in both BELL Summer and BELL After School.
·		By the end of the program, 67 percent of scholars said they wanted to graduate from college, as opposed to 11 percent at the start.

For more information on BELL, visit www.bellnational.org or call (706) 364-6580.

Source: www.bellnational.org