Spring Hill College undergrads tutor LeFlore students for ACT test

Published: Monday, November 08, 2010, 6:30 AM

MOBILE, Ala. - LeFlore High School student Courtney Johnson is learning about time management.

The 16-year-old sophomore hopes it will help her get a high score on the ACT college entrance exam, or at least a higher score than her practice ACT test. The teen ran out of time before completing the reading portion of the practice exam.

“I was nervous,” said Johnson, sitting in a classroom at LeFlore recently with her tutor.

With the help of some Spring Hill College students, Johnson is learning how to manage her time better.

She is one of 110 LeFlore students staying after school for ACT tutoring.

With the aid of a $50,000 grant, Spring Hill College developed the College Access Initiative, which is designed to increase the percentage of low-income, public school students who apply to college. The college students are helping with ACT test preparation and financial aid workshops.

E.G. Scott, post-secondary specialist at LeFlore, said the number of students taking the ACT has doubled in the past two years. Last month, 150 LeFlore students took the ACT test, but haven’t yet received results.

Statewide, more students in Alabama are taking the ACT, according to the Iowa City-based ACT Inc. The college entrance exam is a voluntary test that colleges in the South often use to decide which students to admit and to offer scholarships,

Locally, Scott credits the increase in students to the Spring Hill tutoring program and the fact that LeFlore has been declared an ACT national test center. LeFlore students can now take the test at their own school.

Taking the test in familiar surroundings, said Scott, alleviates a lot of anxiety and fear for students.

“When they walk in that door and see a familiar face they are at ease,” said Scott.

On a recent afternoon, the Spring Hill and LeFlore students met in three separate classrooms preparing for next month’s ACT test.

“These are kids who are ambitious and with assistance could get scores higher into scholarship range,” said Kathleen Orange, director of Spring Hill’s Foley Center, a community service group.

Spring Hill junior Rachel Woods knows tutoring can help improve a score. She credits a tutor with helping her study for the exam.

“It gives people more confidence and helps them know what to expect,” said Woods.

LeFlore student Lindsey Ramos felt comfortable with her tutor, Spring Hill freshman Shardena Jones. The two played softball together last year at LeFlore.

“It’s beneficial to give back to the school I attended,” said Jones, a LeFlore graduate.

LeFlore junior Eddie Thompson said he plans to get a high score.

“I know if I fail, I can take it again,” said Thompson.

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Middle school students issue no cussing, dirty jokes challenge to classmates

Published: Monday, November 01, 2010, 5:52 AM

Students at two Mobile County middle schools are taking a stand against profanity.

Honor students at Lott Middle in Citronelle and at Semmes Middle are about to start anti-cursing campaigns, which will include having their fellow classmates sign pledges saying they won’t use swear words.

“We want to make our school a better environment,” said Nicholas Meinhardt, 14, an eighth-grader at Lott. “We want to be able to walk into the locker room and not hear people cussing.”

Cody Latham, a 13-year-old eighth-grader from Semmes, said cursing is offensive and should not be used at school — or anywhere else, for that matter.

“I can’t stand hearing it,” Latham said, adding that he hopes the effort at his school discourages kids from using profanity. “If one group stops cussing, then people hanging out with them might stop, and there can be a chain reaction.”

The Pledge:

?“I won’t cuss, swear, use bad language or tell dirty jokes. Clean language is a sign of intelligence and always demands respect. I will use my language to uplift, encourage and motivate. I will leave people better than I found them.”

Those who follow the pledge for one week are considered apprentices; one month, a journeymen; and one year, a master.

For more information, log on to www.nocussing.com

It’s part of a national movement called the No Cussing Club that was started by 14-year-old McKay Hatch of California. Hatch said he started the club in 2007 when he noticed that his middle school classmates were using profanity, and he wasn’t comfortable being around that. The club now boasts 30,000 members nationwide.

Rather than curse, Hatch recommended during a recent interview on Fox News that students say something more creative, such as, “Oh pickles,” “flip” or “barnacles.”

Semmes eighth-grader Brandan Burroughs, 14, said he likes the idea of coming up with more creative words to use instead of four-letter ones.

Mobile County school board member Ken Megginson is heading up the effort at the two schools, which are in his district. And, he said, he hopes it spreads through the county.

“Our society is at the point where it has become very accepting of language that’s totally inappropriate,” Megginson said.

Every once in a while, he said, he turns on the television set or the radio, and he’s surprised at what children are listening to. “Even the vice president of the United States of America cusses,” Megginson said. “What type of message does that send our kids?”

Vice President Joe Biden was caught on camera whispering in President Barack Obama’s ear after health care reform was signed into law: “This is a big f—-ing deal.”

Jaclyn Weaver, a counselor at Lott, said the students heading the no-cursing challenge are some of the school’s leaders.

“When you get students behind something, peer pressure can influence you to do things that are positive, not just negative,” she said, adding that she anticipates fewer discipline problems at the school if students stop cursing.

According to the Mobile County Public School System’s Code of Conduct, using obscene or profane language is a Group B offense, with punishment ranging from a trip to the principal’s office to suspension.

The Beta Club at Lott and the National Junior Honor Society at Semmes are heading up their schools’ anti-profanity efforts.

“A lot of people probably think it’s cool to cuss,” said Paige Reach, a 12-year-old seventh-grader at Lott. “I hope they’ll sign our pledge. I know a lot of kids who will do it, and it’ll be nice to walk around our school and not hear profanity.”

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