Pass Road Elementary and The Nourishing Place, Cleve Allen and Gail Cotton Scholarship and The United Way

Duration of partnership: 12 years
Impacts 71 students
 
The Nourishing Place in Gulfport was established by Dr. Gail Cotton and Dr. Jane Stanley in 1998 to provide a haven where disadvantaged residents could seek enhanced lives for themselves and their children. In 2000, The Nourishing Place adopted two neighboring schools, Pass Road Elementary and Central Elementary, and since then the partnership has helped provide nurturing support for staff, students, and the community.
 
An after-school math and reading tutoring program called "Enhance" is offered for underperforming students, and tutors are also certified teachers. Tutors use in-school assessments shared by homeroom teachers to identify student needs and develop appropriate academic plans. The Meditation garden at the Nourishing Place is open to the community, staff and students, and a quarter-mile walking track on school grounds provides a safe exercise space for students. Each year Pass Road assists with a food drive for The Nourishing Place, and a backpack food program ensures that students have access to healthy food and snacks when away from school. The partnership has also launched an in-school pilot program for four-year-old children to help them prepare for kindergarten.
 
The after-school tutoring program was expanded last year to help 61 students, and 97% advanced to the next grade. Testing showed that 10% improved from well-below average to average or above, 54% improved from below average to average or above, and 23% improved from average to above average. All students in the math tutoring program showed growth. The summer program helped 43 Pass Road students stay on track academically; 75% returned to school with no lapse in reading standards while 87% returned with no lapse in math standards.