Rowan Elementary School (Hattiesburg Public Schools) with the University of Southern Mississippi. This project set out to implement iROCK (Resilient, Optimistic, Charismatic, and Kind) Academy, a mentorship program aimed at engaging young ladies in the process of developing self-awareness, building self-confidence, and learning healthy forms of communication.

The University of Southern Mississippi, in partnership with Hattiesburg Public Schools and Rowan Elementary set out to implement iROCK (Resilient, Optimistic, Charismatic, and Kind) Academy at Rowan. Elementary School. iROCK Academy is a mentorship program aimed at engaging young ladies in the process of developing self-awareness, building self-confidence, and learning healthy forms of communication. The counselor and faculty members will select these young ladies as a mixture of students
who would benefit from mentorship. The mentorship program will be facilitated by Dr. Jo Hawkins-Jones, a literacy professor, from The University of Southern Mississippi and volunteer student-teacher candidates. Dr. Hawkins-Jones took the communicated needs from the school leadership team for their students and parents to enhance and expand the reach of iROCK Academy.

The iROCK Academy will include four monthly mentorship workshops during the school day. Mentorship workshops will consist of small-group discussions on topics ranging from self-esteem, character, grit, conflict resolution, and being a female in today’s society. Your child will also engage in a book study, where
she will participate in book talks and journaling exercises about their reading experiences.

The overall goal of the program is to provide opportunities for young ladies to foster relationships with mentors and to build confidence in their ability to R.O.C.K.- Be Resilient, Optimistic, Charismatic, and Kind. The schedule for iROCK Academy including workshop topics is listed below. iROCK Academy runs from 11:45 until 12:40 for 4th grade students and from 12:45 until 1:40 for fifth grade students.

The intended outcomes of iROCK Academy are to: (1)Increase literacy proficiency in 3rd-5th grade students; (2) Improve students' academic and social-emotional development (3) Increase parents' literacy skills and knowledge and involvement in academics, while promoting family literacy.