Thames Elementary School (Hattiesburg Public School District) with University Baptist Church

Thames Elementary School (Hattiesburg Public School District)

Partner: University Baptist Church 

Students impacted: 820
Volunteers: 250+
Duration of partnership: 8 years

The University Baptist Church partnership began in 2009 with a clothes closet, fundraising support, playground improvements and installation of fruit, vegetable and butterfly gardens. The partnership now also supports tutoring services to help students improve writing skills. Volunteers worked with the school’s leadership team to develop the curriculum and the rubric used to score student writing pieces.

Activities:

  • Volunteers held writing conferences with students
  • Use of Mississippi State Department of Education’s writing rubric

Impacts:

  • Improvements noted in all four areas of writing
  • Post-assessment student scores rose from 33% of possible points to 58%