After
only four weeks in the delta working at the Sunflower County Freedom Project, I
am amazed to see the progress the students have made in such a short
time!
In Ms. Goffe's and my writing class, I have seen slow but steady progress among all of the students. Seeing a consistent effort from Ms. Clayton, Ms. Brown, Ms. Williams and Mr. Thomas among others has added a lot to each class (and made Ms. Goffe's and my job a little less stressful!). However, strong effort does not always translate over to the list of silent lunches. Our silent lunch experts, Mr. Apolonio and Mr. DeMarcus Gilespie, have shown an incredible turn around in the past few weeks with their attitudes and efforts. It is great to see Mr. Gilespie working silently during study session and Mr. Apolonio stepping into the leadership position during morning and afternoon meetings. My hope is that the effort continues through this last week, so that everyone can make it through to Ole Miss.
Overall,
I have been quite happy with every student’s attitude and determination. Each
student has his or her own struggles to overcome, but I am hopeful that they
will all continue at the LEAD Center after the summer’s end. Our circle
discussion last week brought out the courage, compassion, and leadership in all
of us, and I hope this can be a testament to all (both students and fellows) of
the amazing community we have at the Sunflower County Freedom Project.
--Matthew Clayton
Duke University ‘12
SCFP Intern
Mr. Clayton,
Glad to know that you enjoyed making difference in our Fellows, and it was good to meet you that once, but hope you will return again to this area and I look forward to seeing you again.
Thanks for your generous contribution to the SCFP.
Posted by: Mrs. Mildred Downey | October 06, 2009 at 01:53 PM