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Helping schools and families work together for jobs, recreation and quality of life in their communities at large.

How Parent Mentors Work with Communities

 

The Sale Game
Puts Seminole County on the Map!

 

Seminole County Schools Parent Mentor Tracy Barber never imagined that the literacy grant she applied for through Parent to Parent of Georgia would bring a film crew into her small, South Georgia community, but that is just what happened. Due to the success and popularity of the program, Parent to Parent of Georgia, which offers support to families of children with disabilities, contacted Ms. Barber about doing some filming about the program that grew out of the literacy grant. She naturally did what she does best…rounded up folks and got them excited about it.


Barber, who has served as her system’s Parent Mentor for the past 8 years, has applied for, and received the grant for three years, and she has put it to work in her community through a variety of projects.

Tracy Barber, left, poses with a mother and her young child

The Sale Game is what put the program on the map. “They love it. I made up the games. Last year it was riddles about different things in the grocery store, like “what fruit is the name of a color” and they had to read the clues and find the answer.  This year we did a bingo game,” she explained. The games always involve some type of reading skills so that families can practice together in an environment that is both familiar and does not feel like school.  The biggest feature of the game, and what makes it the most fun, is the race to the check-out line. “Oh, they love it,” she said, laughing.


The numbers prove the popularity of the program.  “The first year we had about 25, this year we had over 60 participants,” Ms. Barber said.


The push to the finish line is fueled by age-appropriate prizes that offer opportunities for the children to continue practicing reading skills without their even knowing it. Things like leapfrog reader books and Nintendo DS loaded up with educational games. With a median income of $41,200, (about $10,000 less than the statewide average of $51,012,) many families cannot afford these kinds of games … games that are so popular with kids, but too expensive for most.

“The whole community participates in this and so I was so happy that the film crew came and interviewed everybody,” Ms. Barber said.  Beginning with the support and partnership with the local Harvey’s grocery store, APG Local Peanut Company, the Local Library and parents,
Ms. Barber hopes that this exposure will help the program grow even more. “One of the things I want to do with the program is follow the children that participated and compare their reading skills to others in the class.”  She is also working to help parents see how they can support literacy skills by doing everyday tasks, like reading recipes, product instructions or other day to day activities.

For more information about Ms. Barber’s programs, connect with her via her Mentor Page.

To find out about Parent to Parent of Georgia go to p2pga.org.

"Wow, what can I say about Tracy? She is a remarkable young lady who reminds us that it is our responsibility to share in the task of educating parents and children." I have worked here at Harvey's for 8 years and I must say that we are more involved in education that ever before.

Sure, we get calls for donations all the time, but we really don't have an idea of how it affects families. With Tracy, and the Sale Game that has become one of our many highlights with her, we are able to witness how that experience help parents.  To see children walking down the isle looking for items that their parents have sent them to find definately shows us that parents get it!! They can actually teach their child to read while shopping for groceries. I am just glad that she chose this store to to prove such a valid point to the community and to parents."


  Cindy Day, Harvey's Supermarket Manager