GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — A Gwinnett County college is putting a focus on underserved communities and students of color by letting them spend time on a college campus before they even hit middle school.
The new after-school program is opening up the campus of Georgia Gwinnett College to elementary school students.
Tamyra Scott told Channel 2′s Matt Johnson that her 10-yaer-old son didn’t talk much about college until he started spending time at one.
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“The first thing he’ll talk about is his day, the college campus,” she said. “The minority students actually get a chance to see it.”
Her son is one of 90 mostly minority third, fourth and fifth graders participating in the Grizzly Academy Dreamers program on the college campus.
“For him to just think about college at such a young age, when a lot of people in our community don’t seem to think about that. It’s really exciting for me,” Scott said.
The elementary schoolers are bussed out to the campus for their daily academic lessons with a certified teacher.
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“We have a really broad variety of enrichment opportunities from dance, step movement, leadership, art, entrepreneurship,” Dr. Amber Ebert, the program director, said.
Ebert says it is important to prioritize students of color when spent a year planning the program.
“That’s the entire purpose of starting these programs is to reach out to kids and families that otherwise wouldn’t have these types of opportunities,” she explained.
Scott says the program has been a life-changing opportunity for her son.
“I just know that he’ll have like a good future ahead of him,” Scott said.
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The program is federally funded and has enough funds to last at least another four years.
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