Every 6th grader at Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School was invited to participate in CFY’s Digital Learning Program on Saturday, Oct. 27th. This educational event had a high participation rate as 109 out of 142 sixth graders received a LCD flat-screen computer loaded with fun and educational software. In order to participate, students were simply required to attend the entire workshop with a parent. The goal is to equip students with the necessary tools to improve student engagement and achievement, and strengthen the parents’ confidence and ability to serve as learning partners for their children at home.
The workshops were held at King Middle School from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Students and parents learned to navigate PowerMyLearning.com, a K-12 learning platform with over 2500 games, applications, tutorials, and more. They also learned how to use specific applications that do not require Internet access. All participating families received a computer with free service guaranteed until the student graduates high school. Paul Brown, the Principal of King Middle, says “Allowing students to have access to software and technology at home will increase their opportunities of being successful during the school day.”
CFY-Atlanta is a national non-profit organization that uses digital learning to increase student engagement, help teachers extend classroom learning into the home, and strengthen parental involvement to improve academic achievement for the students. As part of their Digital Learning Program, a part-time instructional coach will visit King Middle on a weekly basis to provide teachers and school leadership with collaborative assistance as they blend the learning classroom model and Common Core Learning Standards with the Digital Learning Program.
“I believe the biggest benefit from this collaboration is that it will help enhance learning at home for our students, especially as we move forward with Common Core and prepare our students for college,” Paul Brown says. “I think CFY has increased the chances of our students being successful.”
CFY-Atlanta will extend their program to Young Middle School in December, 2012. For more information on CFY-Atlanta, please visit cfy.org.
