North Charleston after-school program helps students succeed
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Learning continues four days a week beyond the bell at Liberty Hill Academy, where volunteers are providing tutoring in reading and math.
The Liberty Hill Afterschool Enrichment Program also includes coding and robotics. The program is the concept of former educator Robert Fludd and businessman Coakley Hilton, who both came back home to the Liberty Hill community in North Charleston after successful careers elsewhere.
Fludd serves as the program’s executive director and Hilton serves as treasurer.
“We got started with 20 kids after a year of planning, you know. We try to dot our i’s and cross our t’s to make sure, coming out the gate, we had a plan in place to be implemented, Fludd said. ”And we started with 20 kids from Hursey Elementary and was very successful.”
A newspaper article about how students were heading to high school with only a third or fourth-grade reading capacity compelled them to help.
“Another reason, on a personal level, you know, I own the funeral home and every year I’m saying I bury too many young people. And it’s because of education and a lack of reading, because when they can read, they can do the math. They can do the science. They engage and they want to improve their lives,” Hilton said.
The program nourishes the whole child, instilling self-confidence and a sense of community.
Students say it makes a difference and keeps them engaged in learning.
“The teachers here, they give us good help,” 13-year-old Kavon Dozier said. “They help me with my work a lot. They’re the reason why I have the A+, really. The books, the prizes that they give us, the stuff that they teach us, engineering, you know, learning the songs for the program and stuff like that.”
Dozier attends Hursey Montserrori School.
“So for computer lab, we play stuff like ABC YA Starfall, Tytactic, and that’s and for code and you play Scratch and then Minecraft,” 8-year-old Holston Nelson said. He is also a student at Hursey Montessori School.
This program operates like a well-oiled machine. Business contributions help with expenses, but organizers say annual fundraisers and community generosity are crucial.
Volunteers, including current teachers, retired teachers and high school students lend their time as tutors to make it all possible.
Dr. Timothy Schavel has been the principal at Hursey Montessori since the partnership with the program started 15 years ago. He says they’ve seen great gains thanks to the after-school program, and that Fludd is a big part of that success.
“He actually comes in and checks on the kiddos at the school almost every day,” Schavel says. “At least every week, and you can just see all of a sudden, they start they start feeling more confident. They’re able to do things independently, and then they start seeing that success and it actually motivates them intrinsically to do better in school,” Dr. Timothy Schavel said.
The program can accommodate up to 100 students and serves elementary and middle schools in the North Charleston area. Former students have graduated from high school and college, one is now in medical school. Fludd and Hilton say they are always encouraged when those former students come back.
“And they come back not only to say thank you, but also to try to encourage the kids that are in the program to do their best and move forward as well,” Fludd said.
The program receives support from the city of North Charleston, Boeing, Dawn Staley’s Innersole organization, various local businesses and community members. Annual fundraisers also bring in needed dollars to pay for field trips and additional activities for the students.
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