- April 25, 2024
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The Ormond Beach City Commission awarded a $12,951 grant this month to the Great Kids Explorer Club, which tutors at-risk, local kids for free.
BY WAYNE GRANT | STAFF WRITER
Brody Bartlett, 8, a student at Pine Trail Elementary, likes to read about Captain Underpants and Percy Jackson. And his interest has grown since he improved his reading skills at Great Kids Explorer Club, a nonprofit organization that helps local kids get back on track with their studies.
“I used to get Fs in reading and now I get Bs,” he said.
Maya Cosme, 9, is also enthusiastic about the classes.
“It’s helped me a lot,” she said. “I got a D in math and now I got an A. I know a lot. Teachers tell me I’m good in school because I know a lot.”
Students from local elementary schools are recommended by their schools for tutoring at the Great Kids Explorer Club headquarters, at 100 E. Granada Blvd., Suite 220, and also at United Methodist Church, 336 S. Halifax Drive.
Sandy Rakes, executive director, started the program in Ormond Beach in 2001 after seeing a model program at a church. She incorporated into a nonprofit and operates through donations with 50 volunteers and two full-time staff members.
The children, who are considered at-risk, receive the tutoring free.
The organization partners with churches and receives donations from several different sources, including local companies and individuals. The Ormond Beach City Commission voted to award of grant of $12,951 to the organization at its Dec. 3 meeting.
“We’re very grateful to Ormond Beach,” Rakes said. “We depend on the support of the community. It takes a village to raise a child, and Volusia County is our village.”
Great Kids also conducts tutoring in Port Orange and DeLeon Springs.
All tutors take a five-hour workshop, and the school’s curriculum is reviewed by teachers once a year. Rakes said the school is current with Common Core standard requirements, emphasizing language arts, math and reading. All teaching styles are used, she said, including one-on-one, group classes and computer training.
“I love everything about Great Kids,” said volunteer coordinator Pam Fitzgerald, a Bell South retiree. “The joy you get from knowing you are helping the kids be all they can be — you’re giving them a chance to succeed. It’s marvelous.”
Michael Kramer, while picking up his daughter Odessa from a session, called the program "wonderful.”
‘I’m extremely pleased,” he said. “My daughter is more focused and less distracted.”
Marie Thurston, education coordinator, said they also work on social skills and “emotional competency,” teaching kids how to behave in social situations. They also work on motivation.
“Children need to want to learn before they can learn,” she said.
“We’re like an onion,” Rakes added. “You peel us and find more layers.”
Aeja Barrows, 8, who attends Osceola Elementary, said the school has taught her “not to be mean and say mean things.” She said her grades have also improved.
“When I got my report card, I had three Fs,” she said. “Then my parents said I can go to Great Kids. My grades went higher and higher.”
Volunteer Lil Arrants, a tutor and retired nurse, enjoys the work, as well.
“They keep me thinking,” she said. “I remember my multiplication tables.”
Madison Houle-Fulton, 9, of Ortona Elementary, said she had a hard time at first but came back for another try. Now, she's doing much better in school.
“I like the teachers,” she said.
Rakes said the school helps 25 to 30 kids a year in Ormond Beach and 200 countywide. The students attend two after-school sessions each week, from September to May.
“Any more than that would be too much,” she said. “Kids have to have time to be kids.”
She has also started a peer-mentor program. Students who have graduated from the program and are doing well in middle school help the students with homework and computer lessons.
“So far this year, it is really working well,” Rakes said. “The other kids respect them because they know their story and serve as inspiration. We have three in the DeLeon Springs program and four here in Ormond.”
