John Price, a teacher at Castle Heights Middle School in Rock Hill, South Carolina, is a previous Dreamstarter Teacher grant recipient. He used his previous grant to create an enrichment program for his Catawba students, the Catawba Youth Council. “The program was such a success, and so well received, it has inspired me to seek a second grant to expand on it.”
John’s goal is to bring the Catawba community back into the school and to build a strong academic support system that focuses on the individual needs of the student. He offers students individualized academic support from certified instructors and peers during their allotted enrichment time, invites the Catawba community to participate in the enrichment programming, provides students with social and emotional support throughout the school year by partnering with the school’s guidance counselors and mental health department in conducting “restorative” sharing circles, and creates space for his Catawba students to share their culture with the student body through school events.
Catawba students are underrepresented at school, and this program will empower them to become leaders and offer a sense of belonging and community, and