The Gwinnett County Public Schools’ Community-Based Mentoring Program is putting on a week-long summer leadership camp for 55 male middle school students. The camp aims to develop leadership skills through hands-on activities related to financial literacy, civic engagement, law enforcement, and education. It also incorporates enrichment activities like music, sports, and entrepreneurship. The goal is to help at-risk students improve social skills and academic preparation for high school through mentorship from adult volunteers. Students will visit locations like the College Football Hall of Fame by the end of the week-long program.

1. Middle school mentoring camp aims to develop leadership
Middle school mentoring camp aims to
develop leadership | PHOTOS
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By Keith Farner
keith.farner@gwinnettdailypost.com
As of Tuesday, July 14, 2015
© Copyright 2015 Gwinnett Daily Post
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Adults and students participating in the first Summer
Leadership Camp serve and receive lunch on Tuesday
at Moore Middle School. The week-long camp is put on
by Gwinnett County Public Schools’ Community-Based
Mentoring Program which strives to offer mentoring to
at-risk students and help their social and academic
development. The program also recruits, trains and
retains men who serve as mentors, providing support
and encouragement to at risk middle school students.
(Staff Photo: Keith Farner)
Photo Gallery
Middle school mentoring
camp aims to develop
leadership
The Gwinnett County Public
Schools’ Community-Based
Mentoring Program this week is
putting on a summer camp this
week for 55 male students. It’s
designed to offer hands-on and
engaging activities that involve
leadership skills, financial literacy,
civic engagement, law
enforcement and education.
LAWRENCEVILLE
— Paul Parker has
served as a mentor
for middle school
students in Gwinnett
for five years. Along
the way, each time
he takes in an event
he said gets more
out of it than the
kids.
On Tuesday at
Moore Middle
School, there was
Parker in the middle
of a room of fifth-
and sixth-graders
brainstorming with
them how to take an
music artist and find
a producer to make
and promote a song
that becomes a hit.
“Their leadership is stronger than what we give them
credit for,” Parker said. “They have a great influence on
one another and we have to just learn to help them
channel that into a positive aspect.”
That was just one element of a week-long camp running

2. Paula Richards-Bell helps eighth-
grader Shamar Moody on
Tuesday with business skills like
designing a business card and a
greeting card. They participated
in a week-long Summer
Leadership Camp at Moore
Middle School put on by Gwinnett
County Public Schools’
Community-Based Mentoring
Program. (Staff Photo: Keith
Farner)
this week put on by the Gwinnett County Public Schools’
Community-Based Mentoring Program. It’s called the
Summer Leadership Camp and 55 male students signed
up to attend. It’s designed to offer hands-on and engaging
activities that involve leadership skills, financial literacy,
civic engagement, law enforcement, education, math,
language arts enrichment, music and media
entertainment and entrepreneurship.
The camp will end on Friday with a visit to the College
Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.
“We think this is a need to keep the kids engaged over
the summer,” said James Rayford, director of academic
support with the district, who said an informal survey
found the camp as a popular idea among parents. He
hopes to grow it next year to 75 students, or more. “We
felt this a great opportunity to expose them to some things that they
may not have seen during the school year.”
The overall goal of the mentoring program is to help at-risk students
with social and academic development with men who serve as
mentors. Part of its mission is to help students make decisions that will
positively impact their lives and prepare them for high school.
The camp sessions are taught by GCPS employees and
representatives from business and community organizations such as
Primerica, the Wisdom to Believe Foundation, Wells Fargo, Atlanta
Institute for Music and Media, e3 Creative and Sports Serve. The
students will also participate in a golf clinic, a basketball clinic and
team building skills.
Eighth-grader Peter Lauderdale said he enjoys it because his friends
are there, and it’s bigger and offers more field trips than other summer
camps. He’s been a member of the mentoring program for three years.
“It’s a great way to get interactive and have fun and be with people,” he
said.
Parker said he hopes to learn what excites the students, and find out what their pains and struggles are.
And he wants them to develop camraderie and friendship. It’s a different format from the school year, but
also from other summer camps.
“The parents are feeling like the students are getting some mentoring in a whole day or whole week context
when it’s usually just a few hours a day or a week,” Parker said. “The kids are getting some stability for a
longer period of time. It’s also giving the kids some structure for a week, and that’s what they need, structure
and discipline.”