Luciana "China" Mayes can't decide what she wants to study in college. Some days it's business, other days education, and after a day of having a houseful of teenage girls talking about anything and everything, Mayes thinks she'd like to study counseling.
The Clinton native and mother of three dropped out of high school her junior year when she found out she was pregnant with her daughter, who's now 11. When finding a job in Clinton to support her family proved tough, Mayes applied for TANF. She's completed her GED and has applied for college.
Her work with Eastside Academy, however, has led her into realms she never imagined. As a work experience participant, Mayes was the only paid employee of the academy. She's completed her participation requirement, and still volunteers daily. She serves as program assistant, caretaker, cook, tutor and first-grade teacher. "Kids sometimes just don't want to go home so they come here," said Mayes. "I help with homework, I talk to the kids. I offer support and fun. I listen to what they talk about."
Barbara Hayes, director of the academy, said Mayes exemplifies the mission of Eastside.
"Eastside offers very at-risk kids in this community stability, a foundation," said Hayes. "We offer a safe haven for kids. We encourage them to go to school and do well. China has emerged from her cocoon as a great butterfly. She's great with the kids of the community, as well as her own kids."
In 1985, volunteers in Clinton, Okla., recognized that certain kids arrived at school hungry, were unable to concentrate and were just not making the grade. The kids typically came from Lincoln Addition, an area literally across the tracks from the main part of town. The low-income, predominately African-American neighborhood had no jobs, no transportation and no tax base.
"It was a very segregated area, very easy to ignore and say 'those people,'" said Marva Collins, Clinton Public Schools teacher.
Volunteers began serving breakfast, lunch and an afternoon snack, provided by the school, at a local park to the kids during the summer. The volunteers offered tutoring and organized activities. Forty or more kids participated in the program daily.
In 2002, Eastside Academy took shape in a dilapidated Masonic Lodge building in Lincoln Addition. Volunteers invited the Clinton Public Schools superintendent, the chief of police, city manager, a city councilman and the city parks manager. After much brainstorming, the academy found funding sources, including a Temporary Assistance for Needy Families grant and community reinvestment funds, along with lots of donations and fundraisers.
Eastside Academy, also called the Clinton Association for Rights and Equality, Inc., serves more than 200 children a day. The lodge houses a before and after school program that offers tutoring and mentoring. Community leaders, parents, college professors, school teachers, grandparents and college students donate time and skills to work with the students. Barbara Hayes, family intervention counselor for Clinton Public Schools, volunteers as director. Collins, Clinton's first black female teacher of the year, volunteers as lead teacher.
According to the Clinton Schools assistant superintendent, "Since the Eastside Academy began operation, we have seen a marked improvement in behavior issues, academic test scores and parent communication for those students who attend the Academy.
"The most dramatic improvement can be seen in third grade math, where the success rate went from 6.3 percent in 2002 to 43 percent in 2004. In fifth grade reading, the success rate went from 33 percent in 2002 to a 75 percent success rate in 2004. Since most students attending the academy are elementary, we see this success as directly attributable to the academy's efforts."
Working with the whole family, the academy also offers TANF recipients GED, life skills, job training and computer classes, as well as transportation. The academy partners offer work experience opportunities.
The academy has broken ground for a new, state-of-the-art building in Lincoln Addition.
- 537 Custer County residents received TANF benefits in fiscal year 2005
- 404 of the recipients were children