The University of Georgia’s Office of Service-Learning is kicking off a new season of mentorship with Coaching4Success, helping Clarke County students elevate their game on the field and in the classroom.
Coaching4Success is a partnership program between the Office of Service-Learning (OSL) and the Clarke County School District (CCSD) that was developed to foster a love of learning and introduce fourth and fifth grade athletes to crucial personal and academic skills. Now in its third year, the program is expanding to eight elementary schools, and it is launching its inaugural cohort of Lead Success Coaches, UGA students in leadership roles who work with the same partner schools throughout the semester.
“It’s very exciting to see how much Coaching4Success is growing,” said Karen Raymond, coordinator of the Coaching4Success program. “In the past year, we’ve improved all aspects of the program, and it’s fulfilling to see the engagement from students on both sides and expand to more schools.”
For each Coaching4Success mentorship session, teams of about six to eight UGA student volunteers visit partner schools to meet with fourth and fifth grade student-athletes on the basketball, soccer and cheer teams. In each session, CCSD students take a break from practice to meet with the Coaching4Success volunteers and talk about school and sports and how the two are connected. Every session is aligned with the school curriculum and centered around social-emotional learning topics, such as focus, teamwork, resilience, goals and a growth mindset, helping students reflect on their progress in both sports and academics.
“Research tells us that social-emotional learning, especially when instilled from a young age, leads to better learning outcomes, better graduation rates, higher education levels, and it improves health and empowers workforce development,” Raymond said.
One main goal of Coaching4Success is to build relationships between CCSD and UGA students. Beyond the classroom sessions, Coaching4Success volunteers head out to games and matches to cheer on CCSD students.
“We want the students to know that there are people in the community there to support them,” said Ikeoluwa Ojo, a third-year elementary education major who is also beginning her third year as an intern with Coaching4Success. “It is so much fun working on a lesson and seeing the students implement it themselves on the field.”
“It’s just always great when our students see someone show up for them, and someone they know is there to cheer them on,” said Lauren McGahee, who teaches second grade and coaches soccer at Johnnie Lay Burks Elementary. “The UGA students are not just there to help them succeed in school, but they’re there to help them succeed in life.”
Because the program involves sending UGA students to several schools at once, it was important to develop a leadership program to coordinate the sessions and ensure they remain organized, educational and fun. For this, the OSL added the Lead Success Coaches component, which provides UGA students with the opportunity to both serve and gain experiential learning credit.
“Coaching4Success is a great community to be a part of,” said Hadley Applegate, a fourth-year marketing major and one of this year’s success coaches. “It’s a rewarding way to give back to the community, and it’s an opportunity for us to develop our leadership and communication skills.”
All nine undergraduate students in the inaugural cohort of Lead Success Coaches have already spent at least two semesters volunteering with Coaching4Success. In their new leadership roles, they will participate in additional training to learn how to coordinate the mentorship sessions and guide other UGA student volunteers. And, because the Lead Success Coaches each connect with a single elementary school, they can build even stronger relationships with CCSD students throughout the year.
“My favorite part about the program is being able to see the impact I am making on students’ lives,” Applegate said. “Forming connections with the fourth and fifth graders throughout the semester is a meaningful and fulfilling experience. It brightens my day when I walk into the session and see the excitement on the students’ faces. We help make learning fun, and I think that’s really special.”
As Coaching4Success grows, the hope is to continue to expand to every elementary school in the district as well as to more sports and teams within each school. The ultimate goal is to raise students’ attendance and grades while encouraging their growth, but building bonds between CCSD and UGA students provides many positive benefits as well.
“It’s important for our students to see that we’re just one big community,” McGahee said. “Whether you’re living here for just four years to get your degree or you were here for your childhood and have stayed into adulthood, it’s a great partnership to have.”
