Michael Neary / The Meridian StarLynette Nave, a senior at Alcorn State University, helps a student during a session of Pathways to Graduation, a tutoring program administered by Multi-County Community Service Agency, Inc.

For some, summer may be a time to toss the books aside, slide the paper under the bed, fold up the Chromebooks and stash the pencils deep in the drawer. But throughout Meridian, and beyond, organizations are helping students to dig into subjects that might have given them trouble during the school year.

One of those endeavors is called Pathways to Graduation, a program in its second year, conducted by Multi-County Community Service Agency, Inc., at 2900 St. Paul St.

Ronald Collier, executive director of Multi-County Community Service Agency, Inc., said there are a number of programs in the area designed to help children academically — but there’s also, he said, a strong need for such programs.

“Certainly there are other programs, but there are so many youth in need of services that we felt the need to make it a part of this agency,” Collier said. “If we are ever going to eradicate poverty, we have to start with this generation of children so that they can become educated and aspire to go forth and become part of our workforce.”

The program, free of charge for participants, receives funding through a grant from The Phil Hardin Foundation. Collier said the program runs year-round, and he said he wants to reach more families. The Multi-County Community Service Agency provides transportation.

Students from middle through high school are participating in the tutoring program, honing their skills subjects such as math and reading, and also branching beyond academics with field trips and various other activities.

Collier said the students attend from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. during the summer, Monday through Thursday. 

The sorts of obstacles that students need to overcome in order to excel, Collier said, vary widely.

“I think there are a lot of impediments, including poverty, bullying, hunger,” he said. “You can’t teach a hungry mind to learn. There are social issues that are really out of the hands of the children but that affect their ability to learn.”

Collier noted discipline, as well.

“A big factor is discipline,” he said. “In many instances, if the child doesn’t have the discipline, they don’t have a propensity to learn.”

But Collier also stressed the caring atmosphere the program creates.

“We’re trying to create a holistic program for them to not only come here and learn, but to get whatever they need to feel like they are loved by us,” he said.

Collier noted, too, contributions to the program from neighboring organizations, including Tomorrow’s Fathers, a group that helped bring young men into the program for tutoring.

“I had the privilege of meeting Thomas Parker, with Tomorrow’s Fathers,” Collier said. “His vision is certainly is to mentor young men … and also to tutor them so they have the skills to go with the other foundational aspects of what it takes to become a productive man in our society.”

The Rev. Randall Bohannon, who also works with Tomorrow’s Fathers, noted that a recent trip to Biloxi helped students to see education as something that can exist alongside recreation — or as something that can be celebrated and enjoyed.

“We’re trying to help them to know the value of education along with pleasure,” said Bohannon, who tutors students in the program.

The Pathways to Graduation program includes about 20 students, both male and female.

Collier said staff members provide a breakfast for the children, along with an opportunity for physical exercise. Students eat lunch, off-site, through the Summer Nutrition Service Program, and the Multi-County Community Service Agency staff provides transportation.

“We’ve tried to take away all of the impediments,” Collier said.

On a recent afternoon, staff members pondered the power of close, mentor-like contact between adults and students. What the children who come for tutoring crave most, explained Lynette Nave, is to work with someone in a more personal way than they might interact in a regular classroom.

“They like it when they’re asked questions individually,” said Nave, a senior at Alcorn State University who’s working as a tutor this summer with the program. “They like that one-on-one attention.”

Helping students to improve their reading is a key task during the tutoring, Nave said — and personal connection, again, is vital to that endeavor.

“I really don’t like giving them worksheets,” Nave said. “I like working with them…This is a bonding experience.”

Tutor Cedric Ruffin, who also works with Tomorrow’s Fathers, stressed the importance of locating subjects that spark children’s interests and then building on them. He mentioned texts on the Civil Rights Movement, and on various kinds of film.

“We try to build on previous knowledge or interest, and we try to tie that in to what they’re reading,” he said.

Ruffin noted the way he helps the students to see the complexity in their everyday lives — and to think hard, and critically, about what’s around them. That might include something as seemingly ordinary as a television show.

“We’re trying to tap into those critical thinking skills,” Ruffin said.

Sometimes, too, a well-chosen film can supply inspiration. Nave said the group watched the film “Freedom Writers” together.

“There were a lot of students in that movie who weren’t academically or mentally ready for the world, but by the end of the movie they kind of knew that you shouldn’t give up on life,” she said.

Jamaurion Spencer, a 17-year-old Meridian High School junior, is volunteering with the program this summer.

“I like being around kids,” he said. “I like playing sports, being a good role model, leading them to the right path.”

For Joshua Brown, a 20-year-old intern for The Riley Foundation working with the program, academics play a big role in the way that he interacts with the students.

“I want to get them more prepared for school, so they’ll succeed in life,” Brown said.

Brown, who will study biochemistry at the University of Southern Mississippi as a junior this fall, is among several mentors in the program — excited about school and pursuing educational paths of their own — who can help them to do just that.