Page 76 - South Mississippi Living - December, 2019

FAMILY INTERACTIVE CENTER super saturdays
76 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • December 2019 FOR MORE REFLECTIONS OF THE GULF COAST >> www.smliving.net
PROGRAMS
Not a week goes by that Kelli McCorkle, center director, isn’t preparing for an event, and most of the activities are centered around the Pascagoula Gautier School District’s (PGSD) Early Beginnings.
as well. The resources available give parents the opportunity to teach their young children colors, numbers, alphabet, eye-hand coordination
and lessons.
The FIC has partnered with Singing
One of the first programs established in the building under the umbrella
of Early Beginnings was Excel by 5, a program that focuses on the formative years of young children, their parents and early childhood educators.
Teen mothers who are students with PGSD meet monthly, and are given resources for their babies to have a good start. This program ensures
“They are able to obtain one book
per month for 60 months, so at the end of their five year period, they receive 60 books for their personal library,” Superintendent Wayne Rodolfich said.
The program prepares children for kindergarten. It is funded by a grant from Chevron. The PGSD became the third in the state to join it.
In addition, the district sends out school buses to area childcare centers for the 4-year-olds to come to the FIC for activities once every two weeks. The childcare teachers receive training under the direction of McCorkle.
The FIC also houses districtwide activities for older students, such as the “You’re Hired” event for juniors. In the summer, the school district hosts a tech camp for teachers who come from all over Mississippi to learn about classroom technology.
There is the Excel by 5 Resource Library that offers developmentally appropriate educational materials for checkout. Thanks to a $25,000 grant won from State Farm, the Early
The PGSD has a locally funded pre-k 4-year-old program with 96 children in six classrooms throughout the district. They, too, come to the FIC for activities
McCorkle keeps a master calendar to coordinate the endless activities at the FIC.
Beginnings offers a bilingual library
story by Susan Ruddiman photos courtesy of Aaron Jones Family Interactive Center
and prepare them to be successful in kindergarten.
River Health System so that when
a baby is born at the Pascagoula hospital, the parent has the opportunity to sign up her newborn for the free Dolly Parton Imagination Library.
the mothers have the opportunity to graduate from high school.
The Aaron Jones Family Interactive Center (FIC) encompasses much more than the popular Super Saturdays. Since its inception 10 years ago, more than 180,000 people have passed through the center’s doors.