Username:

Password:

Fargot Password? / Help

Features

0

The Reach Initiative offers ACT tutoring, helps students excel

(left to right) Ashley Jones, Walter Turner and Chastity Taswell

Birmingham-area high school students who are looking for a new way to study for the ACT finally have a new venue.

The Reach Initiative, which started at the beginning of this year, is a group of college students from UAB and Samford who have dedicated every other weekend to mentoring and tutoring high school students in preparation of the ACT.

The group, comprising of Ebony Hinton, Chasity Taswell, Abdular Kuaan, Phillip Philon, Sam Mobley III, Jacob Wooten, Erin Hulsey, Travis Lilley, Adrian Jones, Walter Turner, and B. Positive’s own Ashley Jones, is one that Jones believes will help Birmingham’s youth in terms of their success rate on the exam.

“We wanted to start the group to positively impact the low graduation/college entrance rates we observed in the Birmingham metro area primarily among minority students,” said Jones. “We believe that if given the right study techniques and some opportunities to practice, we can help raise these students’ scores enough to gain them entrance to a two year or four year university. We want them to strive for higher education–in today’s society, education is key, and we couldn’t just stand back and watch students in our own backyard miss out on higher education.”

Jones said that the group holds two sessions per semester. “Each session is four Saturdays long, and each Saturday consists of two classes–around 1 and a half hour each–and a lunch break. Each of the four ACT subjects are taught for the first three Saturdays, and on the final Saturday, a mock ACT is administered.” According to Jones, everyone in the group is involved in the teaching process. “I teach English with Erin; Walter, Jacob and Travis teach Math; Ebony, Adrian and Phillip teach Science, and Chasity teaches Reading.”

So far, Jones says the group has received successful feedback from their work with the students and hopes the group will continue long after she and her friends have graduated. “We give the students evaluations [about The Reach Initiative’s performance] after every session, and so far, the students find the sessions helpful,” she said. “We want to continue them [the students] until we graduate and hand the program over to other UAB students; it’s a UAB student program, and we hope it thrives after we’re gone.”

One of the things Jones is excited about is actually seeing her group’s lessons help the students with their problem areas. “I think the best thing for me is to see the students learning,” she said. “When a student completes a set of practice questions and gets them all right, or even if they get them wrong and realize their mistakes, it’s great to see that learning happen. I feel better about myself when I see their minds working, and I feel that they’ll be able to take these skills into the testing room when they take the ACT.” One lesson she hopes the group is imparting, however, is that the ACT is just a test.

“[T]he ACT isn’t an unconquerable monster,” she said. “They can master the test and make a good enough score to get into a university and succeed. I hope they see that college is an option, and they’re full of more knowledge than they know.”

This is the first operational year for The Reach Initiative, and the group hopes to grow from this point forward. “[W]e’re a small organization that wants to make a big difference in Birmingham,” said Jones. “We’ve started from the ground up, and we’d love to establish relationships with organizations in the Birmingham community to make our program better for our students.”

If you would like any information about The Reach Initiative, you can call Jones at (205) 936-7574, the group’s secretary, Chasity Taswell at (205) 427-4447 or email The Reach Initiative at thereachinitiative@gmail.com or reach@uab.edu. You can also download their brochure here.

0.0/60votes
Voting statistics:
RatePercentageVotes
60%0
50%0
40%0
30%0
20%0
10%0
3

Artistic Expression

Video Courtesy of Patrick Johnson, Blaq Angel Media. Contact Patrick at patrick@blaqangelmedia.com or (205)837-3707 for your film/editing needs.

This past Thursday my friends and I were having a girls night out and decided to attend Gentleman Jack’s Arts, Beats, and Lyrics event. This event took place at Martinis Ultra Lounge located in Hoover, Alabama. As my friends and I entered the venue I observed a burst of energy throughout the entire building. There was a vast array of artists who expressed themselves through various mediums which were inclusive of paintings, photographs, music, and dance. Among the artist one stood out in particular, Dubelyoo “The Art Bishop” hung simply beautiful, and breathtaking pieces. Our very own local band YVPG performed and I must say they truly represented Birmingham to the fullest. During the event our founder, Tiffeny Curier, briefly got the chance to speak with Atlanta based artists Patrick Scott. Please be on the look out for an exclusive interview with this up and coming musician. Overall this event was fun and innovative. I am already looking forward to the next Arts, Beats, and Lyrics. Kudos to Gentleman Jack for such a great show!

0.0/60votes
Voting statistics:
RatePercentageVotes
60%0
50%0
40%0
30%0
20%0
10%0
0

Looking for something to do with the family?

Birmingham Railroad park

Scenery from Birmingham Railroad Park

Known as Birmingham’s living room, Railroad Park consists of 19 acres in downtown Birmingham located along 1st avenue south, between 14th and 18th streets. This newly built park adds the historic value and the various venues of our city. Railroad Park provides a location for family activities, recreation, as well as various events. One of the events Rail Road Park offers is the  “Sunset Cinema” where they show movies from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM. While this event last from 7 PM until 9PM the entire park is open from 7:00 AM until 11:00PM. This park also has it’s own bistro called The Dining Car open everyday for lunch. Railroad Park is great to come and relax, share family time and enjoy loads of fun. Railroad Park the living room of Birmingham, Alabama.

For more information about Birmingham’s Railroad Park please visit there website here.

Image via Railroad Park Flickr
Photographer: Grant Dopson

0.0/60votes
Voting statistics:
RatePercentageVotes
60%0
50%0
40%0
30%0
20%0
10%0
Pages:12345678