Two Students Announce Hawthorne Project To School Board

By LYDIA BERGLAR
News Editor

Curriculum updates were the main focus of the May 19 Dade County Board of Education meeting, but first, the board heard about a mentorship and scholarship program developed by two high schoolers.

LG Wylie (student at Dade County High School) and Amelia Anderson (student at Girls Preparatory School) worked together to establish the Hawthorne Project in an effort to help their peers navigate the college application process. (Anderson wasn’t able to attend the meeting, so Wylie presented on behalf of both of them.)

One day, the two friends were talking about ways they wanted to impact their community. Wylie mentioned wanting to start a scholarship program one day. Having received a grant from Youth Lead Georgia to make a difference in her community, Anderson said, why not start it now? They came up with an idea and partnered with the Alliance for Dade to work on the financial and legal aspects of the Hawthorne Project.

Next spring, the project’s application will open to rising juniors at DCHS, and it will intentionally mimic a college application. Wylie said, “The goal is to get students comfortable with the structure of an actual college application in a more low-stakes setting.”

In the first year of the program, only one student will be selected, but the girls hope to see the program grow after its test run. That student will be paired with an adult mentor who has undergone a background check. This mentor will guide the student through the college application and decision process.

The girls are working with college counselors to put together a workbook for the mentor and student to walk through. They’re also working with the DCHS guidance counselors (James Emmett and Amanda Clark) to identify interested students.

“We want to make sure this scholarship is reaching the people that it would help the most,” said Wylie. “There are so many brilliant kids in Dade. I see them every day; I talk with them every day. I would hate for the one thing that stops them from getting into college to be not knowing how to get into college.”

Steve Forester (Lookout Mountain representative) asked what is included in the curriculum. Wylie said, “We’re making a handbook so the mentors don’t have to be experts on college admissions. We’re more looking for interested and dedicated adults in our community.”

The handbook will cover how to write a college admissions essay, find letters of recommendation, identify colleges to apply to, apply via the Common App, etc.

Jayne Griffin (At-Large representative) asked if the project being a peer-created program is a benefit or a challenge. Wylie thinks that it’s a benefit because, “We know what high school students need; we are high school students. I think that will draw in more students.”

The Sentinel followed up with Wylie to ask how the project differs from the school counselors’ roles. Wylie answered, “The Hawthorn Project covers the college application process specifically, whereas the counselors have many other tasks/roles expected of them. In addition, they are expected to help prepare hundreds of students per year for college, which means it just isn’t plausible for every student to get the in-depth guidance we are seeking to provide through our program.”

The scholarship is currently slated at $1,000, but community support might increase that amount. Any readers with questions can contact Wylie and Anderson at hawthorn@alliancefordade.com.

Moving on with the meeting, Chris Davis (director of academics/testing) presented three requests for curriculum updates.

First, he explained that last year, the elementary schools began using Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s Into Reading curriculum (version two), but HMH has since released version three. Upgrading to version three would only cost $800 more than the annual cost for version two.

Davis said, “With the new ELA (English Language Arts) standards coming out, the recommendation is to move into version three.” The elementary school principals, academic coaches, and teachers present confirmed that they prefer version three because it directly ties into state standards.

Davis noted the improved test scores seen from using version two. Jason Crisp (North Dade representative) added that his fifth grade daughter’s reading skills have noticeably improved this year.

The board approved $62,078 for the first year of HMH Into Reading version three and $63,147 for the following years. In the first year, 43 percent of the purchase can be covered by Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST). In future years, 34 percent can be covered by SPLOST. Potential discounts for the following years amount to about $3,000, but the school does not yet know if HMH will give those discounts.

Second, Davis requested HMH’s Into Literature for Dade Middle School (DMS). This would continue the Into Reading style curriculum at the middle school level. A benefit to teachers is that the curriculum offers content to use with students. Currently, teachers are searching and selecting content by themselves.

The board approved $33,789 for the first year purchase (83 percent of which is eligible for SPLOST) and $30,606 for each year after that (33 percent of which is eligible for SPLOST).

Third, Davis requested HMH’s Eureka Math Squared for the elementary schools. Jessica Howard (Davis Elementary School academic coach) explained that most teachers weren’t taught how to teach math the way that they are now required to teach it, but this curriculum will provide resources and explanations. It also gives students real world problems to solve.

Griffin asked how using the curriculum in elementary school will translate to middle school. Howard said this comes down to the middle school teachers’ methods, but eventually, DMS will need a matching curriculum.

Davis added that he’s mainly seeing Eureka Math Squared used in elementary school, but these schools are seeing increased test scores.

The board approved $49,643 for the first year (93 percent of which is SPLOST eligible) and $42,064 for all future years (79 percent of which is SPLOST eligible).

The board approved the tentative FY26 budget. (See the accompanying ad from the school board on page four for the public budget hearings dates and times.) The budget’s tentative total revenue is $23,794,520 with expenditures exceeding revenue by just over $2.6 million.

Josh Ingle (superintendent) explained that the tentative budget is based on last year’s millage rate of 14.000 and a three percent increase from last year’s tax digest. The budget must be prepared before actual numbers are known.

The board appointed Erin Clark to the Dade County Public Library Board of Trustees. Her three-year term will begin after Leigh Ann Beesley’s term ends on June 30.

The personnel report is as follows:

• Hire: Michael Wilborn, Kathleen Majoras, Cristen Woody, Kayleigh Counts, Carrie Brown
• Resignation from Coaching (end of FY25 school year): Chris Brown (DCHS Baseball), Jeff Poston (DCHS Wrestling)
• Resignation: Roy White, Cori Clark
• School Nutrition Hire: Sandra Boyd
• Hire Student Workers: Gavin Frashier, Stanley Carver, Heidi Maldonado