Program that aids students discussed at SACC luncheon

~In its ninth year, the program has seen much success

SIKESTON -- Through the A+ program, Sikeston R-6 works to better students and give those who may not be able to afford college a chance.

"This is an important program that our school district is using," said Andy McGill, who has been the coordinator of the program for three years. He was the guest speaker at Thursday's monthly Sikeston Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon. "I wish I had this program when I was in school."

The program encourages students and pushes them to succeed through its three main goals: for all participants to graduate; for the participants to complete a challenging set of courses; and for all to proceed to post-

secondary school, vocational courses or a high-wage job.

A student who meets those guidelines receives full tuition to any two-year Missouri school -- plus Southeast-Sikeston -- for two years," said McGill. "That is a huge incentive."

To qualify, a student must attend an A+ school for at least three years, have a 2.5 cumulative grade point average, 95 percent attendance rate and perform at least 50 hours in tutoring, the service aspect of the program, which partners members with students in lower grade levels.

The tutoring not only provides service, students can use those hours to earn honor chords for graduation. And, it's a good mentoring program, which gives students someone to look up to, said McGill.

He noted that once a student is eligible, they have a four-year window to enroll. For instance, a student could graduate high school, work for a couple of years, and then enroll in a two-year school and still have their full tuition paid.

"That's a good thing they can always fall back on," he said.

The program has been available to students in the district since 1999.

McGill told members the program not only benefits students and their families when it comes to college expenses, but also members of the business community. "It will improve our students who will be working for you," he said. "And thanks to our supportive community, this program has been a success."

It has added benefits for those involved, too. "It sets goals for our students," said McGill. "And it encourages leadership throughout our student population."

Since the program's inception, 196 have graduated with A+ credit, while 86 have used it to continue their education, according to McGill. Currently, there are 200 students at Sikeston Senior High enrolled in the program, and tutoring hours go up each year. Forty-three students are expected to graduate with the credit this May.

McGill attributed the high -- and growing -- numbers to community members promoting it. "And I believe that we can continue to improve this program because of you, too," he said.

The school also came up with a program to help more students get involved who are unavailable to tutor in the afternoons due to work or other activities: a cadet teaching program.

"It gets them in the lower schools throughout the day," said McGill.

For those who want to get involved, McGill said they could just talk about it with their children or others they know in the school district. Also, there are a few open seats on the advisory committee, which meets two times a year. Anyone interested in being a member is urged to contact him.

In other news, Missy Marshall, executive director for the SACC, informed members of several upcoming events. She urged them to go to the chamber's Web site, www.sikeston.net and click on the community calendar.

She said traffic to the site is heavy -- there were about 126,000 hits in January, "mostly to see what's happening."

Those who use the site will see some changes soon. "We're going to make it more interactive," said Marshall. "You'll see that over the next several weeks."

Also available for members was annual report information. As of Dec. 31, there were 515 SACC members.

The net income for 2007 was in the negative, but that's due to the laying of a parking lot, in addition to some computer and software upgrades, said Marshall, who noted the parking lot was a project saved for and in the works for a number of years.

She reminded members the next luncheon will be at noon March 27 at the Sikeston Jaycee's Sponsor Barn.