Scholars in Woods Promise Inc.’s Planting Seeds in the Black Belt program at the Hale County College and Career Academy.(above)
Woods Promise Inc. held its sixth Planting Seeds in the Black Belt program this year at the Hale County College and Career Academy, with the largest group of scholars in the program’s six years, the nonprofit said.
Over five Saturdays, students in kindergarten through sixth grade worked through hands-on science lessons: chemical reactions, genetics and heredity, Oobleck, static electricity, taste buds, electronics, strawberry DNA extraction and the chemistry of making ice cream. The activities follow the Alabama Course of Study, and the scholars picked up about 60 science vocabulary words along the way.
Staff and volunteers included DeMarius Essex of Southern Research; Savion Graham, a senior chemistry major at the University of Montevallo; LaRaven Webb, a senior speech pathology major at the University of Alabama; and Jillian Graham, a fire sprinkler designer with an associate degree in engineering graphics and technology.
The fifth Saturday ended with the ice cream lesson and a closing celebration with families. Two scholars moving on to middle school received drones, and plaques went to the participants in the program’s essay contest. Members of the Woods family, among them Edward E. Woods III, attended while in town for a family reunion, and 14 on Wheels Food Truck provided the food.
Woods Promise thanked Dr. Yvette Richardson for the funding provided through the Alabama Department of Education and for her support over the six years, and Superintendent Michael Ryans for the use of the academy. The nonprofit is also helping nine students with scholarships at colleges and universities.
Two scholars at work on an experiment during Planting Seeds in the Black Belt.
For its seventh year, Woods Promise is asking individuals, businesses, churches, civic organizations and community partners for financial support, volunteers, mentors, supplies, career exposure and student shadowing opportunities.
Woods Promise Inc., founded by Dr. Charles C. Woods, can be reached at P.O. Box 2370, Alabaster 35007, 205-418-0585 or woodspromiseinc.org.
