Rise & Shine Freedom School

Rise & Shine Freedom School is a comprehensive academic mentoring program, where every child can shine! We are committed to the Five-Starts developed by founder and CEO of the Children's Defense Fund, Marian Wright Edelman.
These starts include�

A Head Start,
As early as Kindergarten, children whom we call scholars are recruited, screened and enrolled in Rise & Shine. Parents and scholars enter into a contract that establishes expectations and a set of two scholars are matched 1:1 with

a team of academic mentors from the American Association of University Women, Brevard Davidson River Presbyterian Church, First United Methodist Church, Lutheran Church of the Good Shepard, Sacred Heart Catholic Church, St. Philip's Episcopal Church and the community-at-large. These mentors rotate weekly and are supervised by an Enrichment Coordinator and Rise & Shine Staff. As a result scholars receive Fifty (50) minutes of 1:1 tutoring (K-4th) (6th-8th)and 50 minutes of the Children's Defense Fund Freedom School Integrated Reading Curriculum (IRC) and Performing Arts

During the summer Rise and Shine utilizes the Children's Defense Fund (CDF) Freedom School Model to help consolidate and maintain academic gains. The CDF model begins with a daily Welcome and a nutritious Breakfast that is consumed and cleaned up by our scholars. Next the excitement begins with Harambee -This Kiswahili word for "lets pull together" is a 30 minute activity that begins slowly, builds momentum, peaks and then cools down. It incorporates a daily Read Aloud, Theme Song, Moment of Silence/Prayer, Recognitions and Announcements. The Integrated Reading Curriculum (IRC) immediately follows. For 2 � exciting hours, scholars explore culturally relevant books that integrate social action, conflict resolution and critical thinking skills. Next everyone in the building Drops Everything And Reads (DEAR for 15 minutes, a nutritious Lunch is enjoyed and theme based Afternoon Activities end the day. Fridays are reserved for a variety of Field Trips that include recreation, academics, culture and arts. Parents attend weekly Parent selected Workshops, and the summer ends with a grand Finale.

Throughout the year, Fabulous Fridays include field trips and special events. These outings provide exposure and recreation, as well as educational and cultural enrichment.

Rise and Shine works closely with teachers to assess our scholars needs and monitors progress through close communication with teachers, parents and academic mentors. Each week, individualized academic goals are implemented for each scholar and daily homework assignments and projects are monitored closely. Weekly classroom and school visits are made to address academic and social-behavioral concerns. School conferences are coordinated to include each child's classroom teacher, parents and 4- 6 volunteer mentors. Lastly, Rise and Shine tracks both academics and citizenship, requires daily attendance, parental involvement and provides weekly and quarterly incentives for achievement and good citizenship. The Rise & Shine Parent Organization meets weekly during summers and monthly during the school year to structure parent participation in everything from attending teacher conferences and school board meetings to fund-raising for Rise & Shine.

A Healthy Start,
Proper nutrition is necessary for the development of healthy bodies and minds. During our after-school component a nutritious snack is provided. The summer component provides a daily nutritious breakfast, lunch and snack made possible by Transylvania County Schools.

A Fair Start,
To help both level the playing field and teach our scholars the importance of responsibility, commitment and accountability, Rise & Shine scholars benefit from our Reaching For the Stars Incentive Program. This academic incentive and citizenship program rewards scholars monetarily for daily attendance as well as good citizenship at school, home and community. Scholars are rewarded quarterly for both academic achievement and improvement and scholars who maintain both good citizenship and academic success the entire school year earn the Grand Prize and are rewarded with an all expense paid trip to Atlanta, Georgia to explore the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site and spend a day at Whitewater Six Flags.
Additionally, older scholars from 6th to 12th grade have an opportunity to enroll in the Osceola McCarty Scholarship Savings Plan and the College Goal Plan. These scholars commit to investing at least half of the money they earn from the Reaching for the Stars Incentive Program, and these dollars are then matched 4:1 to build their personal savings toward higher education. Planning and preparing for college is the ultimate goal for every scholar and they are provided mentors to research, plan and prepare them to attend a college of their choice.

A Moral Start,
Rise & Shine Freedom School is a program of Neighbors In Ministry, a faith- based grassroots 501C3 non-profit organization that is "motivated by the Spirit of Christian faith." The Rise & Shine Staff is committed to modeling the "Freedom School Way", a moral standard based on biblical principles and governed by God's greatest commandment to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind"; and, "Love your neighbor as yourself." Luke 10:27

align= A Safe Start,
Both physical and emotional safety are necessary for the healthy development of children. As scholars practice "treating others the way they want to be treated", they learn that not only is it important to "keep hands and body parts to themselves", but it is just as important to speak words to their peers that are positive and edifying. Scholars are strongly discouraged from any negative comments toward their peers and are frequently recognized publicly for treating other scholars in the "Freedom School Way".

And Successful Passage into Adulthood,
Rise & Shine is committed to maintaining long term support and empowerment for scholars from grades Kindergarten through the 12th grade. A comprehensive academic mentoring program, conflict resolution, social action, servant-leadership development, college goal planning and financial literacy are all strategies implemented to ensure scholars leave Rise & Shine able to "think, read, write, compute, love the arts and become economically independent, contributing members of society"

For seven weeks during the summer, Monday-Friday, 7:30 a.m. - 5:30 PM, 50 children who have completed grades K-8 in the current school year will be immersed into the Children's Defense Fund Freedom School's, "I Can and Must Make a Difference". This intensive and preventive program provides a nutritious breakfast, lunch and snack; a nurturing, positive and culturally relevant environment; 2.5 hours of reading literacy daily; and a host of afternoon activities that are theme related, academic and of course, FUN! Scholars are exposed daily to positive, driven and resilient college-aged Servant Leaders and high-school aged Junior Servant Leaders that serve as "real" models of academic and social success. Our activities and services set high expectations strengthen a sense of self worth, family and community.