v Victory Church is partnering with their church plant, Victory Iglesia, and an eleven year veteran of inner city Whiz Kids, Eagle Heights Church. They will work together tutoring kids from Mark Twain Elementary. Victory will begin tutoring in the Fall of 08. Here is something Victory has to say about Whiz Kids: "Whiz Kids is a recent addition to Victory's community outreach ministry, where people join together to reach a city, change a nation, and touch the world. We join forces with the vision of Mark Twain Elementary - that every student who attends that school be tutored/mentored through the Whiz Kids program!"
Victory Church, Iglesia
2600 West Main St.
Oklahoma City, OK 73107
Pastor Mark Crow
Campus Pastor Moises Pichardo
Coordinator, Carol Mills cabo-r1@cox.net
v New Hope Baptist and First United Methodist Edmond started through the Church and Society Committee at First United Methodist Edmond. There are fourteen children from Dunbar Elementary being tutored by fourteen tutors. The host church is New Hope Baptist, and First United Methodist Edmond is their partner church. They had their first meeting at the end of September. Their goal by the end of the school term was to have twenty tutors. New Hope and First United Methodist Edmond meet on Thursday afternoons.
New Hope
Baptist
1232 NE 7
Oklahoma City, OK73117
Patsor Tyson E. Jennings
Coordinator Vicki Miles-LaGrange
aka27mwrd@aol.com
First United Methodist
305 E. Hurd
Edmond, OK73034
Associate Pastor Paul Calkin
Coordinator Richard Powers
richardpowers@itlnet.net
Coordinator Earlene Smith
earsmi@cox.net
v Chapel Hill UMC expanded from Covenant Life and started a new site for the 2007-2008 school year. The tutors from the previous combined site split so about half stayed at Covenant Life and half moved to the new site. Chapel Hill also recruited new tutors, and the site continues to grow. They tutor Stonegate Elementary kids, and they have had a great start! Chapel Hill UMC has about twenty eight tutors and children, and they have about seventeen substitute tutors. They have fairly high tutor attendance! One of the coordinators for Chapel Hill UMC, David Orwig, says they put an emphasis on tutor dependability at the site. They feel it is important that the tutors meet the needs of the children, and be someone they can depend on. David said the thing most of the kids like most about Whiz Kids is their tutor! They enjoy the relationships they are forming! Chapel Hill UMC meets on Tuesday afternoons.
Chapel Hill UMC
2717 W. Hefner Rd.
Oklahoma City, OK 73120
Pastor Robert Rose
Coordinator David Orwig dorwig@juno.com
Coordinator Beth Hammack bethhammack@yahoo.com
v Cherokee Hills is the new host church of the merger of Tulakes Nazarene, Oklahoma City First Church of the Nazarene and St Paul’s Lutheran. The site serves Tulakes Elementary, whose principal, Lee Roland, was one of the first OKCPS principals to work with Whiz Kids. The grateful elementary students were given a warm welcome at the new site on February 5th. The site already has a waiting list of students wanting to join. Thanks to the hard work of coordinators, Vickie Gilbert, Vahla Todd, Ellen McNeill and Judy Sanger, recruiting new tutors and moving the location of the site was a most happy occasion for all. Their teamwork, enthusiasm and dedication to getting the job done are exemplary. Whiz Kids welcomes this new partnership of churches that is serving our City by providing mentoring and tutoring to its children.
Cherokee Hills Baptist
5700 NW 63rd Street
Oklahoma City, OK 73132
Pastor Mark Staff
Coordinator Judy Sanger davidsanger@sbclobal.net
v Crossroads Church, Inner City Church’s new partner was welcomed with a very warm Hello. The Columbus Elementary children, tutors, coordinator Toby Sullivan and teacher liaison Paul Mueller helped make all of the new tutors feel very welcome. Inner City added 12 new children and tutors to their program. The new children were so excited to finally be able to attend the Whiz Kids program! There were smiles all around. As each new child and tutor was spending their first time together getting to know each other, Paul was busy mingling among the group to answer questions. From the very beginning there was a beautiful hum as children and tutors were reading and talking with each other. When asked how their time with their student went, one tutor said: “Our time went so fast! I did not know reading with a child could be so much fun!” Everyone at Inner City is excited about forming this partnership with the tutors from Crossroads Church.
Crossroads Church
8901 S. Shields Blvd.
Oklahoma City, OK 73149
Pastor Gary Bohanon
Coordinator Lindsey Crow lcrow@crossroads.com