WFU student-athletes visit fourth-grade classes to teach goal setting

In collaboration with the Skip Prosser Literacy Program, Wake Forest University students and student-athletes in education professor Alan Brown’s EDU 101 class will visit fourth-graders at Mineral Springs Elementary School on Tuesday, Dec. 4 from 11:20 to 11:50 a.m.

The Wake Forest students will talk about the importance of setting goals, how they set goals, and how they work out a plan to accomplish their goals, both personally and academically. They will then work with the Mineral Springs students on setting meaningful personal and academic goals and writing plans to achieve those goals.

During their first two visits to Mineral Springs, the Wake Forest students read books with the fourth-graders to promote independent reading. Wake Forest students, including student-athletes representing several sports, are enrolled in the class.

“As part of this course, regular school visits encourage Wake Forest students to consider how they can promote literacy learning in their local community,” said Brown, whose scholarly work connects sports and literacy.

Students from the class have also visited two other Winston-Salem/Forsyth County schools: Cook Literacy Model School and Old Town Elementary School.

The Skip Prosser Literacy Program, started in memory of former Wake Forest men’s basketball coach Skip Prosser, promotes reading by fourth-grade students in Forsyth County schools and encourages them to read independently through out-of-class reading, in-class self-selected reading, and/or in-class silent-sustained reading.

Contact Cheryl Walker, walkercv@wfu.edu at Wake Forest University or Brent Campbell at Winston-Salem Forsyth County Schools, bcampbell@wsfcs.k12.nc.us, to arrange coverage.