Alum of the Year
Franklin R. Wallace, Jr. - 2004
As the Director of the VCU AmeriCorps & America Reads Programs since 2001, 1987 VCU Graduate Franklin Wallace has worked hard to provide a wide range of needed services to the residents if the tri-cities area within the framework of the VCU America Reads in Richmond & Henrico Program (ARCH). Under his direction, the AmeriCorps program at Virginia Commonwealth University has provided community service while retaining an educational focus with the goal of helping improve the literacy skills of local children and families. As a part of a local reading initiative, Three R Campaign (Richmond Region Reads), reading by third grade has been identified as a critical preventative strategy in addressing the health and safety needs of children in the metro area. An average of fifty VCU AmeriCorps members each year have addressed this need by providing comprehensive reading support to elementary school students who are struggling academically. Members also enhance family literacy skills and parent involvement at partner schools by lending support to existing services as well as developing new programs to meet specific needs.
The VCU America Reads Program places college work-study students in local elementary schools to provide comprehensive reading support to students who are below grade level in reading. The program works in partnership with Richmond City Schools as well as schools in the surrounding counties to identify elementary school children who are in need of extra assistance. Reading support is provided at partner schools during the normal school day as well as during academically focused after-school programs.
During the 2002-2003 school year, Mr. Wallace assisted the Office of the Governor with the initial implementation of his school achievement program. VCU AmeriCorps & America Reads Team Leaders provided additional service to their assigned schools as PASS Program Volunteer Liaisons. This partnership with the VA Office of the Governor, and the VA Business Educational Partnership (VBEP), was in response to the Governor's Partnership for Achieving Successful Schools (PASS) initiative, and based on the strength and success of our AmeriCorps and ARCH programs. The partnership has worked to improve the scope and number of resources available to16 Richmond schools identified as "PASS Priority Schools", those that have failed to pass the Virginia SOL tests for two successive years and are located in neighborhoods that are economically distressed and in need of extra support services. In eleven of these schools, AmeriCorps & America Reads Team Leaders have assumed responsibilities as PASS Liaisons; the school's primary contact person for the receiving, coordination, and distribution of volunteer sponsored assistance and resources from corporations, agencies, or individuals wanting to provide the resources necessary to become better equipped to provide quality services to students and their families. In addition, AmeriCorps & America Reads Program Director Franklin Wallace received a commendation from the Governor for his efforts at coordinating PASS volunteer Liaison efforts at all 16 Richmond PASS Priority schools.
For the past two years, Mr. Wallace has, as Director of the VCU GEAR UP Pre-Collegiate Summer Experience, led VCU's efforts to provide valuable pre-college experiences to youth from economically disadvantaged areas. Under his leadership, an average of thirty students from Petersburg and Norfolk have spent two weeks during the summer at VCU, gaining meaningful insight and knowledge about VCU and the college experience in general. During their two to three week stay at VCU, these students live on campus, take classes, eat in university cafeterias, and participate in other academic and social experiences which will help to increase their chances for attending college, and better prepare them for the realities of college life.