Mission Statement
We are a program with a mission to mentor children to achieve their dreams by being better students, friends, and citizens so that they can successfully graduate from any postsecondary institution to lead the future of our communities, country, and world.
history
PAWS started as a vision of the program’s Executive Director, Ms. Sandy Cole. Ms. Cole initially wanted to start programming with middle-school aged children, however, through conversation with a police officer she was encouraged to start earlier with elementary school students. As of 2013, there is no federal funding for college outreach programs in gang awareness that target elementary school students. Because of the lack of funding available, Ms. Cole looked at various grants that would help target juvenile delinquency for elementary students. PAWS was first established through a $40,000 grant from the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth (TCCY) program. In 2007, the purpose of TCCY is to “oversee resource mapping of all federal and state funding streams that support the health, safety, permanence, growth, and development and education in Tennessee” (http://www.tennessee.gov/tccy/). To remain in compliance of the grant, Ms. Cole referenced the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) to find a researched, proven model to use with fourth and fifth grade students. The curriculum first used in the program was Positive Action With Success. The name of the curriculum is how the program first derived its name.
In partnership with Brown International Academy, PAWS began as an after school initiative where UTC students served as mentors in the program. UTC students were a welcomed part of PAWS as they applied to volunteer to provide mentoring to the fourth and fifth grade participants of the program. UTC mentors were responsible for delivering the programming by means of facilitating activities from Positive Action, providing homework assistance, panels, campus tours, and other special events.
As time followed, PAWS started growing not only by reputation, but also by volunteers and participants. Partnerships with Education, Social Work, and Psychology departments were fostered and it is through these partnerships with those departments and overall campus that students benefited by serving as mentors in order to complete the field placement component or for the volunteer experience.
Goals continued to evolve in the program. PAWS evolved from being a program focusing on lowering juvenile delinquency to a program keen on helping elementary-age students explore their postsecondary options.
In partnership with Brown International Academy, PAWS began as an after school initiative where UTC students served as mentors in the program. UTC students were a welcomed part of PAWS as they applied to volunteer to provide mentoring to the fourth and fifth grade participants of the program. UTC mentors were responsible for delivering the programming by means of facilitating activities from Positive Action, providing homework assistance, panels, campus tours, and other special events.
As time followed, PAWS started growing not only by reputation, but also by volunteers and participants. Partnerships with Education, Social Work, and Psychology departments were fostered and it is through these partnerships with those departments and overall campus that students benefited by serving as mentors in order to complete the field placement component or for the volunteer experience.
Goals continued to evolve in the program. PAWS evolved from being a program focusing on lowering juvenile delinquency to a program keen on helping elementary-age students explore their postsecondary options.