Please join the Junior League of Savannah in supporting an exciting new partnership between the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System (SCCPSS) and the Savannah community. Under the leadership of Dr. Lockamy, SCCPSS is introducing an eMentoring program called In2Books to 50 4th grade classrooms this fall. The program fosters reading, writing, and critical thinking skills by connecting caring adult mentors (called “pen pals”) with children in the classroom. Pen pals and students read five books together and exchange online letters discussing substantive issues in the books over the course of the academic year. Pen pals from the Savannah community are an essential part of this initiative and are critical to its success.
How can you help?
Volunteer to be a pen pal for a Savannah student!
To make this effort successful, In2Books needs 800 pen pals, inclusive of participation by the Junior League of Savannah. As caring adult role models, pen pals inspire students’ learning, open their eyes to possibilities for achievement, and provide an additional support outlet for them. While the program only takes a few hours a month, In2Books needs a commitment from you to write with your student for the entire school year.
You can be a pen pal without leaving your desk!
Here’s how it works:
1. At the beginning of the school year you’ll be matched with a student and you will exchange “getting to know you” letters via the In2Books website.
2. Your student will select his or her first book, and you’ll be notified by email what book you need to read. You can purchase the book or find it at a local library.
3. Next you’ll write an online letter to your student about the book. Pen Pal Place, the In2Books website dedicated to pen pals, will provide you with instruction, tips and examples to get you started.
4. Once the teacher has approved your letter, the student will read it and respond back.
5. The process is then repeated for the next four books.
Become a pen pal today and make a difference in the life of a child.
Registering to be a pen pal is easy!
Please be sure to follow these steps carefully to ensure that you are prioritized as a pen pal for a Savannah student.
1. Go to the special Savannah pen pal sign up page http://in2books.epals.com/savannahpenpal/ to begin the registration process. Note: for the safety of students you will be required to complete a background check.
2. Be sure to enter Savannah from the dropdown list when asked for your affiliation on the registration page.
3. The next step takes you to the background check page. Make sure you use the following promotion code SAV2011 on the background check page.
Please share this information with friends and colleagues you think would be interested and willing to help a student.
For additional information, contact:
David Feliciano, Chief Data and Information Officer
Savannah Chatham County Public School System
david.feliciano@sccpss.com
(912) 395-5588
ePals
i2bsupport@epals.comor (888) 693-7257
Thank you on behalf of Savannah students for volunteering to support this exciting partnership between the Junior League of Savannah, SCCPSS and the Savannah ePals.
