CLARKSDALE, MS – Coahoma Community College is pleased to announce it will benefit from federal funding legislation recently passed in the Senate and signed into law. Through advocacy from U.S. Senator Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Coahoma is being allotted $250,000 to establish WRITERS FOR LIFE, an exciting pilot program designed to boost writing skills in the Mississippi Delta. The program drafted into the Consolidated Appropriations Act for FY2022 has a chance to make a real difference for students enrolled at Coahoma.
“I am very pleased that this legislation will make a major impact on Mississippi, providing additional resources for existing health care, education, economic development, infrastructure, and agriculture programs,” said Wicker in a press release dated March 10. “I was also very glad to advocate personally for many deserving projects in Mississippi that will now receive the support they need to move forward.”
Jen Waller, director of the Coahoma County Higher Education Center (CCHEC), requested funding support from Senator Wicker’s office on behalf of Coahoma Community College to institute a writing center 4 miles from its main campus at the CCHEC. The pilot program will offer practical strategies, unique programs, and engaging activities to students who need writing practice and provide opportunities to learn more about the culture and history of the Delta.
“We believe that the WRITERS FOR LIFE program will give students a unique advantage to improve their writing skills in a retreat-like environment,” said Waller. “Anchored by the historic Cutrer Mansion, the real purpose of the Higher Ed Center now is to support students and teachers at Coahoma Community College, and we believe that this fun program focused on creative writing opportunities can help students grow tremendously.”
Internal Data from Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) from 2019 shows that out of 546 students at CCC, only 150 (27%) completed College English. Other data, particularly from CCC’s 2019 Report Card, shows that out of first-time, full-time students, 126 students were placed in the remedial English program but only 55 (43%) of the 126 completed the English Comp I class within their two-year study.
“This funding and writing program seems like a win-win for everyone,” said Coahoma Community College President Dr. Valmadge T. Towner. “I am pleased that our most disadvantaged students will be given extra attention and encouragement to lift themselves up. I plead that this pilot program focuses on great writing opportunities and am elated that the CCHEC has received this much-needed funding boost to develop good programming. We are thrilled to see that the efforts of our director/Jen Waller have reaped benefits for the Higher Ed Center.”
The WRITERS FOR LIFE program will be administered through the Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE) of the U.S. Department of Education. Additional programming details will be released in the coming weeks.
For more information, contact Jen Waller at the Coahoma County Higher Education Center at jwaller@coahomacc.edu or at 662-645-3555.