Seniors become pupils' foster grandparents

Schoolchildren are getting a helping hand from an unlikely source: retired grandparents.

• Photos

Jackie Ricciardi/Staff

Augusta resident Richieleen Curry looks over Michael Thomas' shoulder as he does his work in Vivian Graham's kindergarten class at Bayvale Elementary School. Ms. Curry, 83, volunteers four days a week as a foster grandparent through the Senior Citizens Council.

"They keep you young. They keep you going," said Georgie Lawson, 62. "I enjoy the kids, their bright eyes."

Since March, she and Richieleen Curry have worked with children at Bayvale Elementary School 20 hours a week through the Senior Citizens Council's Foster Grandparents Program.

The program has 58 foster grandparents 60 or older in Richmond County, two in Columbia County, three in McDuffie County and seven each in Burke and Jefferson counties, said Jackie Kennedy, the council's volunteer coordinator, but she said the program could use more.

Ms. Lawson, who retired in 1994 as an executive assistant, said that at first the program was merely an excuse to get out of her house, but it quickly turned into more.

"You don't really profit from it, so you really have to like what you're doing," she said.

The reward comes in the bond formed with students, Ms. Lawson said, talking about a girl who was sad about no longer having a grandmother. The children also bring a smile to her face with their inquisitive natures, asking about her "light-colored" hair, better known to most as gray.

Ms. Curry, an 83-year-old called Granny Curry by her students, said she works with students one-on-one, but she also learns in class.

The children in her kindergarten classes are learning about who is on the front of coins and what is on the back, she said.

The Senior Citizens Council soon will evaluate its foster grandparents.

Louise Hayes, a foster grandparent at Columbia County's Riverside Elementary School, has received high marks already.

School volunteer Debbie Horn had nothing but praise for the work Ms. Hayes has done with her granddaughter, third-grader Megan Kinzel.

"Megan wouldn't even pick up a chapter book before she started working with Ms. Hayes," Ms. Horn said. "Now that's all she'll read." Ditto for Hadley Baker, 7, who practiced her reading and subtraction skills in the media center with Ms. Hayes earlier this week.

"I like it because she can help me with some words that I don't know," the first-grader said.

Ms. Hayes works with 21 Riverside pupils in kindergarten through third grade five days a week for four hours each day. She generally spends about 30 minutes with each pupil.

"It's a great program. I would recommend it to anyone that has some free time," Ms. Hayes said.

Reach Betsy Gilliland at (706) 868-1222, ext. 113, or betsy.gilliland@augustachronicle.com.

Reach Greg Gelpi at (706) 828-3851 or greg.gelpi@augustachronicle.com.