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Release date: Sept. 27, 2004 New Emory Program to Benefit Drew Charter Students
Contact: Students at Charles R. Drew Charter School in Atlanta's East Lake community will have better access to comprehensive educational and psychological services thanks to a new strategic agreement with Emory University. A team of Emory clinical psychologists, faculty members and graduate students will work with Drew staff this school year to provide academic support, individual testing and on-site therapy to charter school students. By offering a wide spectrum of services, the team will be able to help address the emotional and educational issues that can inhibit learning. "We are very excited about this agreement with Emory University and the resources it will bring to our school. I am confident this collaboration will help everyone at Drew Charter School reach new levels of achievement," says LaTisha Vaughn-Brandon, principal of Drew Charter School. Among the programs to be offered are: individual therapy and support groups for students dealing with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, anger management, grief and divorce; parent education and behavior management training; and professional development seminars and techniques for teachers to increase positive classroom experiences. "Through this creative arrangement, Drew students will receive much needed support, while Emory graduate students and clinical fellows will receive hands-on experience in the community," says Eugene Emory, professor and director of clinical training for Emory's psychology department, who will lead the team from the Emory Psychological Center. The four-year-old charter school for 770 students in grades K-8 is part of the East Lake neighborhood that includes a mixed-income apartment complex, The Villages of East Lake, as well as a public golf course that offers instruction and mentoring for youth, a YMCA, a child development center, and extensive programs that help children and their families become self-sufficient and successful. The new agreement between Emory and Drew Charter School is the result of a needs assessment conducted in 2003 by Emory's Office of University-Community Partnerships (OUCP) for the East Lake Community Foundation. The assessment showed that Drew students could benefit from additional psychological and educational services. Emory and the East Lake Community Foundation first joined forces in 2002 when the foundation received a competitive grant through the OUCP's Kenneth Cole Fellowship in Community Building and Social Change. The grant allowed a team of four undergraduate Kenneth Cole Fellows to perform a comprehensive health needs assessment in The Villages of East Lake. "This innovative agreement with Emory supports the East Lake Community Foundation's philosophy of taking a holistic approach to break the cycle of poverty by addressing the physical, social, educational, emotional and spiritual needs of its residents," says Virgil Murray, program director for the East Lake Community Foundation. For more information about Drew Charter School and the East Lake Community Foundation, go to: www.eastlakecommunityfdn.org. For information about the Emory Psychological Center, which provides individual, couples and family therapy and psychological testing, call 404-727-7451. ### Emory University is known for its demanding academics, outstanding undergraduate college of arts and sciences, highly ranked professional schools and state-of-the-art research facilities. For more than a decade Emory has been named one of the country's top 25 national universities by U.S. News & World Report, with the top ranking among Ph.D. programs at the university (18th) going to clinical psychology. In addition to its nine schools, the university encompasses The Carter Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center and Emory Healthcare, a comprehensive metropolitan health care system. **** The East Lake Community Foundation, which was established in 1995 to lead the $120 million redevelopment of the East Lake neighborhood, is a great example of the power of partnerships. Drawing on the expertise and resources of public and private partners, the foundation has created a new community that takes a holistic approach to address the physical, social, educational, emotional and spiritual needs of its residents. The East Lake community includes The Villages of East Lake, a mixed-income apartment complex that attracts residents who want to make a difference in their community; the Educational Village, with Charles R. Drew, Atlanta Public Schools' first charter school for 770 students in K-8, the East Lake Family YMCA and the Sheltering Arms Early Learning Center; as well as the 18-hole, mid-length public Charlie Yates Golf Course, home to the East Lake Junior Golf Academy. For more information, please visit www.eastlakecommunityffdn.org.
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copyright 2001
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