Meet ​AmeriCorps Instructional Support Team​ Program Staff.

Kathy Tolin, Program Director, and Eden Williamson, Assistant Program Director. Serving Butler County.

Program Description:

Since 1997, The AmeriCorps Instructional Support Team (AIST) has successfully ensured a brighter future for Butler County’s rural under-challenged students. We focus the effort of 20 members on school readiness and improving academic performance in grades Pre-K through 12th grade. This project is a single-issue area program in education-school success.

Member Responsibilities:

AIST members provide instructional assistance to economically disadvantaged preschool through 12th-grade students in all school sites in the Butler County Public School System. In addition to the classroom instruction by the teachers, AmeriCorps members will engage students in one-on-one and/or group instructional assistance to help students meet or exceed individual developmental growth targets.​

What do the members and the program hope to accomplish by the end of the program year?

The AmeriCorps members will be responsible for a significant change in academic growth with pre-school through 12th-grade rural under-challenged children. The goal is to achieve success in school and to graduate career ready. The program will focus on AmeriCorps' focus area of Education-School Readiness and K-12 Success. The curricula for preschool support Alabama Performance Standards for four-year-olds are emergent literacy, emergent numeracy, science and environment education, technology, social and emotional development, approaches to learning, creative arts, physical health, and development.​

Thank you for your service, AIST!