Community • 25th Oct, 22

CEOC and New Life Community Church partner up to combat the learning slide in North Texas communities

CEOC’s Learning Lab initiative aims to improve early childhood education through a strategic after-school program that includes a faith-based curriculum.

The Community Engagement & Opportunity Council will host the Learning Lab grand opening inside New Life Community Church on Monday, October 31st. This initiative will begin with a focus on improving literacy, with the ultimate goal to support and enhance comprehensive education through a variety of subjects that includes math, science, history, and geography.

“Children who do not properly learn how to read or comprehend content will naturally fall behind in other subjects,” says CEOC President and Founder Scott Turner. “Our strategy is to first improve literacy and comprehension skills through an adaptive curriculum, giving students a solid foundation to prepare them for more complex studies.”  

The Learning Lab’s grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony will take place on Monday, October 31st at 5 p.m. at New Life Community Church, just before the church’s Fall Festival begins at 6 p.m. The program will begin operating in January 2023 with the new school semester, and will start by serving students in Kindergarten through 5th grade.

“Our church is in the perfect location to serve several communities,” says Pastor James Hutchins, Lead Pastor at New Life Community Church. “The new Learning Lab will help combat the learning slide experienced by most school districts during the pandemic, including Little Elm ISD who received a TEA “C” rating for the 2021-2022 school year. We believe this program will have immediate and long-term benefits that are vital to the next generation of leaders and beyond.”

CEOC’s first taste of improving childhood literacy came from a partnership with BridgeBuilders, where the organization renovated the existing Literacy Lab to create a safe and inspiring space for kids to read after school. Upon seeing the extreme improvement in literacy, Turner decided to build a scalable, faith-based learning program aimed at serving our nation’s most vulnerable youth in under-resourced cities across the nation.

“The opportunity for kids to receive strategic academic support is powerful,” says Turner. We imagine the dinner table conversations moving from negative to positive. Kids will be proud to show their parents how they have improved and parents will have the opportunity to praise their children for a job well done, creating a better environment inside the home. Inside the schools, teachers will be giving students positive reports, giving them a sense of hope and motivation to keep doing well.”

The Learning Lab initiative aligns with CEOC’s mission to revitalize the communities of America through sports, mentorship, and economic opportunity. CEOC plans to strategically partner with community-centric churches and faith-based community centers to host future Learning Labs.

To learn more about CEOC and stay updated with its community initiatives, please visit the charity’s website and connect with CEOC on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

ABOUT CEOC

The Community Engagement & Opportunity Council (CEOC) was founded in 2021 by former NFL player, Texas State Representative, pastor, and local businessman Scott Turner. Turner previously served as the first Executive Director of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council, which was created to transform America’s most distressed communities through economic development and community impact.

Turner and his team continue to help those living in under-resourced neighborhoods through CEOC, whose mission is to revitalize the communities of America through sports, mentorship, and economic opportunity in addition to providing immediate and sustainable resources.