Former Principal Lynne Evans Honored at Cocktails for a Cause

As a partner and supporter of I Am A Reader, a Seeds 4 Success reading program for 1st and 2nd grade boys who were reading under grade level at Eastport Elementary School, former principal Lynne Evans has been a fundamental contributor to Seeds for Success.

Helping Hands is an annual award given to a community member and partner who has gone above and beyond in their extra support of S4S. Throughout Evans’ 15 years as principal, she has made important milestones for Seeds for Success that make her well deserving of the Helping Hands Award. Evans partnered Eastport Elementary School with Seeds for Success by identifying  boys who would benefit from  the I Am A Reader program,  provided classrooms in Eastport Elementary, and made herself available as a resource.

Her greatest accomplishment as principal was “making Eastport Elementary a true community school,” said Evans; meaning that students stayed “after hours in the school: the day lasted not from 8-3, but instead from 8-5. The program made the school day extend with a purpose.” As a result of the partnership with Seeds 4 Success, “other programs came in as extended day programs, making it into even more of a community school and children were still helped after the school day was over.”

Evans states that the students in the I Am A Reader program were always enthusiastic to be there and often asked for help, which led to a measurable improvements in their academics. However, her favorite part about having the program in the elementary school was working with “such a fine group of people, who were so unpretentious and simply wanted to help in the community and watch the kids succeed,” she says. Evans was constantly working with community members to help them decide which students should be in the program and paired with tutors, and communicating with families. To her, working with a great group of people that were always willing to help, and watching the school and its students become more of a community, was the best part of working with Seeds for Success.

Thanks to Evans, committed volunteers, and community partners Seeds 4 Success has gained the expertise to launch its new Eastport Boys Club program that will run parallel to the Eastport Girls Club program. Seeds 4 Success has formally partnered with STAIR, a robust literacy tutoring program, to continue working with 2nd grade boys who are reading below level, as it transitions to serve 3rd – 12th grade boys in its Eastport Boys Club program.