Camden County Schools was given the pleasure of having Miss Georgia, Audrey Kittila, to come and share her Community Service Initiative Education for All throughout Camden County. From staying in Camden for five days and visiting a total of 9 schools, Audrey surely made an impact.
Audrey grew up in North Fulton County, Georgia, and did kindergarten through twelve grade in a Georgia public school. She was blessed with rich, educational opportunities and was always taught to have gratitude and think of how to bring these opportunities to communities who lack them.
Education for All stems from Audrey’s firsthand experience with watching five-year old foster twins go from having no academic knowledge, “no letters, no colors, no numbers, nothing of the sort,” (Kittila) to a whole new world of education.
“I got to see how education not only gave them a means at which to pursue their dreams, because they had big dreams, but it also gave them a personality. In fact, when I watched them gain access to learning, it changed their whole picture of what the world was. This encouraged me to look at what other areas may hold kids back, and what a good goal would be for all students. That made me realize that the goal needs to be high school graduation.” – Kittila
Audrey’s initiative, however, stems deeper. She understands how resources are needed, both in the classrooms and homes, for education to truly take its effect. Audrey has partnered with the nonprofit organization Family Connection Communities and Schools and worked with their after-school program. One of the days she was there, she witnessed something that made a significant impact on her life.
“On the way out of the door, I witnessed them filling up grocery bags with snacks. Not because I was naive, but because I wanted to hear someone talk about it, I asked one of the leaders what the bags are for. They looked at me and said ‘You know Audrey, some of these kids will not get another meal before breakfast tomorrow at school. These snacks for some of them are going to be their dinner’ and this just stresses the importance that resources go beyond the classroom.”—Kittila
Audrey knew that her initiative could be started by having conversations, as early as kindergarten and pre-k, by having conversations about literacy. Throughout her school visits at Camden, Audrey would speak with classes and read the students a book. After each book she always made sure to talk about the lesson from the story and would wrap it up by helping kids to understand the importance of literacy and education.
“I hope students, no matter what grade they were in, take away that Miss Georgia had fun, that she loved them, and that she was passionate about education. The conversations differed from each class, but they all rested on the importance of learning the importance of literacy and graduating high school. I hope that students were encouraged and able to see that there is not a linear path to education. The conversations were super inclusive, because dreams are different for everybody, and I hope students felt like they could cast a vision for the next few years of their life. If nothing else, I hope that they know that Miss Georgia is a friend” -- Kittila
Audrey is now headed to take her Community Service Initiative Education for All to more counties around Georgia and share the importance of education. By partnering with more non-profit organizations and getting into more classrooms, she wants to put the power of education on display for all to see.