Long gone are the days when tutors sit beside pupils with just a pencil and calculator. Twenty-seven students for the last week received all the tools and teaching they will need to impact the lives of others in a 21st Century kind of way.

The CCA 21st Century Community Learning Center Camp is a science camp designed to teach high school students from the tenth grade and up how to be tutors in the subjects of math and reading at a 21st Century Learning Center. The camp took place for the second year in a row last week at Concordia College, as a collaboration between the college and Auburn University. The campers from Dallas, Perry and Wilcox County will put their newly found tutoring skills to use come August in after school programs at Meadowview Christian, CHAT Academy and Albert Turner Elementary School in Marion.

“This is to provide students with a meaningful after school program,” Camp Counselor Felicia Gill said. “We have the children participate in things like Zumba exercise and we have 108 students from Meadowview and CHAT that participate.”

Gill said the program not only enriches the after school programming but also encourages the high school students that participate as the tutors.

“This is to get high school students to consider becoming teachers,” Gill said.

Once the one-week camp is completed the tutors will participate in at least 40 hours of community service at the 21st Century Learning Centers working from August until May. Gill said they not only tutor but also mentor the students and interact with them.

The campers spend the night on campus of Concordia College and so the camp acts as a recruiting program for the college as well.