jemeria cummings
BY EMMA LOWE
Jemeria Cummings always had an ambition to help students around her and going the extra mile . After teaching seventh grade for five years , Cummings realized that she could do more outside the classroom to help raise literacy levels in the Milledgeville community .
Her bubbly and friendly personality oozes with optimism . She left the classroom , she created something extraordinary . Cummings is quick to help any student struggling with reading or any other subject , and loves it at the same time . Her givingness and outgoing nature makes it easy for students to put their trust in her . Cummings goes on to discuss where she started , where she is now , and what the future holds for her business .
Cummings was led to open her very own tutoring service , Building Readers First , when she began realizing the deficit in reading and reading comprehension in her classroom . She claimed that she had seen it throughout her entire five years as a teacher , but she did not know it was the beginning of something much bigger .
Cummings had students in the twelfth grade who were struggling with simple learning techniques and she immediately knew she wanted to create something to make a change . She stated , “ I didn ’ t know it was my beginning to actually recognize the deficit , but that blew my mind .” Observing the education and literacy levels in the schools was her beginning to make a change in the community . The idea of opening a tutoring service seemed like a far off dream for Cummings , but it was much closer than she thought . In January of 2018 , Cummings filed with the secretary of state for her tutoring certificate and it was approved . From this day on , Cummings realized that this dream was a real and achievable goal , and that she had to go through with it .
Cummings states that she tutors approximately four to five students on a daily basis for an hour . During these sessions , Cummings builds confidence and assists them in simple words and phrases before moving to upper level reading passages . She claims that watching her students improve and become confident in themselves is one of the most rewarding feelings , for both her and the student .
Other than raising literacy levels in students , the number one goal of Building Readers First is to build confidence in students . Throughout sessions , Cummings rewards her students and instills confidence in them with constant encouragement . Watching the progress of students who attend Building Readers First is one of the most encouraging things to Cummings , because her work is paying off .
Building Readers First contributes heavily to the Milledgeville community , especially since Cummings is working on bringing in a program called First Readers . First Readers will essentially put a book in the hands of a student ages 0-5 every month to raise their reading levels .
The goal of this program working alongside
Building Readers First , is that the students will be able to take home a new book and attempt to read it by themselves . Even if the student is unable to read , they can still look at the illustrations and come up with creative interpretations which will eventually lead to thoughts and sentences . Cummings states that “ You can open up a whole world of your own story even if someone is not there to read , just from looking at the pictures .”
Another idea Cummings wants to incorporate is a literacy bus . A literacy bus is simply a bus that travels to different schools with lots of books that students can pick out and take home , almost like a moving book fair . This idea would allow students to pick out books that they are interested in reading as well as experiencing something new .
Cumming ’ s work ethic and incredible ideas will lead her students and business to success for years to come . Parents of her students are incredibly thankful for the work she has attributed to their children , and how much it will help them in the future . Building Readers First encourages high learning to the entire Baldwin community and will continue to thrive in the coming years .
34 Milledgeville Scene | 20 Under 40 2022