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GREENSBORO — N.C. A&T, GTCC and Guilford County school leaders announced Tuesday they will form a partnership to help schoolchildren and their parents.

The Cosby Kids program — named for comedian Bill Cosby — will provide mentors to 360 children in fourth, sixth and eighth grades and tutor the students in reading, math and science.

Students who stick with the program have an opportunity to receive scholarships to A&T, Chancellor Stanley Battle said.

"The focus is to reach children who are close to being there but need more support," Battle said. "We are particularly interested in African American children and Latino children. …This is an opportunity to reach back and pull those children ahead."

The mentoring program, which will begin in the fall and is expected to cost $475,000 in its first year, will work with parents and teachers.

Cosby, a friend of Battle's, will be at A&T to perform a concert to benefit the program in May, Battle said.

An actor, comedian and star of the family sitcom, "The Cosby Show," Cosby has been a critic of African American culture. Last year, he co-wrote the book, "Come on People: The Path From Victims to Victors." It has been promoted as a vision for strengthening America.

"It's not what you want to hear. It's just reality," Battle said of Cosby's book. "Part of what is in that book is what we want to address."

Another program, a drop-out prevention effort at Kiser Middle School called Stepping It Up, will serve as a pilot for the larger effort.

The $150,000 middle school program will create a step dance team of eighth graders. The students will work with A&T students, who will also tutor the schoolchildren.

The drop-out prevention program is meant to encourage leadership and academic performance among the students.

"We have to find something to engage these kids," said Dorothy Browne , director of A&T's Institute for Public Health.

The Cosby Kids program will start with children as young as fourth graders.

Each child will be matched with a mentor, who will meet with them weekly. The mentors will be community members, students, staff or faculty at the colleges, Battle said.

There will also be after-school sessions at A&T to boost academic achievement.

"This is something that is going to make a difference not only for these young people and for these two great institutions; it is going to make a difference in the lives of the people of Guilford County and Greensboro in years to come," said Terry Grier, the Guilford County Schools superintendent.

The program will also work with parents to help them become more engaged in their student's education.

GTCC President Don Cameron said the college will work with parents who want to earn high school or college diplomas.

"We can work with those parents to enhance their own educational opportunities as well," Cameron said. "That was a critical piece for me."

A&T researchers also plan to track the results of the program, to test whether it's working.

Contact Amanda Lehmert at 373-7075 or amanda.lehmert@news-record.com