news-record.com

N.C. A&T Chancellor Stanley Battle, who wakes with the chickens and jogs before sunrise, is a notoriously early riser.

The stars are still out and bats still flutter in the pre-dawn shadows when Battle makes his morning runs.

He'd like to see more local schoolchildren rise early as well, academically speaking. As early as fourth grade.

With GTCC President Don Cameron and Guilford County Schools Superintendent Terry Grier by his side, Battle announced last week the launch of a new initiative, aptly named "Cosby Kids."

The program will pair 360 minority fourth-, sixth- and eighth-graders with volunteer mentors and enroll them in an after-school academic program at A&T.

As Battle sees it, the sooner the better in preparing more children for success in grade school. Then college. Then fruitful careers.

Battle hinted in a late-July interview that he was working on "something that I think people will be very excited about."

"I can say that I've talked to my good friend Bill Cosby," he added, "and he will be coming here to help us with some things. This initiative will really reach back to children who are in grade school ... and we're going to push them."

Now we know what he meant.

The students will receive tutoring from A&T and GTCC upperclassmen as well as community groups. The program also will involve parents and teachers in workshops to better equip them to aid and encourage the children's success in the classroom.

As for Cosby, who is best known as an entertainer but earned a doctorate in education, he'll lend more than his name to the project. He'll also stage a benefit performance for the initiative in May.

Additional funding for Cosby Kids will come from foundations and federal grants. It would appear to be a very smart investment.

If successful, the program will instill strong study habits and help build students' confidence in their abilities well before high school.

It will emphasize reading, math and science skills, key ingredients to classroom success.

It will expose the students to mentors and college students who should provide positive role models.

It should help reduce school discipline programs, which are typically rooted in academic frustration and lack of support outside of school.

It will create a deeper pool of students who are motivated and well-equipped for institutions such as GTCC and A&T.

It even will provide opportunities for their parents to earn diplomas and degrees at GTCC.

Naming the program for Cosby not only acknowledges his support, but honors his fierce dedication over the years to education. Cosby sometimes shocks audiences with his tell-it-like-it-is pronouncements about race and personal responsibility.

But he has rarely been satisfied to merely point out what was wrong. He has consistently worked to help make it right.

So should this promising new initiative.