SU’s Pennerman Earns Grant to Benefit Horizons Salisbury

SALISBURY, MD---A Salisbury University faculty member who says it’s in her DNA to help underrepresented children has earned a grant to do just that, benefiting Horizons Salisbury and making a difference in the lives of Wicomico County elementary and high school students.

The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) grant secured by Dr. Althea Pennerman, associate professor in the Samuel W. and Marilyn C. Seidel School of Education, is valued at $248,321 per year over the next three years. The funds will help expand the enrollment of Horizons Salisbury to approximately 165 students this year and also allow the program to re-connect with former graduates.

“Many of Horizons’ students come from families that have no connection to higher education,” Pennerman said. “They don’t naturally think that a college education is for them. Yet, we all know that they are the future of our country. How much we work with them, what opportunities we give them, will pay off in the end. It is a critical investment that must be made. This is what drives me every day, it’s those kids in our local community who need additional support in order to realize their full potential.”

Horizons Salisbury benefits public school students from low-income families in Wicomico County by offering an intensive six-week summer educational program as well as some year-round academic assistance. The program started at The Salisbury School in 2003 and in 2015 expanded to SU, where rising students in sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth grades participate in summer activities that are designed to meet both academic and affective needs of the program participants.

Pennerman received the grant from the MSDE’s 21st Century Community Learning Centers program to further her work with the organization which she has been associated with since 2015.

The financial support will allow for the addition of more than 30 students into this year’s program, which begins June 24 and runs through August 2. Students graduate from Horizons when they move to high school. With the grant funding, 13 Horizons graduates will return as interns for the program, shadowing the teachers, assisting with the younger children, and perhaps most importantly, developing an interest in the teaching profession.

“There is an urgent need for locally-trained teachers in Maryland right now – especially teachers of color. High schoolers are beginning to think about a future career. As educators, we want to instill in them the idea of becoming a teacher,” Pennerman said.

She recounted the response from one of the prospective interns who, when asked why she wanted to be a part of the new initiative, said she felt like she needed to give back.

“That’s a message that we want to get across to them,” Pennerman said. “You give back when you get a chance to do that.”

Pennerman has spent many years doing just that. She founded and directed the Academic Support through Active Partnerships with Schools (ASAPS) after-school program on the University campus from 2008-2015 before becoming involved with Horizons Salisbury.

Horizons Salisbury is part of Horizons National which originated in Connecticut in 1964 mainly to decrease the summer learning loss among children from low-income families. Today, the organization serves nearly 6,000 low-income youth attending 59 affiliate programs in 19 states including Maryland.

For more information, call 410-543-6030 or visit the SU website at www.salisbury.edu. For more information on Horizons Salisbury, visit www.horizonssalisbury.org.