Jacksonville City Council Member Kevin Hyde and his wife Kathi will participate as Homework Coaches in an after-school homework tutoring session this Thursday, September 28^th at 3:00 p.m. at the Children's Home Society, 3027 San Diego Road as part of the City's Homework Zone initiative, a program initiated by Councilman Hyde while he was the City Council President. 

Homework Zones are after-school sites where trained volunteers from local civic organizations donate their time and expertise to assist youth with their homework needs as Homework Coaches.  The Homework Zones program was begun by Councilman Hyde during his year as City Council President (2005-06) as one element of a multi-part initiative to improve the quality of Jacksonville's workforce through improved school performance by students experiencing academic difficulties, greater access to college scholarships through voluntary community funding, and more targeted workforce preparation programs.

Operated by the Jacksonville Children's Commission, the Homework Zones program matches trained volunteers from civic organizations and high schools with existing after-school study sites to provide students at the sites with assistance in understanding and completing their homework assignments.  The program serves elementary and middle school students from ages 5 to 14.  In its first year of operation, Homework Zones were established at 8 sites city-wide in the spring of 2006, and 140 volunteer Homework Coaches provided over 6,000 hours of support in just 3 ½ months before the school year ended.  The Children's Home Society is one of the new program sites added for the 2006-07 school year.