1. Vision and Misson

Students at W.R. Coile Middle School are resilient but vulnerable, with a near 100% free and reduced lunch rate. Many are immigrants, refugees, labeled as special needs, and homeless. On any given day, many of them face gang activities, hunger, teen pregnancy, and other effects of persistent poverty. Coile Serves, a during-school and after-school, arts and STEAM based program that engages students in academic-, career- and life-skills activities, with a focus on sustainability and entrepreneurship has had an enormous impact on the lives these young people and the entire Athens community since its beginning in 2007.

We promote opportunities for students to explore the arts and sciences while providing a safe, consistent, in-school and after-school program. Projects include spoken word performances, student-created books, fieldtrips and photography. In addition to a focus on Arts, we believe in teaching environmental literacies. Our school is rural; many of our students and their families come from farms in Mexico and Central America. Georgia's heritage is in agriculture and our future is rooted in it, too. This is why much of our work, including our work with the Arts and Sciences, is steeped in teaching sustainability. We believe in tapping into the strengths of our families to change "school as institution" to "school as community center".

Here is a bio-video from our very own, Ms. Nordgren.