Rotary Club partners with Tuscaloosa schools for civic service clubs

Much as the Golden Rule arises from varying faiths and traditions around the world, so does the idea of giving to help others resound.

Philanthropists, philosophers and leaders varied as Martin Luther King Jr., Woodrow Wilson, Mother Theresa, John Adams, Warren Buffett, Mahatma Gandhi and Abdu'l-Bahá, head of the Baháʼí Faith, all stressed that service to humanity is the highest form of religion. Muhammad Ali was quoted in a 1978 Time magazine interview: "Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth."

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When when Rotary and the Tuscaloosa City School System collaborated to bring back Interact service clubs to Northridge, Bryant and Central high schools, it wasn't a hard sell, said Mike Daria, TCSS superintendent.

"All our students have this civic service mentality," said Daria, who responded to a call from Bill Petty, 2022-2023 president of Tuscaloosa Morning Rotary Club, to bring back the school version of Rotary, for ages 12-18. Long ago Tuscaloosa High School and others used to have prominent Interact, Junior Civitan and Civinette clubs, but they haven't been present since at least 2016, when Daria took the superintendent job.

Petty enlisted Claire Day, who not only had an interest in public relations work, but a lifelong connection with service clubs, to help get the Interact project off the ground.

"I'm the youngest person in (morning) Rotary by far," she said, and as such has been relied upon for skills more common to younger generations. " 'You're a young person; you can help us with social media.'

"My dad was in Rotary my whole life, president of his club when I was in fifth grade," said Day, who works as an attorney after graduating from Cumberland School of Law in 2021, but she also volunteers her time working PR for the Tuscaloosa Symphony Orchestra, Alabama Blues Project and others. She majored in nonprofit public relations at the University of Alabama, studying under Susan McGaughy Daria, Mike Daria's wife.

While at Gadsden City High School, she helped form its Interact Club, then at UA got involved in Rotaract (a Rotary program for those 18 and older), a program which, like the old high school clubs here, has faded away.

Planning for the return of Interact began in spring, and the three schools got their charter earlier this fall. Because the clubs had gone away, some explanation was necessary, Day said, but the kids easily got the gist of it.

"For me, when I first started volunteering in high school through Interact Club, it gave me a sense of belonging and an energy that I couldn’t really explain," Day said. "When I studied psychology in college I found a study that explained that sensation. It stated that giving back to others through nonprofit groups provides a sense of self-efficacy within you that you can make a difference in the political fabric of society. ...

"Volunteering alters your brain chemistry in all the best ways. I am hoping the Interact kids get that same sense of self-efficacy from volunteering with Reading Allies and that this experience instills that confidence in them that they can make a difference in the world."

Rotary International's slogan for 2023 is "Create Hope in the World," she added.

"These kids may not know it now but they are really creating hope in the world by volunteering and we are so proud of them," Day said.

As Tuscaloosa looks at becoming a premier school system, Daria said, it needs to offer more in service of a well-rounded education than simply core curriculum.

"We want all our students to be connected to something outside of classes, outside of a typical school day," he said. "We've got to have an interest for every student in our school system."

Students who are genuinely engaged are more prone to be successful both inside school and out, he said. In that effort, the system's also recently added debate, math and robotics clubs, E-sports (competitions using videogames) and girls' flag football.

"We want to be kind of like Cheesecake Factory, with something for everyone on the menu," Daria said.

As with its parent Rotary, Interact clubs' main efforts are focused on Reading Allies, a literacy program that helps below-grade-level readers — a description that fits more than half of students across the U.S. ― in first, second and third grades, through individually-tailored, in-depth tutoring.

"There's a critical need, especially post-COVID, with literacy levels so low, so many younger students kept out of classrooms," Day said.

Reading Allies was created in 2017 by the UA Honors College, Tuscaloosa Rotary, and the city schools. Studies indicate 80% of those below-grade-performing students, after one year of Reading Allies, rise to or above grade levels.

As part of the system's strategic plan, metrics will be used to gauge how many students connected to extracurricular activities at schools. As the offerings increase, Daria said, so does the need for funding.

"Debate's expensive," he said. "we didn't know how much when we pushed on this one," with registrations, travel expenses and more. Northridge debate has already distinguished itself, going to national competition this year.

"The worst thing would be to put (clubs and other interests) out there, but have them fade away because of lack of funding," Daria said.

Backed by Rotary, Interact can serve about 200 students across the three city high schools, Paul W. Bryant, Central and Northridge.

"We're interested not just in what each group can do, but working together as three high schools, as a kind of unified team, what can come of that," he said.

Reach Mark Hughes Cobb at mark.cobb@tuscaloosanews.com,

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Rotary Club, Tuscaloosa City Schools bring back Interact service clubs