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Date 5-9-06
Contact Daphne Alford 601.266.5916
WITH PHOTOS
Hattiesburg—The
Kelly Gene Cook Sr. Charitable Foundation Inc. has made yet another
commitment to the University of Southern Mississippi DuBard School
for Language Disorders. Its recent $1.25 million pledge was announced
today during a press conference.
“The Kelly Cook
Foundation is very proud of the DuBard School,” said Houston, Texas,
resident Peggy Cook Pool, who is Kelly Gene Cook’s widow and president
of the foundation’s board of directors. “I still remember the first
time we walked into the classrooms of the DuBard School and saw
the amazing work the teachers and staff were accomplishing. If I
remember correctly the year was 1995.
“Dr. DuBard
also made a lasting impression on me. I remember thinking at that
time that we need more devoted people like her that had a vision
to help children with language and hearing disorders.”
The DuBard School
for Language Disorders was founded in 1962 as the School for Preschool
Deaf and Aphasic Children and was later renamed the School for Children
with Language Disorders by Dr. Etoile DuBard. The school’s mission
continues to serve preschoolers and school-aged children with severe
language or speech disorders and hearing impairments, as well as
to provide guidance and counseling for the children’s parents and
families in the Kelly Gene Cook Sr. Building.
Nationally and
internationally known for its program, the DuBard School has 59
children currently enrolled in the full-time program, with 100 on
the waiting list. Twenty children receive services through its out-client
program and 50 children await admission. Out-client children have
less severe speech and language disorders, or dyslexia, or are on
the waiting list for the enrollment program. Most of these children
function in a typical school environment, with additional specialized
therapy support of the out-client program.
“The DuBard
School takes children with no hope and gives them a future,” said
Kathy Johnson of Hattiesburg, whose son, Tanner, is completing his
fourth year at DuBard. Prior to beginning at DuBard, Tanner was
severely autistic. He was 6 years old, had a 10-word vocabulary,
and could not read or write.
“He was still
having violent tantrums and could independently take a plane out
of the sky,” Johnson said. “We actually had flight attendants clear
the back row of planes for us because of his tantrums during flights.
Our family life was wild. We could not even go out to eat at a fast
food restaurant without him having a meltdown. Our family was isolated.”
Instructors
at the DuBard School work on social skills as well as academic skills.
Johnson said because of this, Tanner has become a well-mannered
young man. He knows how to read and write, and he participates in
the Upward Basketball and Football programs at Temple Baptist Church.
“The DuBard
School not only greatly improved the quality of my son’s life, but
also the lives of my entire family. We are able to do things as
a family that we never could have done without the DuBard School.
My husband and I feel like we literally owe them our lives. Because
of the teachers and staff, we are able to enjoy a perfectly normal
family life,” said Johnson.
Kelly Gene Cook
Sr. was a native of French Camp, Miss., and a Mississippi State
University graduate. He worked in the pipeline industry in Houston,
Texas, for more than three decades. Established in 1986, the Kelly
Gene Cook Sr. Charitable Foundation Inc. provides funds to support
charitable, religious, educational and scientific organizations
in Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. The foundation funds a total
of eight undergraduate scholarship recipients and three graduate
assistantships in speech-language pathology at Southern Miss, along
with other scholarships at several Mississippi universities.
The DuBard School
facility’s namesake was the largest donor, with a $1 million contribution
toward the erection of the $3 million 17,000 square-foot building.
Dedicated in 2002, the new building is structured with eight classrooms;
two large and four small therapy rooms; two multipurpose rooms for
use as a cafeteria/large meeting room and professional development
room; a library/parent center; and a computer lab.
“For more than
a decade, the board of directors of the Kelly Gene Cook Sr. Charitable
Foundation Inc. has provided generous financial support and encouragement
to the DuBard School, without which the school could not have achieved
its present level of success and effectiveness,” said Dr. Aubrey
K. Lucas, president emeritus of Southern Miss.
The fourth commitment
since 1995 of the Cook Foundation to the DuBard School, this most
recent donation will be used to provide services for children with
significant language, speech and/or hearing disabilities and professional
development programs in the Association Method, a multisensory teaching-learning
strategy.
The Kelly Gene
Cook Sr. Charitable Foundation Inc. has a cumulative giving record
of more than $3 million to the DuBard School.
Click to enlarge
Dr. Peter Fos, dean of the University of Southern Mississippi’s
College of Health, presents an award to Deborah Rochelle, vice president
of the Kelly Gene Cook Sr. Charitable Foundation’s board of directors
Tuesday on the Hattiesburg, Miss., campus. A press conference was
held in front of the Dubard School For Language Disorders on the
Southern Miss campus to announce the foundation has made a $1.25
million pledge to the Dubard School. The foundation has given more
than $3 million to the Dubard School for Language Disorders. (Southern
Miss Public Relations photo by Steve Rouse)
Click to enlarge
Two school children at the Dubard School for Language Disorders on the University of Southern Mississippi campus in Hattiesburg, Miss., appear to be a little bored Tuesday during a press conference to announce the Kelly Gene Cook Sr. Charitable Foundation has made a $1.25 million pledge to the Dubard School. The foundation has given more than $3 million to the Dubard School for Language Disorders. (Southern Miss Public Relations photo by Steve Rouse)
Click to enlarge
Former Mississippi lieutenant governor Evelyn Gandy was on the University of Southern Mississippi campus in Hattiesburg, Miss., Tuesday, attending a press conference to announce the Kelly Gene Cook Sr. Charitable Foundation has made a $1.25 million pledge to the university's Dubard School for Language Disorders. Gandy has been instrumental in helping the Dubard School receive funding over the years. The Cook Foundation has given more than $3 million to the Dubard School for Language Disorders. (Southern Miss Public Relations photo by Steve Rouse)
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