Forty-two children from Highland Park, Oak Grove and Ridgedale gathered in the backyard of local retiree Otis Rumph Sr. for the community’s 11th annual “Out of School” party May 27.
Filled with delicious food, bouncy houses and plenty of games, the party has long been a way for neighborhood children ages 2-18 who have passed their classes to celebrate the accomplishment with family and friends.
Rumph started the event in 2006 to provide local kids with an incentive to work hard in school, but it isn’t the only activity he does regularly to motivate the students.
Otis Rumph sits with a neighborhood child, one of 42 from Highland Park, Oak Grove and Ridgedale who attended his 11th annual “Out of School” party for local students. (Contributed photo)In addition to parties at Christmas and the Fourth of July, Rumph also presents students with monetary gifts for their grades when progress reports come out. For each “A” the students earn, he gives them $5. Each “B” is rewarded with $4, and every “C” gets $3. The reward is one local children have come to love, he said.
“I don’t have to look for them – they come looking for me,” Rumph laughed. But it goes far beyond money, he added. “I want the kids to know that anything is possible with this education.”