By Thea Jarvis

Eddie Whitlock feels it was good luck and the hand of God that got him his job as executive director of Griffin-Spalding Cities in Schools (CIS).

"I was the number two guy," Whitlock said in a phone interview from the CIS academy, housed in Sacred Heart Church's old elementary school on MacArthur Drive in Griffin. "It was divine intervention."

Whitlock, a high school English teacher and Griffin native, applied for the position of CIS director in 1989, but came in second. When the director stepped down almost immediately, Whitlock was called in and has been running the program for at-risk youths ever since.

"I always enjoyed teaching remedial classes," he said of his interest in the job. He was amazed at "how much progress (students) could make given a little attention."

Usually, said Whitlock, such students had "fallen through the cracks or looked for cracks to fall through." At CIS, these students are "coming to school, participating, trying to get ahead."

Cities in Schools successes are a refreshing break from depressing world problems, he said, citing the case of a 16-year-old in sixth grade last year, ready to drop out of the system.

"He rarely came to school," said Whitlock. His mother wanted him to attend, but didn't know how to motivate him. An older brother had dropped out of the seventh grade at the same age and the young man was following the pattern until he was referred to CIS by his school.

"He's at the academy this year," said Whitlock, with "near perfect attendance, making honor roll level grades." The young man changed from a teenager with "no motivation" to a "bright-eyed, superior student."

Whitlock credits caring teachers and staff with the boy's turnaround. At Griffin's CIS academy, where over 100 students are enrolled, each child is greeted personally by the principal every day and teachers let students know they are loved, he said. Home visits, parenting and mentoring program are build into the CIS structure, as is a tracking program that follows former students.

A Sacred Heart parishioner since 1984, when he and his wife, Beth, came into the Catholic Church, Whitlock is grateful that his parish of almost 300 families has "been so very supportive" of CIS.

Parish council presidents Diane Weier, Dr. Richard Benton and Dr. Jack McGavin have been gracious in welcoming the program, he said, as have pastor Father Francis Donlan, CSsR, and assistant Father James McGonagle, CSsR.

"the academy is an ideal setting, an alternative environment to really make a difference" in the lives of at-risk students, Whitlock believes. "Having it in a church setting has been wonderful. Behavior is better and there is a little bit more respect."

Sacred Heart allows CIS use of the property free of charge. CIS must pick up the cost of utilities and has expended some monies in touching up the school building with approval from Sacred Heart's parish council.

Involvement of the private sector in the CIS enterprise is not unique to Griffin-Spalding. CIS has traditionally drawn broad-based support and the Griffin academy receives help from churches, businesses, community groups, individuals and public service organizations.

Sacred Heart parishioners Eleanor Moyer, the church's former director of religious education, and Dr. Ellouise Collins of the Georgia Department of Education serve on Griffin-Spalding CIS' board of directors.

Whitlock's salary is paid by the Department of Family and Children's Services. The principal, secretary and teachers are in the employ of the Griffin-Spalding school system.

Extracurricular activities like field trips and retreats are funded by monies raised in the Griffin-Spalding community.

Dr. Albert Coleman, field services coordinator for the Georgia state office of Cities in Schools, said the cooperative dimension of CIS is what makes it unique and effective.

"We try to bring all the resources in the community in to the school," he said, adding that the academy at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Atlanta is another CIS site that has welcomed the hospitality of a faith community.

There are 10 CIS in-school programs now operating in the state of Georgia. Separate academies like the Griffin site are also maintained in Savannah and Atlanta.

Atlanta's CIS program, Exodus Atlanta, has four locations, including St. Luke's, Richs Academy, All Saints North Avenue Academy and the West End Academy.