Back to school

All over the country, school districts have been struggling with decisions. Should their schools meet with students in person? Go virtual? Some sort of hybrid? And all over the country, NeighborWorks nonprofits with programs that support children and families have struggled, too. Here's a look at some of the ways different groups prepared to meet the new school year.

 

 

Afterschool programming has been at the center of a cohort of NeighborWorks network organizations that began in 2014, well before COVID-19. Many NeighborWorks organizations have family properties, explains Frances Ferguson, NeighborWorks' senior director of National Real Estate Programs. "Children define these properties."

 

Ferguson says both parents and property managers share the interest of having children – many of whom are in elementary school or younger – in positive environments. 
 

"As the evidence became stronger that reading by third grade was a recognized key indicator of success in life, Foundation Communities and Community HousingWorks came together with NeighborWorks around the vision that the apartment community could build a culture of education," Ferguson says. Last year, they expanded to a cohort of seven organizations.
 

When people search for their ideal neighborhood, strong schools are usually one of the things they're searching for, Ferguson says. They want "a place their children will be surrounded by other children who are being raised to lead healthy, productive lives."  They want neighborhoods where there's a culture of education, where a high percentage of students go to school, graduate, and move on to post-secondary education. "So why can't a property be a neighborhood?" Ferguson asks. 

 

The groups that joined the cohort already had child-centered properties that offered robust after school programs. "The cohort brings them together to compare practices and to make the case about housing as a platform for educational success – specifically reading by third grade. We are interested in the hypothesis that housing could be a way to reach thousands of children." Schools often say they can't do it alone; that education needs to be supported at home. Afterschool programs can assist those families.

 

Ferguson says some families in network properties may work double shifts. They may not speak English. Some may not have completed schools themselves. "Together, at the property level, we can create the support that the family alone may not be able to create by themselves."

 

The cohort has researched, compared, and selected an online language arts software to help promote and boost reading skills and to provide a shared metric for accountability amongst cohort members. The software, i-Ready, used during the past four years is proving especially helpful during the pandemic, as organizations shift to online learning, says Carmen Huertero-Amigon, a consultant with the program who previously worked  as vice president of resident services for one of the network organizations.

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Huertero-Amigon says the groups in the cohort had a head start preparing for this school year. They've spent the past few months working on protocols, testing at home and researching gaps in learning and technology. They've also shared various tips and have been able to exchange information about i-Ready through a Peer-to-Peer Exchange.

 

"i-Ready really allowed us to prep for COVID," Huertero-Amigon says. "The member organization and students already had accounts set up and were familiarized with the use of the software.  The members were also creative in ways to engage the students and the family. There were interesting partnerships that came out of it."

 

Huertero-Amigon says some parents in the housing communities are adept at technology while others are not. The cohort "is using different ways to meet parents where they are," she says. "We ask about their access to hardware and WiFi and comfort level in use of technology.  If there's no hardware, the member organizations figure that out. The older siblings helped the younger ones when parents could not assist."

 

Huertero-Amigon says the cohort allows participants to leverage training and resources. When the pilot project started, NeighborWorks was basing it on the model: What's possible? "How can we make an impact?" Huertero-Amigon says. "How can NeighborWorks support resident services and drive outcomes in a way that's scalable?" Their goal became to find software that was engaging but also allowed them to measure changes so they could see how the children have progressed and what gaps still exist.  

 

 

Melanie Ficke, assistant director of resident services for AHC Inc., is a representative with the NeighborWorks cohort. Though there have been some barriers with the software (the program doesn't work on school-issued laptops) it's been great for assessing students, she says. "We've been able to do our own, in-person, physically distanced assessments." That will help when they partner with teachers, once school is underway, she says. "We're excited to share this with them."

 

AHC had five centers for afterschool programming throughout Arlington County, all actively engaged with elementary students, and with tutoring, college prep and post-secondary career training for older students. Then came March.

 

"It was a really traumatic time," Ficke says. "We wanted to make sure, as we were figuring things out, that [the students] knew they were supported. We wrote handwritten cards. We connected over the phone. We sent texts. It was a lot of trial and error. We did what we could."

 

Like many other organizations, they spent the spring helping families with basic needs – getting food and rental relief, signing up for unemployment. "It was all hands on deck," Ficke says. But they continued to focus on education.  "Once the schools went virtual, we went virtual, too," Ficke says. They worked on making sure the students had devices so they could keep up with schoolwork. Arlington has a number of devices in schools, Ficke says, so it was mostly the younger kids who needed help.

 

Over the summer, they added a sixth program center, and will start the school year with programming for over 220 students. Ficke says they hit their stride during the summer, focusing on arts and crafts, virtual field trips, and movement classes, in addition to their curriculum of literacy and STEM. The theme of the summer was empowerment which included lessons and facilitated conversations around current events and social justice issues.

 

She says their lessons learned include: 

 

They'll continue to focus on reading, Ficke says. And they'll continue to focus on students. "We are excited to meet the students and families and will continue provide support however we can to support them emotionally, socially, and academically," she says.            

 

 

This time of year usually finds Penquis in the middle of a backpack program, helping gather materials to start kids off on a new school year. But for a long time, the organization didn't know if kids would be going to school in person, says Renae Muscatell, community relations manager. They conducted a survey and found a heightened need for technology, since so much learning was being conducted at home. Meanwhile, much of the work for their school-supply drive normally happened at places where people gathered – inside of the Dunkin Donuts (where few people were gathering) or efforts at local workplaces (where there weren't many workers because so many people are working from home). 
 

 

One thing they knew for certain: "No matter where kids are learning, they need our support more than ever," Muscatell says. Parents need support, too, she adds.

 

The organization focused on private donors to help provide school supplies and backpacks and is also working with families to address technology needs for at- home learning. Their goal was school supplies and backpacks for 1,200 students to assist 200 families with technology needs.

 

This year they held a 5-day outdoor drive-up station to safely distribute the backpacks instead of an indoor "store" set up in years prior. "We made it work. It was different, but parents were understanding and so grateful for the help," Muscatell says. "We still saw the kids' faces light up from the back seats of the cars as they were handed the backpack. I missed the interactions and longer conversations about the upcoming school year but it was still a nice point of contact with our community members." Along with supplies, each backpack included basic school supplies and two masks for each student, thanks to sponsorship from a local financial institution.

 

Muscatell says center-based Early Head Start, Head Start and Childcare programming closed suddenly in March, when everything else shutdown. "We developed a comprehensive plan for virtual learning and staying connected with families through family support work. These opportunities were supported by our Head Start Grant, continuing to support our funding with virtual connections for children and families."

Muscatell says staff used this time to gather information from parents regarding their need for childcare services. Based on the needs in the area, they gradually reopened some of the Early Head Start and Head Start/childcare rooms at the end of June after closing for more than three months. "We opened slowly and cautiously," Muscatell says. "The parents needed to go back to work and their children needed quality childcare." 

 

There are a number of added safety measures in place this year, Muscatell says. Students are greeted by friendly staff wearing masks, who have a symptom checklist, including a temperature check for the children. It's different, she says, but staff are glad to be back with the kids.

 

 "It takes a lot of communication day to day," Muscatell says. "We are following the guidelines set by our state officials and have received guidance and protocols from our state and local health officials. Some decisions are not ours and we understand that things can change very quickly. We want to support our families and the children during these uncertain times. It's been a bit of roller coaster for sure."

Physical distancing is encouraged within all of classroom settings, reducing the number of children they are able to serve. "As we began to reopen our childcare services, numbers continue to be lower in our infant/toddler rooms. With the additional symptom procedures required, families have chosen to find alternative childcare or prefer to wait to return to a center-based program until procedures change or the pandemic concerns have changed."

 

Penquis covers three counties, Muscatell says, and some of the geographical areas have different rules than others. "It is so important that we remain responsive and flexible," she says. 

 

 

In Texas, where coronavirus rates are high, staff at Foundation Communities are keeping their after-school programs virtual through at least October. "We will then assess again if reopening safely is possible," says Marisela Montoya, director of education. The organization serves 900 students, from pre-k to teens through 14 learning centers, 11 in the Austin area and three in north Texas.

 

Montoya says that in April, they had to furlough their frontline staff, as their full-time learning center coordinators changed their task to aiding families with rental assistance, filling out unemployment forms, getting food and making wellness checks. "We switched to resident services rather than youth programs," she says. 

 

In May, they ran a seven-week virtual summer program – a test for the coming school year. About 200 students signed up for the program, where they usually serve 600 during the summer. NeighborWorks America helped with funding for the summer program and for obtaining licenses for the I-Ready language arts program. Foundation Communities was one of the first members of the NeighborWorks cohort.

 

For now, the afterschool program will run online from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. They're looking to provide academic support and technical assistance to families. "The schools expressed that would be most helpful to them – making sure families have what they need and can access lessons online. We'll also provide some movement activities and enrichment."
 

Montoya says her organization is working with six districts. "They all have a different plan." But at the moment, none of the schools are opening in person.
 

Montoya says they typically have 70 part-time staff helping across their learning centers. "Only 30 were able to return to us," she says

 

Still, she's been impressed at how creative the staff has been, especially this summer. The programs haven't been as robust as usual, she says. "We know students are overwhelmed with their distance learning. We're trying to keep it fun, engaging and supportive. Making a connection with the kids is really important."

 

Keeping kids engaged online is the biggest obstacle, Montoya says. "First it was a matter of getting them online, with parents not having as much technology knowledge. They were confused as to how to get on." She says after the pandemic is over, she hopes to provide some technology courses to make sure parents are better able to help their kids. For now, she says, the focus is on engagement. "We have to redirect in a different way. We have to engage in a different way. The home environment, while you're learning, can be a bit of a distraction. We're trying different things – games and challenges – to keep them interested."

 

One thing they're trying: They set up a virtual store. Kids earn virtual dollars through completing activities and can spend them on prizes. Each week, they are able to pick up their prizes along with their learning packets.

 

"We've heard about the digital divide forever," Montoya says. "I've been in after-school programming for 27 years. But the coronavirus has really highlighted what the divide really is. What a lack of access there is to technology. People with no internet or maybe a smartphone to try to use for a whole family. This is something we need to put focus and attention on going forward. We have to think about how to bridge this gap."

 

Meanwhile, they're relying on old technology to communicate with residents. They're putting out newsletters and posting fliers on doors in Spanish, Arabic and different African dialects. "A lot of information that comes from the schools may be in Spanish but it's not always translated for other languages our families speak," Montoya says. Older siblings often serve as translators. "We want to meet then were they're at, but we also need to push them to utilize technology," she says. "I think about how much information I get through reading articles online; I think about how much I use technology every day. An entire population of people is being left out."

 

Like Penquis, Foundation Communities is trying to secure funding for devices that students can have at home. "Our annual back-to-school drive is trying to raise money to get students devices." So far, they've raised $80,000, "but it doesn't stretch that far." Meanwhile, local school districts are parking WiFi buses in communities. "We still haven't figured out all of the puzzle," Montoya says.