Y Monthly Monday Mission Update
While every single day and week on the calendar seems to have some (often) esoteric thing we’re supposed to celebrate, here at the Y we recently celebrated Community Schools Coordinator Appreciation Week for so many excellent reasons. Located in schools that are located in neighborhoods of significant poverty, the Community Schools strategy provides those schools with targeted support to help address issues like hunger, after school programming, access to health resources, and many other things which prevent students or their families from learning and thriving.
As a recognized leader in the Community Schools movement in Maryland and beyond, the Y in Central Maryland places talented associates (many of whom are licensed social workers) in those schools to help assess and fulfill student and family needs that facilitate and accelerate learning and well-being.
The opportunity to connect families and students with essential (and often life-changing) services, such as health care, counseling and career readiness resources, is central to the Y’s mission and strategy of building healthy, inclusive and connected communities. Yet as much as the “data nerd” in me loves the numbers that validate the impact of this work, it’s the stories and experiences that our Community School Coordinators share which best demonstrate the impact of this incredibly important and impressive program. Here are some of those.
Anna Scribner at Graceland Park/O'Donnell Heights Elementary/Middle School shares:
“I feel special in this role after a family's needs have been met and their children's attendance improves. Families are very appreciative when resources are provided that meet their needs. The Community School is the hub of the community. It’s incredibly rewarding to form relationships and partnerships to provide services such as safety, food, English classes for non-English speaking families, clothing, mental health services, resources for rent, employment, utilities, etc.”
Thomas Downs Jr. at Frederick Douglass High School shares:
“At graduation, a parent of a student I had known for years said, ‘thank you for all you did to help my son.’ In that moment, we reflected on how my support went beyond helping him graduate. I helped him grow into a better young man, guiding him to develop and flourish.”
David Castro at Lakeland Elementary/Middle Schools shares:
“It builds the sense of community and provides something the families can believe in. By learning what the community school initiative does and all that we do, they eventually see the benefit of having their child in that school and it motivates them to spread the word or give back.”
Stephanie Okonkwo at Lillie Mae Carroll Jackson School shares:
“Whenever we have someone walk across the street because they see our end of camp celebration happening and want to know if their kid can jump on the moon bounce for a few minutes or when someone who I know doesn't have a student here is able to use the food pantry, get a backpack or a winter coat, I feel like we are opening our doors and building a longer table instead of a higher fence.
Dr. Lillie May Carroll Jackson (the amazing woman that our school is named after) famously said that ‘service to your people is the rent you pay for living on this earth,’ and I feel like there is no better evidence of that than the work that we do everyday.”
These are just some of the inspiring stories and reflections from our Community Schools work. Please click here to read more. Trust me, they are well worth your time!
I have a tremendous amount of gratitude and respect for the wonderful and talented Y leaders who do this important work every day. They are putting the Y’s mission into action in tangible and meaningful ways every single day, and their impact on the thousands of children, youth and families they serve goes well beyond the halls of the schools in which they work.
All the best,
John K. Hoey
President & CEO
The Y in Central Maryland