Breaking Barriers and Building Bridges Dee Stalnecker, LSW, BCBA Derry Township School District

Objectives Participants will explore their own ideas about poverty as well as stereotypes associated with poverty Participants will be given a brief overview of the Hidden Rules of Economic Class (Payne, 2008) Participants will identify barriers that prevent children in poverty access their education Participants will leave with practical ideas they can implement in their school or community that break down those barriers and build bridges.

Task for this session Pick something for which you are passionate: Hunger School Supplies Beds Choose ONE idea, build upon it, make it happen!

What does poverty look like to you?

What poverty can also look like

HIDDEN RULES OF POVERTY

What are some barriers? Home Communication Food Shelter Clothing Beds School supplies Academic help Mentors Access to/funds for extra curricular activities Others?

But sometimes the man just needs a fish because he’s starving!!! Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a life time. Anne Isabella Thackeray Ritchie But sometimes the man just needs a fish because he’s starving!!!

Is everything online? Not all families have internet Many do not have a computer at home and use their cell phone as their internet - Difficult to complete forms on line - Difficult to open various web pages online; including teacher’s web pages for homework.

Communication Bridge Internet Essentials - internetessentials.com Have a computer in the lobby of each of your schools that parents can come and use to access school websites Ask teachers to also make forms and other such information available on paper. Does your community public library have computers for free use? Refurbished computers – tech department and students refurbish outdated computers. Strip them down, rebuild and are given to families in need.

FOOD

Food banks Weekend Food Packs School Based food pantries Personal Care items Tapping into restaurants for day old items (Panera, Bagel Rack, etc) Use Meansdatabase.com app for restaurants that have unused items within a certain radius

SHELTER

SHELTER

Agency Help Do you know what agencies help with transitional or temporary housing? Are there hotels-motels that have rooms for folks who are homeless? Churches, Family Promise, Safe Families for Children, HELP office, YWCA

Love INC and Communities That Care You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Find a Love INC or CTC in your area Love INC hub of the ministerium and mobilize ideas, projects, needs, etc Transportation, Faith and Finance Classes, Personal Care closet, Transitional Housing, etc. CTC encourages community mobilization to fill gaps in services for student success

Clothing Coats for kids: free admission to a game if you bring a new or used coat, coat drives for staff and/or students PTO funds Churches Store chains – Boscov’s helps with coat drives Gives you big discounts Shop or hold your coat drive in January and early February Hold a big distribution of clothing Work with the clothing banks Gym uniforms

BEDS

Beds Lack of sleep can affect children’s school performance in two major ways: First, when children are in class, they can have trouble paying attention because of their difficulty focusing. They can miss important verbal lessons due to inattention or they may be unable to complete tasks in the classroom. Second, children form their memories best during sleep. Children who sleep well at night will remember the previous day’s lessons better than children who are sleep deprived. Studies have shown that sleep deprived children have more difficulty focusing and staying on task. They may also have more impulsive or defiant behavior. (Rosen, 2013)

Beds Staff donates beds Stores bringing in new stock Blow up mattresses Bed in a bag Community member with a storage unit Buildings and grounds staff helping

School Supplies Stuff a bus CAIU Ministries PTO Kids may not need the supplies at school but will need supplies at home to complete projects or homework (rainbow words, posters, etc)

Academic Help After school tutoring Lunch time volunteers Teachers, volunteers Need transportation home Lunch time volunteers Online homework help – teacher, HS student, student teacher holds an online homework session.

Books on Board Communities That Care Book mobile goes to the communities for parents to borrow books to read to their preschoolers. Story time Summer reading program for children of all ages

Mentors HS students mentoring younger students and get class credit (when buildings are close in distance) Reading help, teacher assistant, big brother/sister type activities Writing letters, face timing, building that bridge of community across the district Social skills, puppets Big Brother/Big Sister in schools Ophelia Groups

Extra Curricular Activities NEED transportation!!! Parent volunteers for a “Share a Ride” Boosters Late Busses Scholarships for fees Free music instrument rentals

Rally the Community Cocoa Care Crew Beds Homes Legal help Jobs/job fairs Having email of families that want help with things Voluntary access so these families can be made aware of programs

RALLY THE SCHOOL Casual for a Cause Expand fund raisers PTO Use dress down money for something WITHIN the school Snacks for afterschool tutoring Fund for individual needs – Helping Hands Pay for play Expand fund raisers Add a dollar for t-shirts for a cause PTO You matter t-shirts $2 to cocoa packs

Connect the dots Cocoa Packs Donate a book program on food items Library gets books Library forgives fines for food Food for Cocoa Packs

Teach a man to Fish PSU Nutrition coalition Vegetables for summer Tomato plants provided to families Families learn how to grow tomato plant Vegetables for summer

Youth Impact Project Northern York School District Serves Adams, Cumberland, Perry and York Counties Back pack, school supplies Sneakers Hair cut Family Pic groceries I’d love to have Vaccines, cleaning supplies, physicals, dental needs

Resources Payne, R. (2008) A Framework of Understanding Poverty. Highlands: aha Process, Inc. Rosen, Joseph. "Why Sleep Deprivation Can Affect Your Child's Performance in School | Scrubbing In." Scrubbing In. Baylor, Scott and White Health, 25 Sept. 2013. Web. 11 Oct. 2016. <http://scrubbing.in/why-sleep-deprivation-can- affect-your-childs-performance-in-school/>.