"Be the difference," was the mantra at the Siloam Springs School District's Bright Futures kick-off breakfast on Friday morning.
The Middle School gym was packed with community members for the debut of the new organization, which will work to connect students in need with adults who want to help.
Bright Futures USA is a non-profit that helps schools connect student needs with resources that already exist in the community. The school board gave approval for the district to join the organization in January.
The local organization plans to first focus on responding to student's basic needs such as food and clothing, said Grace Davis, director of teacher quality and community relations for the district. Then as it matures, Bright Futures will begin to focus on meeting student's social and emotional needs by setting up a mentoring program. Finally, the organization hopes to reach out to families and connect them with resources.
Superintendent Ken Ramey said that Bright Futures is very intentional in focusing on the needs of the nearly 60 percent of students in the district who live in poverty. The poverty level is measured by the number of students who receive free and reduced lunches. The program will support those students' basic needs so they will have a chance to learn, and grow and develop into productive adults, Ramey said.
School board member Chuck Hyde said he didn't really understand what 58 percent free and reduced lunch rate meant when he began serving on the school board. Through having children in the district and his wife's volunteer work, he has come to realize the numbers mean that a majority of kids come to school every day, in every classroom with real fundamental needs that are not being met. Bright Futures can be a platform for meeting those needs, he said.
The school already has a snack pack program that sends packs of food home with students in need for the weekends. Bright Futures hopes to expand that program, according to Sarah Jones, director of the Panther Health and Wellness Clinic. Many times, the food is all that students have to eat for the weekend until school starts again on Monday, she said. Snack packs were passed out to the tables at the event, and Jones asked those in attendance to spread them out to see the food that was included -- ramen noodles, personal packs of macaroni and cheese, pudding and fruit cups, and bags of snack crackers.
"Think about if that was all your kid was eating for the weekend," Jones said. "If they're in our community -- in Northside or Southside or Allen -- they're all our kids."
High school principal Jason Jones and coach Rose Cheek shared the challenges they faced while growing up and the impact that school support and mentors had on their lives, through a series of video interviews that were played during the event. JBU student Heidy Avalos also shared the impact the high school scholarship fund had on her ability to attend college.
Jason Lankler, associate professor of youth ministries at John Brown University, spoke about the importance of student mentors.
Poverty is often most influenced by relationships or lack thereof, said Lankler. Bright Future will provide children and families with those resources that could make an impact for generations to come, he said.
"You can all be that person," Barbara Macken told the crowd. "You can all make a difference."
As a counselor at Northside Elementary School, Macken is on the front lines of helping students and their families deal with difficult situations.
Macken said that many of her students come to school without enough food, or without enough sleep because they share a room with numerous other siblings. Many families are hesitant to ask for help because they are worried about perceptions, she said.
Often, students act out behaviorally because they don't have proper shoes or clothes. Their family life may be hectic so they are left to get themselves ready for school, and may show up without brushing their teeth or wearing the clothes they wore the day before, she said.
Not all of the students who face such challenges come from families that live in poverty, but many come from homes where finances are tight, she said. Sometimes students want yearbooks or other school items and there just isn't enough money in the budget for them.
Bright Futures is a central location to help provide for all of those needs, Macken said. It is important to build trust with the whole family so they can work to help alongside them, she said.
"I can't imagine the difference we can make with you alongside," she said.
For more information about Bright Futures, or to participate in helping fill needs, like the Bright Futures Siloam Springs Facebook page.
General News on 05/01/2016