As snow continues to pile up in the Northeast, City Connects Coordinators are teaming up with community organizations to make sure students stay warm, fed, and connected to opportunities for growth and joy.
In Boston, Coordinators have partnered with organizations like Cradles to Crayons and Operation Warm to bring coats, hats, gloves, and socks to their students. And, with the rising cost of food and cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, City Connects teams in Boston and Poughkeepsie are working on creative ways to address heightened food insecurity in their communities.
For families, we may not be able to resolve every issue, but we can alleviate some of the pressure they are facing,” said Diandria Williams, Program Coordinator for the Poughkeepsie City School District’s Office of School Engagement, who oversees City Connects in Poughkeepsie.
In addition to connecting families with vital resources this winter, Williams and her team in Poughkeepsie are finding enrichment opportunities that align with students’ strengths, needs, and interests. Because a high number of their students are interested in art, Williams and Poughkeepsie Coordinator Robert Servellon are in the process of implementing monthly workshops with a local organization called The Art Effect, which introduces students to visual arts and empowers them to develop their creative voice.
“With a child that may be struggling with reading, attending an art program where they feel more connected, more grounded, and more celebrated, might inspire and encourage them to give reading another chance,” Williams said.
Other top interests for students in Poughkeepsie include swimming, animals, LEGOs, and cooking. So Williams and Servellon are working on a potential partnership with a local traveling zoo, trying to arrange free swimming classes for students, and looking into a potential partnership for cooking classes with the Culinary Institute of America, which is located near the school district.
“We are also looking into incorporating the data from student interest surveys and Whole Class Reviews into building out student social skill groups. For example, for those students that love cooking and struggle in math, attending a group using cooking skills that are intentionally embedded with math logic, students can learn math while having fun. In using the City Connects model, we can really support students in a very unique and personalized way,” said Williams.
In Boston, Coordinators are taking action on what they learned from Whole Class Reviews and student interest surveys.
“The focus of this time of year is the tailoring of services. We have all this data we’ve collected, now it’s time to make those connections. We look at what we can provide students based on their strengths, needs, and interests that might help them through the rest of the winter and the spring. Whether it’s connecting them with a sports team, a club, or a mentor, we’re looking at those strengths and needs and making matches,” said Kevin McCaffrey, City Connects Manager of Student Support Coaching, who works with schools in Boston.
Coordinators are partnering with the YMCA, Boys and Girls Clubs, and the Boston Centers for Youth and Families to connect students with opportunities to be active indoors during the chilly winter months. They’re also working with Mass Audubon, New England’s largest nature-based conservation organization, to bring nature into classrooms this winter.
Coordinators across Boston have spent the winter finding opportunities to foster students’ strengths. For example, at Boston’s Dudley Street Neighborhood Charter School where Sheria Morrison is the Coordinator, a number of afterschool STEM learning opportunities this fall and winter, including sessions with Athena Coding, KidsInTech, and a visit to Olin College to learn about their engineering programs.
Despite the cold and snow, Coordinators in Boston and Poughkeepsie are already thinking ahead to spring and summer.
“We’ve already started planning for our summer services push. We want to connect families to summer plans, camps, enrichment opportunities, and academic opportunities to make sure they feel supported during the summer and throughout the year,” McCaffrey said.
