Chester Eastside educational program goes virtual
CHESTER » Chester Eastside Inc. hasn’t let a little thing like a pandemic interfere with its ability to support children’s education.
It’s merely converted from onsite to online.
The organization, which was forced to close its Phoenix After School program in March in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, is reaching students without touching them. Its Virtual Out of School program connects kids and coaches for ongoing academic support.
“Our program is named Phoenix after the legendary bird that rises from the ashes,” said CEI Program Consultant Elizabeth Doherty, Ph.D. “We took it as a challenge to continue it while the children are not in school so they can rise beyond the pandemic.”
Devised within a week of Governor Wolf’s decision to shutter schools, Virtual OST offers continuous learning opportunities to youth enrolled in the after-school program. Designed by Doherty and CEI Education Director Kathryn Redd, it also helps to maintain the agency’s presence in the community and act on its mission of “meeting basic human needs.”
The focus on literacy is central to the program and the OST team provides both academic and fun, enriching, individually-oriented learning activities. Students are assigned to a coach drawn from a pool of willing volunteers, including the current Phoenix independent tutors, many from local churches and synagogues, and students from Swarthmore College and Widener University. The older children have two coaches. Each coach engages his or her assigned child for a minimum of two hours each week.
“It was phenomenal how many people came together in such a short time,” said Doherty. “We really rely on our strong core of committed and dedicated independent coaches and are especially grateful for the Swarthmore and Widener students who stepped up to tutor our children even though they are experiencing their own challenges from having been sent home to complete their classes.”
In addition to One-on-One coaching, program offerings include literacy training (two professional teachers funded by the Uncommon Individual Foundation who monitor student reading progress and develop individual lessons based on their assessed needs) and Staff-on-Call (answer students’ questions as they arise). Staff-on-Call are available for academic/homework and technical assistance 9 a.m.-5 p.m., MondayFriday.
Virtual OST has paired 25 students grades K-8 and coaches, who initially were involved in gradeappropriate lessons. As schools have provided educational online resources, the coaches have assisted with assignments, with the primary emphasis on engaging them in learning activities related to their individual areas of interest or needs.
Parents have played an equally important role in the coacheschildren-coordinator equation. The moms and dads meet with the tutors virtually and provide at-home structure at a time when every day seems like the previous one.
“Our parents have been very cooperative,” said Redd. “In many cases the children are not performing at grade level and their support has allowed the youngsters to continue their studies in the midst of the pandemic.”
In its April report, the team addressed the hurdles of the new initiative, including working remotely (“need we say more?!”), small workforce and communicating with parents/guardians in both English and Spanish. While approximately 43 children expressed interest, 34 are considered enrolled and 25 are active. The lack of Internet service or a parent in the household during the day prevented certain children from participating.
“There were challenges, but we found a way of addressing them,” said Redd. “In cases where there are multiple children and only one computer, or no computer, we loaned out Chrome Books.”
The program is far from “all work and no play,” as evidenced by the recent One Word Story. The event, a language arts reinforcer cloaked as a game, had the children connect individual words into a fun, nonsensical tale. The activity, involving four staff members and 12 children, lasted 90 minutes.
“It is a game I played at summer camp 17 years ago and it’s fun to see how the story comes together,” said team and technical support staff member Eddie Wasekanes. “The kids also got the chance to see one another, which in these times is a great delight.”
Although Virtual OST emerged in response to coronavirus, it has the potential for “filling the gaps” at other times of the year and providing a bridge between the abrupt closure in March and yetto-be-determined return to the classroom.
While the Phoenix program would typically end the last week in May, CEI is planning to continue the virtual connection into the warmer weather. A version is expected to substitute for Camp Phoenix, a four-week summer educational, recreational and cultural enrichment day camp.
“Our children have continued to learn throughout this process,” said Redd. “When school resumes, they will be in step.”