It really does take community to help a child
My day as a bilingual tutor in a Santa Fe community school begins with packing my bag with learning tools.
I’m heading to school in time to observe kids on the playground. This is a perfect beginning of the day for me, hearing their laughter as they compete and share. Active play fuels their exuberance. As I approach the school, the janitorial staff is emptying garbage and shoveling snow. The Boys and Girls Club vans take off to their next destination. I am mindful of all that it takes to launch the school day.
Remembering when the school was locked during pandemic quarantine, I am grateful for the wellness team’s reaching out to school families and for teachers demonstrating resilience.
Today as I enter the office, my first stop is the computer that ensures that everyone who enters is known and vetted. The school secretary gracefully lets me through the locked doors, and I am reminded of endless debates about how to ensure school safety. Our society has learned through tragedy how to provide security through silent structures and by actively weaving community.
I remember that on my first day, I got lost in school and was shown the way by a 6-year-old who moved with confidence through the school environment. Today I see classes walking the halls in line using hand signals to prompt the “Pax Leaders” to be responsible for others. The Pax leadership program has left an indelible positive mark on this school’s culture. Respect includes daily gestures of kindness and self-discipline.
Today the aroma of onions and garlic is wafting out of the Cooking with Kids classroom. Reading Quest tutors, and Girls Inc. facilitators are rushing to meet their students. A foster grandparent greets students; and the principal greets us all. The community of Santa Fe is present as we each do our part to create a robust learning environment for our kids.
I share the classroom of the Community School site coordinator. As I prepare for my students, I see the caring interactions around me. Parents come in for chats with the coordinator. She prepares materials for evening classes for them. Donations of clothing and supplies are available across the hall at the Communities in Schools hub. Students easily pop in for help.
I tutor kids identified by teachers as those needing special attention and support in developing skills and understandings. Walking through the corridors to meet my students, I run into a learner I tutored three years ago. She greets me with a twinkle in her eye, and a quiet wave. We shared online tutoring sessions during the pandemic. When we returned to school after getting to know each other on-screen, I was surprised to see that this girl with a big personality was a tiny 7-year-old. Now she is emerging to be a poised preteen.
How blessed I am through tutoring to have kid energy and friends in my life! I am helping students learn to read in two languages, do math and do problem solving. These kids, in return, are reminding me that the tragedy in the news does not capture the daily wonder in life. This is why I am here. You can be too!
As I pack my bag to head home, I am grateful for all that I experienced today and for the support of the SFPS Volunteer Program.
I volunteer time to nurture breakthroughs in learning. Mine are the gifts of energy, appreciation, hugs, and renewed vocation. All this amounts to a good day.
How blessed I am through tutoring to have kid energy and friends in my life! I am helping students learn to read in two languages, do math and do problem solving.