It can be hard for students to focus on school if their families are struggling at home. But a newly expanded program in Metro Schools aims to help with things like groceries, school supplies, and even bills, so that kids can concentrate on learning.
Abby Conner stands outside Paragon Mills Elementary School early on a recent school day. She’s holding a yardstick with laminated green and red signs attached, directing car traffic as students get dropped off for school. As each kid climbs out of the back seat, she warmly greets them with a “good morning!”
“I love seeing all the kids coming in,” Conner says. “Most of our kids come in just, like, pumped and ready to be here.”
Alexis Marshall WPLN NewsStudents file into school at Paragon Mills Elementary.
“Miss Abby,” as she’s known by students, is a program manager for Communities In Schools of Tennessee. It’s a nonprofit that offers case management for students and their families and connects them with resources.
As cars finish unloading and the school day begins, Conner starts to make her rounds.
The importance of showing up
“So now my plan is to look around and see who is and is not here on my list of people that I know that I need to check on. So, yeah, I’ll be checking on those folks and then sending some texts.”
Conner says sometimes a family’s car is in the shop or it’s raining hard — or a family might just be having a tough morning. Depending on what’s happening, Conner may give the student a lift, or walk to their house with a big umbrella to pick them up.
“Anything that I can help to positively impact for them to get their kid here, that’s what I’m going to do,” she says.
That’s because, for a variety of reasons, attendance is crucial. One of those reasons is safety.
“It’s important for us to know that everybody is here and accounted for,” Conner says.
Plus, a lot of Paragon Mills families are immigrants or English language learners, so there’s a lot of learning that can’t happen if kids aren’t at the school.
There’s also free breakfast and lunch. “So if you’re here, you’re definitely eating twice a day,” Conner says.
To encourage families at Paragon Mills to get to school on time every day, Conner has created an incentive: an enormous attendance trophy.
Alexis Marshall WPLN NewsAbby Conner poses with the trophy awarded to the classroom with the best weekly attendance.
Second grade teacher McCleary Moss has her students sit down on a large rug in the middle of the classroom to make the announcement that they won.
“Miss Abby called me and she said, ‘Hey, I have something for your friends.’ It is a trophy! Because we had the best attendance in the school last week!” Moss explains in an excited voice.
Her students can barely contain their elation. The kids marvel at the shiny red and gold trophy, as Conner walks it into the room. It’s actually taller than some of the students. For the next week, Moss’ class can carry it with them in the hallway to show it off to other students and motivate them to strive for perfect attendance.
Across Metro Nashville Public Schools, 77% of students who got case management from CIS last year improved their attendance, according to a release.
Connecting families with resources and supplies
The program also supports students outside of school. Conner helps run a food bank at Paragon Mills. And her office, located in a portable out back, also houses a free clothing and supplies closet for students and their families. It’s filled with donations including hygiene supplies, clothes, jackets, crayons — and backpacks.
“Backpacks get lost. They get dirty. A milk carton explodes in them. So we replace backpacks a lot with this age group,” Conner explains.
“That’s so important, so that parents don’t have to feel like they need to go shopping for all of those things. We have them here. We’re ready for you. Just come into school.”
‘All you have to do is ask.’
Adriana Chavez is among the parents who have directly benefitted from CIS.
“We were struggling a lot financially,” she says. “I was literally really afraid that we were going to be evicted from our apartment.”
Chavez says even though she didn’t talk to her kids about the financial situation, they could sense that she was stressed out.
“But Ms. Abby was able to help us with that, and I was very grateful. She helped us also with our light bill,” Chavez says. “That really did help us get on our feet a little bit.“
She says she felt like a weight was lifted off her shoulders. Chavez now works in the school and helps translate for other families who may need support.
“I tell the parents, you know, it’s nothing to be ashamed of,” Chavez says. “If you need help, we’re here to help you. We’re here to help your children. And all you have to do is ask.”
Program expands into five new schools
Communities In Schools of Tennessee has been working with MNPS for years. This fall, the program expanded to five new locations in the Maplewood cluster, including:
- Chadwell Elementary School
- Hattie Cotton Elementary School
- Shwab Elementary School
- Jere Baxter Middle School
- Maplewood High School
CIS now serves a total of 19 schools in Nashville.
The growth is, in part, thanks to a nationwide expansion of Communities In Schools. The national office of the nonprofit recently received a $165 million investment from the Ballmer Group.
Meredith Benton is CEO of Communities In Schools of Tennessee. In a press release, she thanked Ballmer and MNPS Director of Schools Adrienne Battle for making the local expansion possible: “Thousands of students now have the support of programs like CIS and Community Achieves throughout their K-12 careers, providing a level of consistency and stability that will be truly transformative.”
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