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Empowering Darke County Youth
file photo
Don’t
forget our kids
Bob Robinson
Executive Director
Empowering Darke County Youth
To many of us, the bottom dropped out the middle of March. Businesses
closed. People lost their jobs. There was a novel (as in new) virus
that had begun killing people, and by order of the governor, social
distancing was implemented to help stop its spread.
Schools were shut down.
It was strongly suggested we stay home and if – only if – venturing out
was absolutely necessary, wear a mask when we went out into the public…
doctor visits, groceries and other essentials.
March passed. Then April. Then May. People started pushing back. Cabin
Fever was mentioned with increasing regularity. Eventually it seemed to
become the order of the day. Annual celebrations – high school and
college graduations – were shut down or severely curtailed. Push back
became more pronounced. People had begun to reach their limit.
Then an unexpected, inexplicable, horrible crime took place, and the
pot that had begun simmering for the past month boiled over. I won’t go
into details about what I think should be done to the perpetrator(s);
probably not appropriate for this venue. Demonstrations spread across
the country, then into other countries around the world.
Unfortunately, as has happened in the past, righteous anger was
replaced in many cases with looting and violence. I don’t understand
that. It only hurts the mission of the movement. And it makes me wonder
where the righteous anger is when dozens, even hundreds, of kids die
every single week from gang violence in some of our major U.S. cities.
Where is the anger for them?
This has been a tough, tough three months. I’m 75 years old, and even
with all the challenges of my generation I don’t remember a tougher
time. My heart goes out to all those impacted by this virus, the
unlawful killing of a U.S. citizen, or some who have otherwise been
impacted as result of the events of the last three months. My heart
goes out to the graduating students who reached a milestone in their
lives, but were unable to enjoy some of the traditional fruits of their
success. And my gratitude, especially, goes to those on the front lines
who have continued working despite the potential hazards to themselves
and their families.
But what has the impact been on our kids? The little ones? The ones who
lost one of their anchors, their cornerstones? We don’t hear much about
them, do we?
I’ve been following the challenges our teachers and students have had
in other school districts throughout the country since mid-March.
Teachers are correctly worried about the loss to their students. Some
tried. Some didn’t. In some districts they gave assignments but never
graded them. Some simply shut down. No assignments, not even guidance
to help keep their kids stay motivated. The school year was effectively
shut down the middle of March for thousands of kids.
Not so in Darke County. As one school principal told me, “Our teachers
are working their tails off.” I think we can be proud of the
administrators and teachers in all of our districts for the efforts
they have made to keep our students in a learning mode. If you see a
teacher or administrator please thank them for their service. They also
are on a front line… continuing the education efforts for our kids.
Maybe not as dangerous, but just as important. After all, our kids are
our future.
According to many of the educators across the country who have spoken
out over the last couple of months, the success of online learning
versus traditional learning on campus – even for the best students – is
still up for grabs. Most students seemed to do well if they had a
dedicated teacher and a caregiver at home willing to work with them and
keep them on task.
That’s hopefully the majority of our students here in Darke County.
According to two local administrators, that isn’t all of our students.
They both said pretty much the same thing: “The students are
overwhelmed. And so are their parents.” These are our students… the
students Empowering Darke County Youth was formed to help… the students
we have been helping since 2016. So far, reaching them virtually has
been a challenge, but we continue to work on it.
We don’t know what the fall semester is going to bring. Gov. DeWine
recently announced schools will open in the fall, but he left it up to
the districts to decide how and when. It could be traditional
classrooms with new guidelines, it could be some form of blend (campus
and online), or it could be online only. We do know that the students
who needed help before schools shut down still need help. Probably more
than ever. There could even be students who were doing fine before but
didn’t do so well in a virtual setting. Every year enrollment in our
After School Program has exceeded the previous year. Last fall it was
101 students. When schools were shut down we were working with 131
students.
If history repeats itself when enrollment forms are provided this fall,
we will be woefully unprepared for the requests. We’ve received minimal
financial support so far this year. We need your help and donations.
Please mail a check to Empowering at P.O. Box 1113, Greenville 45331.
If you want to sign a student up for summer tutoring, email
empoweringdistance101@gmail.com. If you want more information, or have
some ideas how you can help, email empoweringyouth101@gmail.com.
Please don’t forget our kids. They need you now more than ever.
Thank you!
Bob Robinson
Executive Director
The Empowering Mission: Empowering Darke County Youth is a 501c3 United
Way Partner Agency providing After School and Summer Tutoring programs
to assist students in the areas of reading, language arts and math with
the goal of Strong Students for a Strong Community.
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