By Bill Husfelt, Superintendent, Bay District Schools
By the time you read this we will have welcomed back our students and staff for the 2021-2022 school year. I know you join me in hoping and praying for a more “normal” school year this year for our students, our staff and our families.
Part of that new normal includes welcoming visitors and family members back onto our campuses as mentors, as guest speakers and as lunchtime guests. Each school will communicate with their families about revised protocols for visitors and we’re excited to have this option again. Of course, we will continue to monitor the Covid-19 situation, both locally and statewide, and will readjust our procedures as needed.
With more of an open door policy than we had last year, I’d like to update you about our Elevate Bay initiative and to ask for your help.
As you know, Hurricane Michael hit our community hard and caused many families to lose everything. That loss of stability for so many had a devastating impact. Before the storm, we averaged 780 homeless students a year … after the storm that number was as high as 5,500.
While I am glad to note this situation has improved, we did have as many as 3,000 students reported as homeless last year. “Homeless” for us doesn’t mean these children are living on the streets but it does mean they have no fixed address of their own. Some of them may reside with other relatives or friends, some may move from motel to motel and others may live in temporary shelters. They all, however, are impacted by a loss of stability and a lack of access to resources some of us take for granted.
So what does that mean for our schools? It means that our teachers are simply overwhelmed at times trying to meet the emotional and physical needs of students who are hungry, tired and worried while also trying to keep them on pace academically.
And that’s where our Elevate Bay mentors literally have the opportunity to change lives.
Elevate Bay mentors are average citizens who care enough about our children to devote at least 30 minutes twice a month to them. Mentors come from all walks of life, all ages and demographics but they all share a love for children and a desire to give back.
These mentors are connected with students in need of just a little something extra. Sometimes the students need a little tutoring, sometimes they need a listening ear, sometimes they need a cheerleader and sometimes they just need a hug. Our mentors let us know the grade level and geographic areas of the community that are convenient for them and we get to work making the matches.
Currently, we have hundreds of children on a waiting list for a mentor and we’re hoping to recruit 1,000 caring adults this year to serve their needs. Obviously not all of the students on the waiting list are homeless but they do share a lack of stability in many cases with our homeless students. While our teachers do the very best they can to support these students, many of them just need another caring adult in their lives to help fill in the gaps that life has presented them.
We provide the training and support and you bring the commitment and the heart. If you’re a business owner, we encourage you to make this option available to your employees during the work day. Together we can lift up ALL of the children in our community and ensure they all have access to the resources they need to achieve their dreams.
When volunteering or donating to a cause, we all want to know that our time or money has made a difference. I guarantee you that Elevate Bay mentors make a difference! If you’re interested in finding out more about Elevate Bay, please call our amazing program coordinator Stacey Legg at (850) 767-4128 or email her at leggsl@bay.k12.fl.us.
Thank you for all that you do to support the children of our community and thank you for your continued trust in us as your educational partner.
