Teaching & Learning is Not an Elementary Effort
Written by Tim Buckley, November 2024
We call them “elementary schools” because formal learning starts that way and becomes more advanced as we approach adulthood. But although we call it elementary, there’s very little about our children’s education that is elementary.
For starters, poverty hinders learning. Without an educated population, our country suffers both socially and economically.
Established by the Johnson Administration in 1965, “Title 1” programs helps poor schools find academic parity with schools in more prosperous neighborhoods. In the Salem-Keizer School District, half of our 44 elementary schools receive Title 1 funding because more than 40% of students at those schools come from families who struggle economically. Title 1 pays for additional staffing and free lunches. Why free lunch? When you’re hungry, your undernourished body is not able to focus on learning.
The mission of CBEL, now in its fifth year, is to partner with neighborhoods experiencing the greatest economic challenges, supporting their self-determination and amplifying their efforts to alleviate poverty. Modeled after the nationally-acclaimed Building Community Resilience effort, CBEL assists Neighborhood Family Councils who, in turn, partner with their nearby elementary school, and others, to close academic gaps while improving economic ones.
CBEL’s newest Neighborhood Family Council (NFC) encompasses the Washington Elementary School area in north Salem. The partnership is already paying dividends.
Each Neighborhood Family Council (NFC) has a charter that stipulates a desire to “build neighborhood resilience that strengthens families and supports world-class education for all our children.”
Top Row (Left to Right): Elina Heldart, Meggan Palmer (Co-Chair), Jeremy Rojes, and Maria Cisneros (Co-Chair)
Bottom Row (Left to Right): Jennifer, Christine Pottee, and Hadi Garibay-Sánchezn (Secretary)
The new Washington NFC is chaired by Meggan Palmer and Maria Cisneros. Hadi Garibay was selected as the Secretary. Christine Potter, Elina Heldart, Jennifer Koch and Jeremy Rojas are the other Council members. These are moms and dads with full lives, jobs, and families. Their commitment to bring more vitality to the Kennedy neighborhood is admirable. It takes a lot of gumption to carve out more time for civic engagement.
In their first couple of meetings, the group was trained in Outward Mindset, enabling them to work closely together despite their differences, and to focus on a common goal: helping neighbors thrive.
Here is how the group decided to fund some creative collaborative efforts, each of which helps to strengthen families:
Christine Pottee (Left - Pink Jacket) at the recent Halloween/Dia de los Muertos event
Partnered with members of other CBEL NFCs in a Fun Friday event this past summer, where 550 people from 150 neighborhood families came
Partnered with the Hallman-Northgate NFC to host a Halloween/Dia de los Muertos celebration, where gift cards and raffle items were given out.
Both of these events helped to create trust among neighbors, while providing some relaxation and fun for the whole family.
Partnering with Washington Elementary School in their incentive program to boost attendance. The Washington NFC funds pay for healthy snacks, supplementing the school’s effort to reward parents and students for helping to meet the school’s goal of higher social and academic achievement.
It’s Not Elementary
Part of what makes elementary school so complicated - especially in Title 1 schools - is the pressure that teachers, administrators, and parents are under to make sure that all students are fluent in English language and reading by third grade. With more parents working to pay the bills, fewer hours are spent teaching little ones before they get to kindergarten and first grade. With less parental involvement comes other things – children who are socially and emotionally unprepared for long days of education with other students similarly at risk. We are frequently reminded that students who fail to thrive at this level get left behind for the rest of their lives.
Schools that partner with community realize the value of bringing additional resources and volunteers. Likewise, CBEL’s efforts to effectively partner with neighborhoods relies heavily on the willingness of the elementary school to collaborate. Washington embraced the new NFC and hosted a couple of summertime BBQs to get things rolling. Having the enthusiastic buy-in from the school administration is like adding a fourth leg to a table…the working surface becomes stable.
Erica Manzo is in her first year as Principal of Washington Elementary School, after having been a principal at Lee Elementary and Assistant Principal at 5 different elementary schools in Salem Keizer. She said the Washington assignment “is a good fit”, an understatement, considering her background also included being a behavioral specialist and, before that, 10 years as a bilingual teacher grades 3-5th.
Rosalba Diaz is a seasoned veteran at the same school. Since 2006, Rosalba has been Washington Elementary’s Community-School Outreach Coordinator (CSOC). Among CSOCs primary objectives is to bolster students’ educational experience by engaging with their students’ parents. A second objective is to rally outside resources. Rosalba said that the Fun Friday events and holiday celebrations organized by the NFC are helping bolster parents’ enthusiasm to come to the school.
“CBEL and the Neighborhood Family Council have helped a lot when it comes to bringing parents to the school,” Diaz said. The Council, made up of people who have strong ties and deep roots in the neighborhood, get to decide what their focus will be. It’s great that they chose to help us with our Attendance Matters program. And it’s great that we can provide the building and some of our time to help them host celebrations.”
“When trust is established, people get a stronger sense of belonging,” she added. “And when that happens, hope and joy return, along with a belief for a brighter future.”