Update from North Chicago Community Partners:
Today (Janury 28, 2021) is the last planned day of the Extended Care and Learning Program. It has been an absolute honor leading the charge of in person support for students in District 187. Over the past five months, NCCP developed this program from the ground up. We did not know what to expect when the district requested this resource.
There were few models of enriching, healthy environments for kids learning in masks and headsets at an underfunded school. We needed the program to be COVID-19 safe. We wanted it to be emotionally encouraging. We did not know that it could become so transformative. That our students would close out the second quarter with every assignment completed. That 100% of ECLP parents would agree that the learning environment we curated positively impacted their child’s academic and social and emotional development.
One mother brought in flowers and chocolates and said that she can never fully express how grateful she is for the care that we showed her kids during this time. Teachers expressed thanks for the work we have done for their students. A fifth grade boy put his head down and began to cry, “I don’t want to leave you guys!” We assured him that we are not going anywhere. As one of our Site Leads reflected, “the most noticeable area of progress is how many relationships all students have been able to form.”
If you were at schools in North Chicago today, you would see an odd sight: teachers wandering around the hallways showing them to their students on video. Yes, that’s right! D187 teachers are back, and while we are sad to pivot from this amazing program, we could not be more excited! Starting on Tuesday, nearly 400 students whose families opted in will get to learn in classrooms with their teachers.
And NCCP? We will be right there along for the journey, still in the schools and on the frontlines. Still meeting the needs of students, families, teachers, and school leaders with flexibility, intentionality, equitable resources, and a whole lot of care.