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“It Was Breaking My Heart": Teachers Take The Extra Mile To Reach Students
By
Jessica Gould
Published May 24, 2020
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Teresa Taggart
By
Jessica Gould
Published May 24, 2020
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Middle school social studies teacher Sabia Din from I.S. 61 in Corona, Queens said it was the recent conversation with a student’s father that really stuck with her. She recalled the father saying he had just $20 to stretch for groceries for his family that week.
“It was breaking my heart,” she said. “Before the virus struck Corona, students' families were already struggling financially. Once the virus struck, things spiraled out of control. Food pantry lines stretched around the corner and it took very long for families to get food.”
So Din and her school colleagues started running to a local market during teaching breaks to buy and deliver food. The manager at Cherry Valley Marketplace, Luis Osoria, offers deep discounts. The teachers pack up the groceries, load their cars, and make their deliveries to the students houses. Now school staff make regular phone calls, asking families if they need anything, and spend hours online placing orders.
Listen to Jessica Gould's report on the "Chalk Crew" on WNYC:
The teachers union, the United Federation of Teachers, and the Queens Borough Presidents’ Office have helped, securing additional donations and volunteers to enable the teachers to deliver food to 200 families. So far, they’ve raised $5,000.
While officials have showered praise on teachers who turned on a dime to take lessons online, some teachers are going an extra mile to reach their students in real life, from a safe distance.
Stephen Simons, a government and economics teacher at Brooklyn Collaborative Studies in Carroll Gardens, has spent his time during the pandemic biking around Brooklyn to deliver shopping bags of books to the sophomores in his “crew,” which is similar to an advisory or homeroom group.
Simons said neighbors or other parents donate the books, which he microwaves before distribution. “I leave them on their stoop or tie them to their gates,” he said. When his students finish their books, Simons suggested they pass them on. He said his message to students has always been “shared responsibility, shared compassion, shared action.”
“In a way, this is a time for very quick intellection growth,” he said. “It’s all reading, reading, reading.”
In Staten Island, a trio of paraprofessionals with P.S. 45 regularly hit the streets in West Brighton using chalk to draw uplifting images on the sidewalks outside students’ homes.
“I’m the rainbow girl,” said Teresa Taggert. Her colleague, Melissa Krajnak, is a whiz with bubble letters. Jodi Sullivan adds peace signs. Recently, they expanded their array of drawings to include hopscotch boards. They always wear masks and are careful to sketch at least six feet apart.
Teachers at I.S. 61 in Corona take a moment to pose in front of three shopping carts full of food that they'll deliver to students and their families during the pandemic.
Sabia Din
“This started because I had to see my babies,” said Taggert, who assists in a pre-k classroom. “We tell them to wait by the window. We started with kids from our classes. And it grows every week.” She estimated the team has chalked outside 50 homes by now.
“We’re excited to spread the joy,” she said.
Taggert said the goal was to make students smile, but it’s also a chance for the educators to connect with the students who sustain them. “I think we’re doing it more for us,” she said.
For more information on how to contribute to Sabia Din’s food delivery run, email [email protected].
Tagged
COVID-19
education
Jessica Gould
Jessica is the education reporter for WNYC and Gothamist. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Jessica reported on the shutdown and reopening of the nation’s largest school system, highlighting the unprecedented impacts on learning, health and mental health for students, staff and families. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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