NEW:

More than 1/2 the kids at Lakewood Elementary speak Spanish at home. When the pandemic hit, the school called *every family* to check in. Now, with the help of bilingual volunteers, they call every week. (1/7)

@LakewoodESPrin @DurhamPublicSch #nced

https://www.wunc.org/post/durham-school-builds-community-despite-pandemic-weekly-calls-home

Lakewood Elementary employs the community schools model. It's not a program, so much as a way of doing things. They organize from the ground up.

Like when the pandemic hit, the school raised over $40,000 to give their hardest hit families cash assistance. (2/7)

Lakewood Elementary has a full-time community schools coordinator who helps organize communication with families, cultivate staff leadership, and support wraparound services for kids. And she's bilingual. (3/7)

Did I mention this school almost got taken over by the state a couple yrs ago as part of the experimental @NC_ISD?

That is a whole other story I'll have to get to another day. Right now they're working their tails off to do their best during a pandemic. (4/7)

, @DurhamPublicSch has remained online this fall.

So to tackle tech help and getting families hotspots, devices, meals and updates, Lakewood Elementary devised a system of calling every family weekly with new info. (5/7)

ESL teacher Mayra Morales-Scott always gives her phone number to families. She understands how hard it can be for Spanish speaking parents to get the info they need.

Now with added volunteers, Lakewood Elem has a team of bilingual speakers helping support families. (6/7)

One Lakewood Elementary mom says her son's teacher calls her practically every day. When the whole family got #COVID this summer, the teacher brought them food while they recovered. (7/7)

"They really treat us like a member of the family."

@LakewoodESPrin @DurhamPublicSch