A Full Community at Berea Students’ Fingertips

This editorial originally appeared in the Richmond Register on October 19, 2019.  Imagine a high school senior. Let’s call her Emily. Imagine she is smart, talented, and hard working. Her mom is not in the picture. Her dad works second shift, and she works, too, when she’s not caring for her younger siblings. Emily makes sure they are fed and safe, and she reads to them at bedtime. She also has homework to do and needs to prepare for college entrance exams, even though she’s not so sure college is really an option. She has financial aid documents to fill out, but isn’t sure how to answer the questions on the form. At 17, she doesn’t even know what, exactly, she wants to do with her life or how to achieve it. Emily needs help to get where she wants to go, but she doesn’t know where to look for it. Helping students like Emily and their families is the idea behind new programming at Berea Independent Schools, funded by a U.S. Department of Education grant awarded to Partners for Education (PFE) at Berea College. PFE secured funding for the school system to become a Full-Service Community School. The funding allows Berea Independent to offer a suite of comprehensive services to students and their families from kindergarten through high school graduation. In addition to offering support in literacy, attendance, and college and career planning, the program partners with local organizations and businesses like the Appalachian Community Federal Credit Union to help students and families with financial literacy and with White House Clinics to assist in accessing quality healthcare. The program can help Emily prepare for entrance exams, fill out her financial aid applications, and even set her up with an internship at a local company to help her explore career options and interests. In short, the Full-Service Community School grant takes a very broad approach to meeting the needs of disadvantaged students and their families, helping them overcome obstacles that are typically not an issue for wealthier families. This kind of work isn’t new to Berea College. In 1917, for example, Berea College librarians traveled by horse and buggy throughout Appalachia delivering boxes of school books to aspiring young students who dreamed of an education. This new grant is the latest addition to Berea College’s commitment to support education in the region. At Berea College, we know it’s not enough to simply open a door. Not everyone is ready to go through it, and some may need extra encouragement to do so. It’s not even enough to open just one door. Opportunity means having a choice of doors, the freedom to come back through again and, if necessary, try a different one. With this new grant, Berea College hopes to help maximize the full resources of our entire community for students who we hope will, in turn, become conscientious citizens ready to return the favor to a new generation of young people. [caption id="attachment_531" align="alignnone" width="300"] Kat Reid works with Daeus Reid[/caption] [caption id="attachment_533" align="alignnone" width="300"] Michelle Ramsey eats with Rose and Graham Ramsay[/caption] [caption id="attachment_535" align="alignnone" width="300"] Brandon Denning and Kodi Mullins work with Aria Mullins[/caption] [caption id="attachment_536" align="alignnone" width="300"] Carmie Baxter works with Holden Blanton[/caption] [caption id="attachment_537" align="alignnone" width="300"] Jodi Mullins works with Penelope Ruth in the Families and Schools Together program from Partners for Education[/caption]