Still rolling, reading and feeding

By Amanda Fragile-Peyton

Here in McDowell County, W.Va., meeting the needs of our students and their families during the coronavirus pandemic has been a challenge — but because we’ve spent the past several years building strong bonds throughout our community, we were ready to spring into action. In a way, the virus didn’t slow us down, it sped us up.

Although we are trying many strategies to connect with our students, it’s our distributions of books and meals that I think are making the biggest difference right now, thanks to the efforts of our amazing school staff.

Roll, Read and Feed was going to be one of our new programs this summer. With 100 percent of our schools in poverty, and up to half of our kids being raised by an adult other than a biological parent (usually a grandparent), we were gearing up to use our school bus routes to deliver books and meals throughout the summer. When COVID-19 happened, we decided to start Roll, Read and Feed right away and put our entire stockpile of books into the hands of kids before they left school to shelter at home. Title I teachers gave each child four books — the kids and teachers were so excited.

It’s a good thing we planned ahead. On the last day schools were open, we sent home a family-friendly online reading program, an online math program, an online grade book with a direct line to teachers’ email, and nearly 5,000 books to our elementary students.

The next week, all the teachers pulled together. Roll, Read and Feed was only a few days old, but it grew to include written instructions for schoolwork (since we know many families don’t have internet access) and notes on the kids’ lunch packs.

At Welch Elementary School, teachers write on the Styrofoam lids things like, “We miss you” or “We can’t wait to see you.”

The main reason we could send home books during the coronavirus shutdown is Reconnecting McDowell, a longtime partnership among dozens of nonprofit and business groups that is transforming McDowell County from a former coal mining hub into a thriving community where children’s dreams and aspirations can come true. One of our most cherished partners is First Book, a national nonprofit that has worked with the American Federation of Teachers to distribute more than 5 million free, age-appropriate books nationwide to children in need. Through Reconnecting McDowell, we’ve distributed nearly 40,000 books so far.

Wanting to be sure our children had plenty to read at home, we handed out our full summer stockpile really quickly. But last month, we received another 400 books purchased by the AFT from First Book and we did a special book distribution at Welch Elementary School. For safety’s sake, families didn’t have to bring their kids, but we know how many children every family has and ensured that each child received a book. This was their first book in a few weeks, so they were super excited. We have to say, it’s pretty special to give students books. As many as we can give the kids, we give them. The families do appreciate them.

Now, nine weeks since schools closed, we’re better organized, doing weekly food distributions for 2,000 children ages birth to 18. On Mondays, each child receives a five-day breakfast and lunch meal kit. The National Guard trucks them in. Each Monday, families drive to one of four pickup sites and our volunteers hand the kits through the car window or the driver pops the trunk.

We’ll do this as long as the program is available for our families. It gives the kids a way to see their teachers, and, in truth, they can’t read if they’re hungry.

In the past couple of weeks, we’ve been working on increasing WiFi access throughout the county by opening wireless access points where people can pull into a parking lot and get a WiFi signal from a school bus or a fast food restaurant. Many of our teachers are hosting read-alouds and interactive lessons using Zoom, which supports children and their families.

There are a lot of creative things going on. One family who adopted two beautiful boys is keen on showing us their growth in reading. The father sends in videos of them reading. He continuously reaches out to school staff, telling us, “Don’t give up on these kids.” He shouldn’t worry. Just like the AFT motto says, we really do care, fight and show up.

Amanda Fragile-Peyton is the assistant superintendent of federal programs, including Title I, for the McDowell County School District. She has been an active participant in the Reconnecting McDowell partnership since its inception in 2011.

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