The nonprofit, Bradford County organization’s goal is to help students overcome obstacles, experience success and graduate
BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Bradford Community for Schools is all about setting up students for success in life. One way of doing that is putting them on track toward graduating, while another is to give them a taste of a work environment.
The nonprofit organization offered a summer employment program for the third straight year, with 20 students taking part this year at a total of 10 job sites: Bradford County Public Library, Bradford High School, Downtown Grill, Florida Twin Theatre, Headstart, Home Sweet Bone/Grooming by Sister, Hometown Grounds, Lake Area Physical Therapy, Nicky’s Beauty Bar and Young Hearts Extended Assisted Living Facility.
Other employers who had agreed to participate were
“It’s giving them employability skills,” said Community for Schools Executive Director Cindy DeValerio. “It’s, of course, building self-esteem, building character and teaching them skills. Also, they can use the hours (working) as community service toward scholarships. They’re also building a resume.”
Preston Clem, who’s set to begin his senior year at Bradford High School, is all about anything that’ll help him get scholarship money. Plus, he also gets the benefit of being around dogs. He loves dogs — he has four at home — so the chance to work at the Home Sweet Bone boarding business and its related Grooming by Sister business was a perfect opportunity for him.
Clem’s responsibilities included giving the boarders at Home Sweet Bone food and water and taking them outside. At Grooming by Sister, he got to wash and dry dogs.
Future employment opportunities may not have Clem working with dogs, but he views his summer experience as kind of a head start in life.
“I think it can help me with getting future jobs,” he said. “I now have job experience in general. Also, if I have a dog of my own, I now know how to take care of him.”
Home Sweet Bone Owner Dawn Strickland said, “I cannot say enough about the importance of this program. It exposes kids to the workplace when they otherwise would not have had a chance. It’s almost like a test run in a field to see whether they would enjoy it.”
Students in 10th-12th grades mostly as well as some who’ve just graduated participated in the program, working 15 hours a week and earning money provided through a grant from Northeast Florida Career Source.
“The big thing for those employers is they’re not at risk of losing anything because the grant funding takes care of what (students) get paid,” said Ken Weaver, one of Community for Schools’ student-support specialists.
Strickland described it as a “win-win” situation for local businesses.
“Yes, you do have to take the extra time in training because these young adults typically don’t have a lot, if any, work experience,” Strickland said, “but they are also an extra set of hands at no financial cost.”
The students surely enjoy making some money, but the benefits, of course, go beyond that. DeValerio said students are building a rapport with members of the community they will one day be a part of as adults if they don’t move away.
“They’re building a lot of things other than just a paycheck,” DeValerio said. “It’s not just about a paycheck.”
That’s true for Ta’laysia Cummings, who recently graduated and worked this summer at Hometown Grounds.
“During the summer, I learned how to better manage my time, communicate with confidence and stay committed to my education,” Cummings said. “It helped me stay motivated and reminded me that I’m not alone in this journey — that there
are people who believe in me and want to see me succeed
Students, who selected which participating business they wanted to work at, first had to meet with their employers and become informed of what was expected of them. DeValerio said students were told that if they couldn’t commit to the job’s obligations, they were to be honest with employers and tell them.
DeValerio said students taking on job responsibilities, which include calling your employer if you’re going to be late or unable to come in, is like an early start to adulthood.
“I think that kind of takes you out of your high-school fun world,” DeValerio said.
The job site, of course, can provide fun of a different sort, like Clem getting the chance to be around dogs. However, students do get to see that not every day at work is necessarily enjoyable. They may also learn that a certain type of job is not what they want to do in the future.
“I think it’s good for them,” DeValerio said. “They’re figuring out that jobs are not always fun, but they’ve committed to it. Jobs are not always exciting, but sometimes you have to do what you don’t like to do for a little while to figure out what you do like.”
Weaver believes working on a job and taking it seriously will benefit students in school.
“It’s that motivation factor,” Weaver said. “The job helps them to understand how they have to really invest themselves if they’re going to be successful.”
Strickland encourages employers who haven’t participated to do so in the future.
“Working with everyone in Community for Schools is such a pleasure,” Strickland said. “I just hope that more employers will take advantage of the opportunity, not just to help themselves, but to help a student become a productive, working member of the community.”
Resources, support for student success
Bradford Community for Schools is dedicated to helping at-risk students improve and putting them on a path toward graduation. At-risk students can be those who have no interest in going to school and have no one supporting and encouraging them to do so. They may be those who face financial hardships or other barriers that interfere with school performance.
As student-support specialists, Weaver and Martha Boyette interact with BHS students on campus, serving as mentors, providing support and encouragement. They may also help students get the resources they need, either directly or by acting as liaisons with other organizations. Maybe a student simply needs a kind word on a given day. Maybe a student needs something to eat, a jacket to wear during winter or personal-hygiene products
Community for Schools’ office space on campus can sometimes simply be a place to take a breather for a few seconds.
“Come in and take a break from life,” DeValerio said.
Think of Boyette and Weaver as teachers’ assistants. Teachers may be the best people on campus to see what needs students have, but they have only so much time in a class period.
“There’s no way a teacher can really invest themselves completely in every student they have in all their classrooms,” Weaver said, adding that his experience with Community for Schools “has opened my eyes a lot more to the extreme challenge that educators have.”
Community for Schools’ mission is to connect with students buy surrounding them with a caring community of support and empowering them to reach their full potential and achieve success in life. The organization’s vision statement is to provide a supportive environment centered on student improvement and success. Though adult mentorships and community resources, students can realize and reach their full potential.
Partnerships with educators, businesses, healthcare providers, social-service agencies, volunteers and other resources and programs help Community for Schools provide that assistance to help students overcome the life challenges that hinder their academic success.
Weaver said the first student he talked to upon becoming a student-support specialist was a senior who wasn’t on track to graduate. The student told Weaver that he viewed school as a waste of time.
That was this past January. Weaver’s mentorship and the help of guidance counselors resulted in that student not only changing his attitude about school, but graduating in May.
“He’s reached out to me a couple of times this summer just to say hello,” Weaver said, adding that the student has asked for his assistance as he wants to pursue employment in a trade job.
This past school year saw all 26 seniors served by Community for Schools graduate.
“I can’t say enough good things about our Bradford County Community for Schools and all they do for our students,” Bradford County Superintendent of Schools Will Hartley said. “Everyone involved in the organizations goes above and beyond to meet our students’ needs and ensure their success.
“They are truly a meaningful asset to our school community.”
DeValerio said she’d love for Community for Schools to have student-support specialists at Bradford Middle School, but that’ll take additional funding.
“We can always use donations because they are somehow going to benefit a student,” DeValerio said.
Some students benefit by receiving money for college. Community for Schools established the Cheryl G. Canova Scholarship, which was presented for the first time this year to graduating seniors Jaden Hankerson and Saniyah Thompson. Each received $2,000.
DeValerio said the goal is to increase the scholarship amount each year.
Students also have the chance to earn scholarships through Community for Schools’ Take Stock in Children program. The program pairs students with adult mentors, with that mentor relationship idealistically lasting from sixth grade through graduation. Students who successfully go through the program, maintaining a specified minimum grade-point average, avoiding major disciplinary issues and keeping absences to a minimum, receive two-year scholarships.
Another program within the Take Stock program has chosen ninth-graders receiving four-year scholarships upon graduating. Those students also receive yearly stipends for college incidentals.
DeValerio and Take Stock in Children College Success Coach Candace Osteen, in a joint statement, shared their thoughts on the Take Stock program: “Take Stock in Children scholarships open doors for students in rural communities by removing financial and social barriers that often limit their access to higher education. These scholarships provide more than just college tuition, and they come with mentorship, academic support and a clear pathway to success.
“For students in rural areas, where resources can be limited, and college may seem out of reach, Take Stock offers hope, guidance and the tangible means to pursue a college degree. This not only increases their chances of achieving well-paying careers, but also empowers them to break generational barriers, become leaders in their communities and inspire others to aim higher.”
Cummings, who was part of Take Stock in Children, said, “The program gave me access to mentors, support and resources that helped me stay focused on my goals and inspired me to keep pushing forward, no matter what challenges I faced.” She also added, “Looking ahead, I know the lessons and support I’ve received through Take Stock will help me and others prepare for college and beyond. It has given me a clearer vision of my future, helped me build better habits and boosted my confidence. Most importantly, it showed me that with the right mindset and support, I can achieve anything I set my mind to.”
If you’d like to support Bradford Community for Schools with a monetary donation, serve as a student mentor or find out other ways in which you can help, please call 904-966-6004.
