by Joan Singley Schrysen
How can children mired in poverty, homeless and chronically hungry ever hope to emerge from their dire situation? Westside Elementary in Daytona Beach FL, where most students are on free or reduced lunch, works hard to give a leg up to their children. Their afterschool program, Westside’s Night Alive, under the direction of Dr. Anthony Copelin, furnishes academic help, enrichment opportunities and three nourishing meals to over 200 students daily and distributes 90 fifty-pound bags of food weekly. A flourishing school garden provides fresh produce regularly. Each day as school dismisses at 3:30, the children and teachers meet in the cafeteria, collect prepared supplies and lesson plans, and proceed to their designated room. Until 5:15 when dinner is served, they work on academics or project-based learning, taking time out for recess on the school’s unique Field of Dreams. The program also operates from 8 to 5 for eight weeks in the summer. It all started eleven years ago when then Principal Judi Winch and Assistant Principal Willie Williams sought to provide a safe place for the Westside children until parents got home from work about 6 PM. With massive fund-raising efforts and a five-year federal 21st Century Community Learning Grant, they transformed an empty lot behind the school into Westside’s Field of Dreams, creating a baseball diamond, a basketball court, child-size tennis courts, and an outdoor theatre. To create a program to go with this fine facility, they partnered with Food Brings Hope, a 401(c)3 charity for children of families in poverty. The program of academics enrichment, and nourishment grew from there. It is currently operating under its third five-year grant, a rare achievement. Enrichment includes field trips (both after and during school hours), the community garden, and motivational speakers. The Honors Program rewards those who maintain a high grade point average and a clean discipline record throughout elementary, middle, and high school. College tuition is assured these elite students. At Christmas, the Hope for the Holidays program puts on a catered dinner, complete with white tablecloths, for those families who are homeless or have been homeless in the past year. Formal invitations are sent. The stage is beautifully decorated. Festive cookies are distributed. A professional photograph of each family is taken and given to them. The children write wish lists that are later filled by staff from an enormous cache of toys donated by a host of volunteer organizations. Does all this massive effort work? Does it change lives? Just one of countless examples: the first Honor student to graduate (sometime next year) was raised by two people suffering addiction who were also homeless. Yet he is now in line to attend college, expenses paid. Without such help, he may not even have reached high school. Westside’s Night Alive takes the initiative to give a leg up to such students, providing extra help and encouragement, and enabling them to rise above their circumstances and eventually become functioning, contributing members of society.