The children’s services agency that serves the Greater Napanee area has found a solution to helping its students while schools are on COVID-19 shutdown.
The Family and Children’s Services for Frontenac Lennox and Addington says, “It is well-documented that children and youth receiving services from a Children’s Aid Society or other equivalent agency have more academic problems in schools than their peers.”
Funded by donations, the special START program has been paying for school in-class tutoring, for children receiving services.
It was in the second year of a two-year pilot program.
Tutors worked one-on-one with students in elementary, middle and high schools in both the Public and Catholic school systems.
The program paid for the in-class tutoring.
Since schools are closed because of the pandemic, the agency says the START program has now been put online.
Tutors are now using video chat to contact students and their parents and caregivers directly.
The Children’s Services also created a “PenPal” system, using START funds, to send school readiness packages to the homes that needed them, including writing materials, and more.
The START program is funded by charitable donations from the United Way KFLA, the City of Kingston, the Anna & Edward Churchill Foundation, the Davies Foundation, the William James Henderson Foundation and others.
