Shelters serving children prepare for distance learning

With the Clark County School District’s virtual school year set to begin in a matter of days, Southern Nevada shelters serving children are making arrangements to accommodate distance learning and seeking help from the community to do so.

The Shade Tree, a shelter open to women and youth facing abuse or homelessness, is looking for volunteers to commit to coming in one day a month to help supervise the shelter’s three learning areas, said CEO Linda Perez. The shelter has a space for the youngest students, another area for middle schoolers and the new Cox Technology Center for high schoolers.

Perez said the latter originally was dedicated to helping women at the shelter look for jobs, but with schools closed, it will partially function as a computer lab space during school hours.

“Our children are amazing. If it was their choice, they wouldn’t be here,” Perez said. “With school starting on Aug. 24, our job is to make sure they have a comfortable learning environment.”

Volunteers are needed to manage the three spaces, answer questions and make activities fun for elementary students, Perez said. They should have a high school diploma or a GED diploma, and will have to complete a background check.

Perez said it was a shock to everyone when schools shut down in March.

When The Shade Tree campus itself went on lockdown, Perez said, her staff had to get creative to provide activities to the 20 or so children living at the campus. Another challenge was improving the shelter’s Wi-Fi capabilities for the women and children who were on campus 24/7, she said.

“It was all hands on deck making sure the children were still able to do their studies,” she said.

At St. Jude’s Ranch for Children, CEO Christina Vela said students were resilient through a tough spring semester. On top of Clark County School District closures, an established tutoring program at the ranch slowed during stay-at-home orders, she said.

Some anxieties about distance learning persist going into the fall semester, like how much face-to-face time students will have with teachers, Vela said. There are ongoing worries, too, that school closures mean fewer opportunities to spot signs of child abuse.

But the ranch is hoping to create a sense of normalcy for its residents by setting up learning pods for elementary and middle school students in order to allow them to establish the traditional routines of getting ready, packing their backpacks and heading to class. High schoolers will be able take the lead on their education, according to Vela.

She said the ranch is accepting donations of back-to-school supplies for its students. And while some students received Chromebooks from the Clark County School District during the school shutdown, the center also is looking to acquire more laptops in case they’re needed. The ranch operates a learning lab on-site.

Distance learning also raises concerns about the achievement gap for kids who are victims of abuse or neglect, Vela said, particularly for students who receive special education services as outlined by an Individualized Education Plan. For those students, Vela said, the ranch is seeking more support from the school district.

“Children with adverse experiences have trouble with or feel less confident in their education,” Vela said. “We just don’t want them to fall further behind.”

Contact Aleksandra Appleton at 702-383-0218 or aappleton@reviewjournal.com. Follow @aleksappleton on Twitter.