The Quakes and Wells Fargo are humbled and inspired by the amazing work of our frontline communities and neighbors in this time of crisis. Each week, we’ll be featuring and highlighting the work of one fantastic neighborhood hero, showcasing the great work they are doing and the organizations our community can rally around.
Additionally, a donation will be made to an organization or community project on behalf of each week’s hero. This week we will be donating to the Catholic Charities’ CORAL After School Program.
In 2020, the academic landscape looks drastically different than ever before. Since mid-March, the classroom has turned virtual, students have been distanced from their peers and teachers, and children’s smiles have been hidden behind fabric masks. Many households continue to experience the negative effects of school shutdowns.
Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County’s after school program, CORAL, aims to help these students through academic mentorship. CORAL is a K-8 after school program that improves academic achievement through literacy instruction and homework support. The acronym CORAL stands for Community Organizing Resources to Advance Learning. They also provide enrichment activities and sports to students in the Franklin-McKinley School District, San Jose Unified School District, and at three charter schools.
When Covid hit school systems back in March, CORAL Managing Director, América Aguirre Gomez, did not skip a beat. “March 13 happened, and I’m very proud to say my team pivoted,” she says. Even though each day looked drastically different, the CORAL team adapted quickly with the changes. “There’s so many people, but they were all ready to roll up their sleeves and do it,” says América.
The biggest change América had to undergo with Covid altering the school system, was the ability to work with her team and with the kids directly. Before Covid, América tried to rotate visiting all 23 school (22 school sites and a Community Center) sites regularly, dropping by for an hour or so to check in with the teams at those sites. Covid has reduced her ability to see the program in action. “I miss seeing kids smile,” she says.
Nowadays, CORAL staff are active at 10 school sites that are operating in a hybrid, online and in-person format. They are currently serving 680 students in person and virtually.
América’s job is to oversee all the programming and all the site managers. For every school site, there is one manager. Each site varies between four to ten extra staff to assist with the program. They have close to 100 people involved in bringing CORAL to local schools and families.
One of their first responses to school closures was to maintain the connections with students and families over video calls. The CORAL team has been doing wellness checks regularly on students and families since March.
Another plan of action was to provide kits for the children to have at home. The contents of these kits vary, and they come with anything ranging from scissors and art supplies, to interactive STEM activities.
Providing three meals a day has also been a challenge for many families at this time. In response, CORAL has helped with the distribution of breakfasts or lunches at various school sites. In collaboration with Second Harvest, they have pivoted in distributing food at the Catholic Charities Parishes. They are also connected to a variety of different local organizations, so CORAL is able to connect with families with a variety of resources if they are in need of specific services.
CORAL also has a summer program, but that too became virtual early on in the year. The transition of the summer program to online proved to be a great trial run for the team to prepare for the school year in the fall. Through this, they learned how to navigate socially-distanced learning and how to conduct a classroom that abides by local and state health guidelines while still allowing students to be in a learning environment.
The importance of CORAL at a time like this extends far beyond activity kits and homework help. At this time, many students and families are struggling, and CORAL helps to relieve some of the burden. “It's knowing they have a caring adult, who’s interested in their day, and in their life,” says América. “It’s another adult that supports them and is genuinely interested in how they're doing educationally and personally.”
For more information on Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County and the CORAL program, click here.
