TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – A local program is stepping in this holiday season to support kindergarten students and their families at Title I schools in Tallahassee.
Just days before Christmas, a class of kindergarteners at John G. Riley Elementary School was surprised with presents, filling the room with cheers and excitement.
For the past four years, Ashley Thomas, owner of Sparkle Tallahassee, has sponsored a kindergarten class at Riley Elementary and their siblings, ensuring they have gifts to open on Christmas morning. This year’s donations included toys, clothing and bicycles.
“It feels so good to know that these kids, they understand what’s sitting there, and it’s huge to them,” Thomas said.
She said helping ease the financial burden on local families and caretakers, especially during the holidays, is what motivates her to continue participating in the program.
“These families getting to realize that they’re seen, they’re loved and the community around them loves them and cares for them and for me that’s what its about,” the local boutique owner said.
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The surprise was organized through Classroom Connection, a program that partners local businesses and community members with Title I classrooms throughout the year. Sponsor Shannon Smith said the need at Riley Elementary is especially great.
Riley Elementary is located in the center of Florida’s poorest ZIP code, 32304, according to Smith.
She said, on average, two students in each classroom at the school experience housing insecurity or homelessness. These are challenges that can significantly affect a child’s ability to learn.
“When a child doesn’t know where they’re going to sleep at night, or they don’t know if they’re going to eat when they get home, those are all stressors and all of those stressors raise the cortisol level of a child,” Smith said.
Smith said kindergarten performance is often a key indicator of future academic success, including third-grade achievement and long-term outcomes such as graduation rates.
By addressing basic needs, or even by fulfilling a child’s Christmas wish, Smith said students are better able to focus, learn and succeed in the classroom.
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