McCOOK, Neb. -- Everyone’s world has been turned upside down by the COVID-19 pandemic but maybe none so more than our young people.
Students no longer have a regular school schedule and are not able to see their friends on a daily basis. They may not have access to regular meals. And they may have difficulty accessing the internet, now a necessity to complete their homework.
But McCook schools have been working to alleviate some of these issues with funding from McCook Community Foundation Fund’s new COVID-19 Response Account.
Over the past month, MCFF has provided three grants to McCook Public Schools to help with specific issues during this crisis.
Technology
With nearly all learning taking place online right now, the need for technology is greater than ever. And while the McCook High School students all have Chromebooks -- similar to a laptop -- individually assigned, the McCook Junior High and Central Elementary students either used the devices during school or checked the laptops out on an as-needed basis.
While some families have their own devices at home, many do not and that is where a grant from MCFF came into play. A $8,500 MCFF grant will help purchase 30 Chromebooks to be used by students at home.
“With E-Learning abruptly changing our instructional practices, our equity gap among our kids seemed to be magnified,” said Joel Bednar, Central Principal/Curriculum Director, McCook Public Schools. “We realized the need for more Chromebooks to distribute for E-Learning and to utilize within our classrooms when schools resumes.”
Bednar added, “We want all students to have the same access and learning opportunities. Using these devices will allow kids to see/hear their teachers and have the organized social interactions that is clearly needed during E-Learning days.”
Nutrition
While school is generally thought of a place for education, it also serves as a place where some kids may get their only complete meal of the day. And the demand is being met by the school’s nutrition program in unprecedented numbers.
According to McCook Public School Business Manger John Brazell, the McCook Junior High kitchen was designed to serve around 400 Jr/Sr high school students on a regular school day. “Currently, we are serving more than 700 breakfasts and 700 lunches per day in our drive up grab-n-go service,” Brazil said.
Preparing the increased number of meals has stretched the capacity of the kitchen and especially the storage of all of the prepared meals.
The McCook Community Foundation Fund has provided $17,500 in funding to purchase carts, which will provide additional storage and will allow the staff to roll them out to the delivery site at the junior high. The carts are designed to be used for either hot or cold foods and will maintain the temperature of the meals for longer.
“This will be extremely important as the daily temperatures rise as we move into spring and summer.,” Brazell. “And at this point, our plan is to continue the meal program through the end of June.”
Education for At-Risk Students
While all students are figuring out how to learn from home, alternative instruction methods are especially important for many of the school’s at-risk families, including those in the school’s credit-recovery program. These students are most at-risk of dropping out or failing to complete school due to a variety of reasons and need specialized help to graduate from McCook High School.
To help continue this program from the safety of the student’s own home, “site licenses” were purchased with the help of $3,000 grant from MCFF.
“On behalf of McCook Senior High School, I would like to thank the McCook Community Foundation Fund for their generosity during these challenging times,” McCook High School Principal Jeff Gross said. “We have several students taking advantage of earning credits via online classes. We are also anticipating the increased need for this service as we continue in these uncertain times in K-12 education.”
“It is a blessing, knowing that we have such great community support,” Gross said. “Thanks for MCFF’s leadership and dedication to our school system…”WE ARE ONE.”
The McCook Community Foundation Fund continues to accept grant applications as well as donations for the newly-established COVID-19 Response Account. More information is available online at mccookfoundation.org.
The regular spring grant deadline is Friday, May 1. Since 2003, more than $400,000 in grants have been provided to organizations and individuals, benefitting McCook and Southwest Nebraska. A complete list of grants is available on the MCFF website. MCFF is an affiliated fund of the Nebraska Community Foundation.
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With so much going, it is time for a “This, That and the Other Thing” column, where we will cover several topics, not very deeply but hopefully with a sense of humor as we clean up and prepare for a busy week in McCook. *** McCook again made state and national news this week for ice. This time, it was in the form of hail that pounded the community for hours upon hours. Conversations this week begin with “where were you….?” or “how many windows did you lose?” And while they may be legitimate and are offering their services, it is like vultures with all the roofing repair and dent removal businesses which have descended upon McCook following the storm. As city officials noted, do your due diligence with any company doing repairs for you and follow the old adage, which is old and still around because it’s true: If something seems to be too good to be true, it probably is. And one last note on the storm, we need to be careful what we ask for. As storm after storm approaches McCook and then splits in two to go around the town, we finally got one to roll right over us. The storm liked McCook so much it slowed down and just there. I was in Lincoln during the storm and trying to determine when I would drive home. I thought the weather app had frozen or the radar was broken because every time I looked, the storm was still sitting over McCook, doing its damage. I guess we can be thankful the next time a storm seemingly just goes around us. *** We are in the thick of McCook’s Heritage Days celebration. Congratulations to all the Heritage Days Royalty, which was announced at the MNB Bank Mixer this week. A special shout-out to Bill Donze, better known as Mr. Bill and his wife, Kathy, who were honored as royalty for their impact in McCook. As many know, Mr. Bill is fighting cancer and the prognosis isn’t good. The chances of him selling snow-cones and candy out of his van next summer near the McCook Aquatic Center are not good. One judge of his impact was the response to my column about Mr. Bill a few months ago. The post was shared thousands of times, viewed nearly 70,000 times with just as many comments by people sharing their fond memories of Mr. Bill. So when you see Mr. Bill riding down Norris in the convertible this weekend in the Heritage Days parade, send extra prayers and well-wishes to the man who has brought so much joy to so many kids - and adults too - over the years. *** Continuing on the Heritage Days theme, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that the McCook Rotary Club is tossing all egos and formality out the window this weekend. As the president of the McCook Rotary Club, I invite everyone to at least watch, if not participate, in the Rotary’s first inflatable costume relay race on Saturday as part of the festivities in Norris Park. These are those giant, blow-up costumes you usually see around Halloween. The first costumes were usually T-Rexes but now there is everything imaginable available as a design. With the idea for the race originally conceived by Melanie Goodenberger, she has purchased everything from corn on the cob to a cowboy riding a chicken. This is a fund-raiser for the Rotary Club with a cost of just $20 for a team of four to participate in the relay race. But it is also a chance to giggle, perhaps make a fool of yourself and just have fun. Come to the park Saturday afternoon for the Wiener Dog races and stay for the Rotary Relay races. While the dogs will already be close to the ground, the relay race participants will likely just end up on the ground. *** With so much going on in McCook this week, I debated whether there should be another activity the next week but the response has already been great for the Lied’s Arts Across Nebraska’s next production in McCook. Hosted by the McCook Creative District, the Omaha Street Percussion ensemble will perform at the Fox Theater on Wednesday, Sept. 24. There is a matinee showing at 10:30 a.m. but I will be up-front…we are testing the capacity of the Fox with every seat already claimed with students. If that is the only show you can make, please come and we’ll find you a seat but it may be those up in the rafters. Otherwise, please plan to attend the 7 p.m. show on Sept. 24. And even better, there is no cost thanks to the Kimmel Foundation and the Friends of the Lied. This is a busy week and a busy weekend but this is a great opportunity to sit back and enjoy a fun, entertaining evening of live music.
Most likely, we aren't going to be good at something at the start. But that shouldn't stop us from trying.
