Fostering learning in tough times

By Pennie Embry, Staff Writer

WHITEFIELD, Jan. 7 —For Brenda Edwards, managing Whitefield Public School is, in many ways, like managing a family. As superintendent, she’s close to every teacher in her school, and knows all of the 111 pre-K through eighth grade students the school serves.

Now, with deep cuts to Oklahoma’s public education budget, her school family is suffering financial stress. But Edwards is determined to protect that family and protect core classroom instruction.

“We are being hit hard by the state budget cuts to education,” Edwards said. “And we’re conserving in every way we can, we’re doing what we have to do. The problem with us is that we’re already watching every expense and we are on a small, skeleton staff.”

There are not a lot of extras to cut at Whitefield School, especially when it comes to personnel. But while some Oklahoma school districts are considering cuts to instructional staff, specifically teachers’ aides and assistants, that is not something Edwards is facing.

“One of the best things we have going for us is the foster grandparent program,” Edwards said. “Through that, we have retirees who act as volunteer aids in many of our classrooms, and that means more support and attention for our students, but not salaries we have to pay.”

The foster grandparent program is nationwide, one that places seniors as volunteers in schools, Head Start Centers and other organizations that work with children. The foster grandparents help children learn to read, provide one-on-one tutoring and often work with special needs children at critical points in their lives.

For Whitefield School, that means five “grannies,” women who serve as aides in the school’s kindergarten, first, second and fourth grades as well as one in the special education class. “Women or men can be foster grandparents, but all of ours are women,” Edwards said. “We call them ‘grannies.’ Two of our grannies work the whole school day, five days a week, two of them work four days a week, and one works in the mornings.”

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