Tucked away behind a church off Roscoe Boulevard in Northridge, the small charter school works to support not only its students, but their families and the larger community.
The 3rd Annual Community Resource Fair was held on Saturday, September 29th at Magnolia Science Academy 7 Northridge (MSA-7). The trade show, which is free and open to the public, has 17 booths offering everything from on-site COVID-19 vaccines and flu shots to diapers, compost bins, mental health services and financial advice. provided.
“We’ll have a one-stop shop here. You can come here, you can get a vaccine, you can get diapers, you can make connections with other organizations,” said MSA-7 Principal. Megan Witek said.
“Our goal is to be a liaison and take the effort of finding these resources away from communities and families.”
Community partners included Baby2Baby, Dignity Health, Southern California Medical Center, ONE Generation, New Horizons, and Plaza Comunitaria Sinaloa.
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Additionally, community members had the opportunity to interact with public officials, including the Los Angeles Police Department, State Sen. Caroline Menjivar’s office, and Los Angeles City Councilman John Lee, who made a personal appearance.
“When you help families, you help children,” Lee said.
He praised the expo for providing resources for the entire family and providing “resources that are sorely needed today, including youth mental health.”
What began in 2021 as a community hub to administer COVID-19 vaccines has grown to include other community partners in its second year as the school recognized a growing need in the community. And this year, it has doubled in size.
“I was a little stressed this morning, but coming here has made me feel better,” said Maria Chowdhury, a parent of a child attending MSA-7.
Chaudhry, who also took his sister-in-law to the resource fair, had a box containing a month’s worth of diapers, shampoo and other basic necessities.
“You know, we have no shame in accepting anything,” she said, reflecting on how school officials made her feel at ease in accepting help.
This reaction is the kind of comfort and support that schools aim to provide. “It’s important for families to know they are not alone,” says Cecilia Macias, community school coordinator for MSA-7.
“I want families to feel safe and know that they can turn to us for help. We were here. If we don’t have it, we’ll find it. I’m going to find a partnership that brings that resource.” .”
The resource fair is just one way the school provides for the community.
MSA-7 is one of 10 tuition-free charter schools in the Magnolia Public Schools (MPS) network, with a project-based learning curriculum focused on STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics). We are hiring. They cite in their mission statement the use of a “whole child” approach.
“Part of it is expanding the whole family and the whole community. So we know that in order for every child to really be taken care of, we need a healthy community, a healthy school community, a healthy family.” ,” Witek said.
MSA-7 serves 280 to 300 students in kindergarten through fifth grade. Many students are economically disadvantaged, with 80% of students receiving free or reduced lunch, and many are from single-person households. Additionally, one-third of her students are ESL (English as a Second Language) learners, and about 15 students have lived in the country for less than a year.
“To be a true community school, we need to know what the needs of the community are,” Macias said.
A single mother with three children was evicted from her home in the Northridge neighborhood due to rent increases. They could afford it, so they moved to Victorville. Her mother commuted to work every day for her six months so her children would not be kicked out of both home and school. During that time, MSA-7 received a gas card and gas money donation from a local church to help her family.
Other ways the school seeks to meet the needs of its student population include offering financial literacy, immigration support, language classes, therapy and food assistance.
“When a family is strong, you know the child is strong. And when they’re in school, a lot of the barriers are removed so the child can be more successful and do better.” said Witek.
Witek hopes to allow students to thrive in the classroom by easing the burden on families.
“I wish a school like this had existed when I was in elementary school.” [school] There’s so much support,” said Tiffany James, parent of a third grade student at MSA-7.
James mentioned some of the resources her family is using, from after-school clubs to free mental health therapy. Not only did her daughter receive one-on-one therapy sessions, but a therapist also came to her home once a week for family therapy and facilitated conversations about things her daughter might have difficulty communicating. I helped.
“She’s really grown in confidence. And academically I think she’s at a fifth-grade reading level,” James said of her daughter. “She’s grown up well here. That’s the kind of community it is.”
A new grant from the California Department of Education gives MSA-7 the opportunity to expand the services it offers.
“I would love to have this beautiful place where families can come in and get everything they need,” Witek said, adding that he hopes to open a parent and community center on campus with a pantry and sanitary facilities. said. Health Center and Community Closet.
“We are a little far from there at the moment, but this grant will definitely help bridge the gap between dreams and reality.”
This year’s resource fair has doubled in size. One reason for this is the school’s recent certification as a community site through the Community School Partnership Program (CCSPP). Established in 2020, the program aims to provide resources to address barriers to learning and establish schools as hubs of the larger community.
“This program was established during the pandemic. [the California government] We realized that the school is the hub, the school feeds the kids, the school provides resources,” Macias said.
Through this grant, MSA-7 was able to hire Macias as a full-time community school coordinator and implement other programs, resources, and services for students and families.
“They are [MSA-7] They were already doing community school work. They just didn’t have that title. They just didn’t have the extra money,” Macias said.
The school is already considering how to improve next year’s resource fair and continue to be a hub for the community.
“We want to make sure that the whole family is taken care of and the community is taken care of so that we can fulfill our mission of educating our students here,” Witek said.
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