Parents of kindergartners and new students get first-day support from CASD Foundation
Parents and guardians of students in all grades were invited to the event by CASD Foundation.
Anxious kids heading off to their first day of school soon find themselves surrounded by supportive teachers and peers who feel the same way they do.
But the parents, who may be more anxious than their kids, aren't so lucky.
To help moms, dads and other caregivers, Chambersburg Area School District Foundation hosted a supportive gathering Thursday morning. As the first classes of the school year were getting underway, at least two dozen parents/guardians gathered in the alley next to Brussels Cafe on North Main Street to chat and learn a bit about the school district.
"Like children, parents also have first-day-of-school anxiety," said Angela Lynch, the foundation's executive director, in between greeting people under a white tent on the brick walkway.
Lynch started the program - which she hopes to turn into a regular event, but in the evenings when more parents are available - after hearing about a similar one started by a colleague at another school district foundation.
"It's been a very social morning. It certainly exceeds our expectations," she said.
Around 25 people covering the full range of grade levels had showed up in the first 45 minutes of the two-hour event.
Ruby Waymire stopped by after sending her first-born off to kindergarten.
As she tried to hold back her own tears, "He said 'bye' and didn't look back," she said.
She was happy to meet other parents who were going through the same thing.
Parents of older students also found solace at the gathering.
Tanya Lucik's child is in 10th grade at Chambersburg Area Senior High School, but is new to the district. Seeking a change of pace and a better school environment, they recently moved from Indiana County.
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She came to the event looking forward to meeting new people and learning more about the school district.
Kara Hayes, mother to a second-grader, said she was interested in connecting with the foundation and people involved in the school district.
"It sounds like they're doing many fantastic projects, and it's heartening to learn about the projects and things they have going on," she said.
In addition to talking out their first-day anxieties, parents and caregivers could learn about CASD Foundation's push to raise $100,000 as part of its annual fundraising campaign, this year called Leaping 4 Literacy.
Two things will happen if the foundation reaches its goal:
- Every student in kindergarten through fifth grade will receive a collection of books, customized based on their grade and reading level, to take home over the summer. The goal of these miniature libraries is to prevent what Lynch calls "summer slide." She continued: "We know that two-thirds of the ninth-grade achievement gap is due to a lack of literacy in elementary. So, we're really trying to prevent that and get our students out ahead of that gap."
- Dr. Dion Betts, the new superintendent of CASD, will go skydiving during a special event near the end of the year at Chambersburg Airport.
Lynch noted that in order to purchase the books exactly as envisioned, the foundation will have to achieve its full goal. All money raised by the foundation is earmarked for certain purposes, so it can't make up any difference with other funds.
"We know it's a lofty goal, but we believe that the community will align and get excited and help us come up with $100,000," Lynch said.
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Any size donation is a welcome contribution. The foundation has already made headway via a new payroll deduction program.
Lynch said the foundation hopes to reach its goal by March, so that it has sufficient time to order the books and organize the skydiving event.
Parents and members of the community can help out in other ways, too.
"We're always looking for hand-raisers who want to be champions of public education," Lynch said.
To learn more, go to https://www.casdonline.org/foundation.