Theresa Waldroup, director of Clay County Schools Communities for Students.
By Marcia Barnes
Staff Writer
An annual report presented to the Clay County Board of Education on the Communities for Students program was given at the regular school board meeting by Theresa Waldroup, director of Clay County Schools Communities for Students. Waldroup explained how the program has worked during the 2022/2023 school year and why.
Thanking the board and the public for the opportunity to share what the organization has accomplished, Waldroup said that the information was as current as she could get it at the moment of the Monday, April 24 meeting.
“We will have some additions,” Waldroup said. “Our mission is to raise Clay County youth with support services and resources allowing each student to reach their potential for a successful future. Cole asked for me to come and share this information. This ties right back to the Clay County Schools Strategic Plan, and of course, that we are named to remove, to assist, to alleviate any obstacle for our children.”
The annual report began with Hayesville Primary School data. Waldroup said, “I want our audience to realize that under the school supply, the complete book pack, 12 students received complete book packs. That’s 12 little girls received complete book packs because for whatever situation, for whatever was going on they did not have the resources to get those supplies. They need their tools to do their work just like we do.” Waldroup said that classroom supplies were furnished to another 21 individual students and that books were handed out.
“A lot of our children don’t have the extra money to actually participate in the book fairs, so when book fairs are going on, we make sure we get those books ready for those lists.”
The report addressed the need for emergency clothing for primary school children. Waldroup said that was needed because of spills, accidents, getting rained on and falling in a mud hole. She said that Primary School Principal Heather Plemmons has heard it all. Forty-two children received gently-used clean pants, flip-flops, whatever was needed and Waldroup explained what the program was doing.
“That child doesn’t have to leave school, that parent does not have to leave work because a lot of our parents, they leave work, they don’t get paid. Plus, it shows really bad on their performance. So we’re all about keeping them in class.”
Clay County Schools Communities for Students delivers food for primary school children. That is a bag that has canned goods, it can have a cereal box and a nutrition bar, it can have a juice box and beef jerky. Waldroup said that 10 primary school children have received this and every child has access to the food bags.
“It’s nutritious food. It’s canned food they can have, they can open, they can eat when they get home.”
Waldroup’s report moved on to the elementary school’s needs and help that it received, saying needs were much the same. “These are the numbers we’ve completed. Eighteen children with complete book packs; 41 with partial bags; books handed out, 50; coats, 10. Again, consistent across this school district, each school gets 10 bags a week, that is 45 for the month for that particular school.
“Now there are times that we’ll see that they get snacks from the Matt’s Ministry Food Bank and that is for those kiddos who are either hungry in the morning, a lot of them don’t come back from physical education. They’re growing kids, so they have those snacks, those bags they can pick up, any child. We serve each child,” Waldroup said.
As the school grades go up, Clay County Schools Community for Students don’t see as many needs, but there were many requests for partial supplies at the middle school this year.
“One thing that is a little different,” Waldroup said, “is we had a request for a hat for a new job at a restaurant. We purchased that and got it to the child and a hygiene bag.
“We have 25 regular volunteers that are helping every week. They show up to help the kiddos and right now, as you can see, we’re back up to 35 volunteers. The other 10, they are for special events. They can help with the Primary School Carnival and Spring Fling.”
Additionally, Community for Students has helped Hayesville Primary, Elementary and Middle School students with tutors in reading and math and in mentoring. Waldroup said that there are two regular time volunteers and one gentleman that has been a math tutor for a number of years now, there is a new individual who is doing a great job.
“For anyone out there who might be listening, if you have some extra time and you would like to join the math tutors, we would appreciate that. You can call (828) 389-1625 and we’ll put you to work,” Waldroup said.
Moving to different data Waldroup said, “This is totally different, this is not duplicate data, this is our Hayesville Hands of Hope Crises Center for those families that can come through the school district, but more times than not are helped by the Department of Social Services. The majority of these are from the community partnerships and the Health Department. There are 40 adults and 52 children currently helped with shoes, rent, gas cards and clothes. It can include car repairs, even tires.
“Now, the story about the tires. We had one of our school resource officers call me. We had a mom that had pulled up on the rim, the tires were gone. He called me asking, ‘Theresa, is there any help?’
“I said, absolutely. Do you know her? Give her my number, have her call me and she did and then through one of our community partnerships, we got her new tires. That’s huge,” Waldroup said.
Help has come from multiple sources for multiple needs: clothes, shoes, field trips, scholarships, a pillow for an elementary school child and a request helped two Hayesville students go to Nationals.
As Waldroup was concluding the Communities for Students report, Board Member, Danny Jones asked the cost of the book packs. Waldroup said that for the primary school the cost is $50 to $65 and for the upper grades, $100 to $150.
“We have a partnership with United Way and they usually purchase a lot of our book packs. If we don’t get all the funds needed for the book packs, we will purchase them. Our mission is removing all obstacles to learning,” Waldroup said.
Clay County Schools currently collaborates with 18 community partnerships to help provide the optimal education for all students. These partnerships are listed with some of the services which they provide to Hayesville students and families.
• HIGHTS. Assists with student excessive tardiness.
• VAYA Health. Receives referrals from schools to assist parents to understand and navigate the processes within the school setting.
• Youth Villages. Provides assistance with securing additional outside support to aid students and families such as mental health services, mediation and placements.
• Southwestern Child Development Commission. Provides staffing for on-site childcare center for children 0 to 4 years old.
• Clay County Community for Students. Provides student tangible needs and financial assistance (school supplies, clothing, field trip fees, graduation gowns, etc.) Provides grab and go food items for students and meal packs for their families.
• Clay County Health Department. Vaping education, health education and participation on District Safety and Health Advisory Committee.
• Clay County Department of Social Services. Assists with students experiencing neglect, abuse or dependency. Foster handle with care participation.
• Clay County Sheriff’s Department. Provision of three School Resources Officers for safety and security for all staff and students. Handle with care participation.
• Truett Home for Children. Safety and welfare for students in foster care.
• People of Clay CARE. Community collaborative to help build a safe, healthy and drug-free community.
• Tobin Lee, Region 1 Tobacco Prevention Manager with MountainWise. Provides face-to-face vaping education as well as other educational resources. Currently working with Hayesville Middle School.
• Early Intervention Team. Works with families of students with chronic absenteeism to determine causes and looks for ways to mitigate those on an individual basis to the students on a regular school attendance schedule.
• Appalachian Community Services. Schools can refer students to ACS for mental health services when the mental health needs are a barrier to learning.
• Mobile crisis. Assists with students who demonstrate potential for self-harm. Provide evaluation. Connection for additional outside support for the family.
• Vocational Rehabilitation Services. Assists individuals with disabilities — ages 14 and older — obtain, retain or maintain employment.
• Industrial Opportunities, Inc. Pre-employment transition service and job opportunities for working-age students with a disability. Helps identify and explore career interests that may be further explored through vocation rehabilitation services.
• Juvenile Crime Prevention Council and Juvenile Justice Treatment Continuum. Collaborative initiative between school, district and community partners to work with individual students charged with a crime or as an undisciplined child case.
• Region A Partnership for Children. Provides North Carolina Prekindergarten Program funding for district preschool program.