Just Wait…
When we started the school year, we had done 4 weeks of training with our teachers. We had tried to prepare them as best we could to love our students, provide a safe space for them to learn and grow and in a lot of ways heal. We had hired 4 new teachers on our staff of 7 faculty as well as a new instructional coach and a behavior interventionist. We took what we had learned the previous year from working with our students and tried to build in as many supports as we could for both our teachers and our students. Even with all that preparation the first few months were pretty rocky. We doubled in student population, so in a lot of ways we were starting over, having to teach the kids how we do school, how we love one another and build trust.
The middle school was particularly hard. Students pushed the teachers every day, shouting, not sitting in their seats talking back, forcing the class to focus more on social emotional learning than probably the teachers would like, and academics took a back seat to just learning how to relate to one another. It was a stressful time for teachers, students and administration.
One day, after a particularly trying week, Shawn came over to the school to chat with some of the middle school boys. Many of them had known Shawn since we first moved to the neighborhood, and they were 8 years old. He had a heart to heart with them, about why we were there, and what their teachers were trying to accomplish, that we all loved them and wanted them to meet their dreams. After he spoke with the boys, he stopped by Ms. Jennifer’s (the 7th grade teacher) desk to encourage her.
“You know,” he said, “there is going to come a time where a switch is going to flip, and they are going to get it, and this will all be different. They will understand that you love them and the whole class will be different.” Ms. Jennifer just looked at him skeptically.
That was in October.
Shawn having a conversation with the boys in our middle school classes.
This past week Shawn and I had a meeting at the old Porkland space. Sometimes we will schedule meetings there during lunch and have school lunch while we talk about Love City. On this particular day, Ms. Jennifer was eating her lunch on the empty side of Porkland. She called Shawn over and asked if it was ok if she chatted with him. “of course,” he replied.
“I didn’t believe you,” she said, “when you told me back in the fall that one day it would just switch, and the kids would be different. But I don’t know what happened, but about two months ago, one day, it was all different. They started listening, we started being able to connect on a better level. I can see more of their personalities and what makes them great and unique. It’s like a totally different classroom.”
Shawn smiled and said, “see I did tell you, they just needed time to develop trust with you and you probably needed to do some of your own healing journey as well.”
“You’re probably right,” Ms. Jennifer replied. “I didn’t believe you when you said it, but it sure happened.”
Ms. Jennifer and her class gathered around a table reading a book for language arts class.
Shawn told me about his conversation with Ms. Jennifer later that evening. The next day I was up meeting with Nicole in her office which happens to be right next to Ms. Jennifer’s room. As I left, I noticed Ms. Jennifer’s entire class had pulled two tables together and they were all sitting around them, reading a book together. That was not something I would have seen at the beginning of the year. Most of the boys in the class couldn’t sit within touching distance of each other or they would start slapping, kicking, tapping, the person next to them. Now they were all crowded around one table reading a book together.
The switch did happen, the kids learned that Ms. Jennifer wasn’t going anywhere, Ms. Jennifer learned to view them through the lens of Love and now everyone can learn and grow together. It was a beautiful sight.
1,000 at $25 a month…
We are wrapping up our first week of the 1,000 for $25 campaign. We have 12 people signed up to give and we're super excited to keep the ball rolling!
This year at Mighty Oak Academy we have close to 80 students. It costs $13,500 a year for each student to attend the school. Our long term goal is to increase our sustainability activities to help offset some of that cost, such as the fish fry, St C's Tees and a new pre-school which will operate as both a preschool and a daycare. While we work to build these sustainability efforts we are seeking neighbors to come along side the school to help support students attending.
Over the coming week's you'll see lots of videos from both our students and teachers talking about their favorite things about Mighty Oak Academy. Be sure to follow Love City on Facebook and Instagram and Mighty Oak Academy on Tik Tok to see all the videos!
1,000 neighbors giving $25 a month will help cover the costs for more than 20 of our students. Please consider joining this effort by clicking the button below to donate today!
Come join us today for live music…
We will have live music again this Friday! Come join us for lunch or dinner, live music starts at 5:30pm! This week we are welcoming Joel Gerdis and Josh Glauber to the fish fry for live music!
2519 St Cecilia St
11:00 - 7:30pm
We've started a new semester at Mighty Oak Academy and can always use supplies. If you are interested in helping, please click the link below to either donate, or click here to see our Amazon list for specific supplies that are needed.
If you are interested in volunteering or to find out more information about supplies needed please email: info@lovecityinc.org or call (502) 272-078.