With all the snow of late, can an avalanche be far behind?
In Monongalia County’s school district, that answer is yes. And the avalanche hits … this summer.
Make that, “Avalanche,” with a capital A.
As in, Summer Avalanche.
That’s the name of the enrichment program, which again rumbles across Mon schools July 5-28.
Susan Taylor, who coordinates student programming for the district, said the Avalanche will pile on the academic fun, from first-graders to those hitting senior year – just as last year’s inaugural offering.
“Something for everyone,” said Taylor, who began her career in education as a classroom teacher and reading specialist.
Courses cover everything from the rudiments of money management for elementary school youngsters to video games as literature, along with other instruction designed to ease the transition from high school to college.
COVID-19 caused the first Avalanche last year. The district funded it with a $1.4 million outlay from the federal Elementary and Secondary School Relief Fund, which was created in response to the pandemic.
Particularly, the first wave of the pandemic and the sequestering of every student in the state after Gov. Jim Justice ordered the shuttering of schools in March 2020.
The idea of the Avalanche was to help students regain their academic and social footing after months of being away from in-person teachers and classmates.
“Last summer was very successful,” Deputy Schools Superintendent Donna Talerico said. “And this summer will be here before we know it. The school year is already half over.”
Which won’t matter to Brian Kiehl, the district’s nutrition director. Every Avalanche participant gets fed, at every school cafeteria, since the program, as said, is district-wide.
That means cafeterias will be buzzing, he said. That means, he said, cooks going at full-throttle, employing the creativity they’ve come to be known for, as a result of COVID.
Supply chain issues and all, he said.
“They were already talented and hard-working,” he said.
The pandemic, and the aforementioned shortages, he said, has put an exclamation mark to all of the above.
“Our cooks have gotten to be pretty spontaneous,” he said.
“Spontaneous,” as in changing whole menus by the day, week and even the hour, sometimes.
One week, everyone will be hard-pressed to find hamburger buns.
Or burritos, or deep-dish pizza.
Whatever’s on the truck, he said. Or, whatever isn’t on the truck.
And don’t get him started on the current dearth of a time-honored kid-favorite.
“Who would have thought,” he asked, ruefully, “that tomato soup would be impossible to find?”
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