After two years of disrupted learning in the pandemic, there are high hopes for students this school year as teachers and children alike face issues like learning loss and social anxiety.
Local volunteers are already looking for ways to help struggling students make high marks, and encouraging others to help them make the grade as well.
Mentors from Zeta Phi Beta, a sorority of professional women, are guiding a class of students in creating hands-on assignments.
The sorority adopted McKinley-Brighton Elementary school as part of their national "adopt a school" initiative. The support comes at a critical time when students need more help than ever to catch up from remote learning.
“I think it gives them an example and a standard to look up to, you know, it's our responsibility as members of the community first and foremost, and as members of the sorority to model the way of excellence and education for the youth here in the community. We are educated women. We have educated women across multiple professions across the world. So our job is to bring all of that here in the classroom through the local members, our teachers, who are members and to be an example for them to follow," said Lael Pierce, Zeta Phi Beta Syracuse chapter president.
School administrators like McKinley-Brighton principal, Eric Patterson say they appreciate the positive examples and partnership.
"I think the biggest thing is mentorship. Make sure they see positive female role models and also our social emotional learning with our scholars, which I think is very important since we're getting back from COVID-19," said Patterson.
The sorority says some of their goals include to help eradicate illiteracy and boost school attendance.
"One of the things that, I'll just use one of my members as an example, she is a retired educator. And in her spare time she volunteered consistently just spending time with the children at lunch, you know, going into one of the classrooms during a reading hour and just reading to them. Something to look forward to so hopefully as a byproduct that would reduce absenteeism in the long run," said Lael.
Also, a byproduct is the volunteers' excitement and enjoying time with the kids and how the school feels supported by the greater community.
"I'm most excited about getting to know the children you know, it's really all about the children. It's about the families and the parents that we serve," added Lael.
"Partnerships are always a blessing when you always can partner with outside community organizations to help it always brings forth a great thing where it brings mentorship. It brings a partnership of learning for students and helps students learn that there are other successful things that they can be and do in life," said Patterson.
It's all about encouraging a blooming web of support for local kids in a time when they are reacclimating, and in some cases even reaching out, to have it.
"Find a way to help. Everybody can give back in some way shape or form. And so it's really up to us to dig within ourselves and make the commitment to help those that need us," said Lael.
"The more partnerships we have, the more positivity that we have in our community, the better that we can serve and help our scholars," said Patterson.
If you or your organization want to join the fun and help close the COVID gap for students, contact your local school district office to find ways to help.