Looking to further develop and maintain assurances in state funding for its family resource center arm, officials with the Trigg County Board of Education last Thursday took in an eye-opening annual presentation from Lighthouse FRC Coordinator Ashley Hunter.
Suffice it to say she and assistant Beverly Curling remained busy during the 2022-23 school year, and services have only increased to begin the 2023-24 fall semester.
It was during 2022-23, she said, that their No. 54 Trigg County Primary/Intermediate Room was visited by students 767 times — students seeking basic needs.
In the same stretch, students and teachers combined for more than 420 visits asking for “academic support.”
For various reasons, Hunter said more than 100 parent contacts were made last year, too.
Programming, she added, also varied a bit last year, and kept students and families engaged. A scavenger hunt near The Way and the Rail Trail, as well as an after-school pumpkin painting group, involved roughly 24 students each.
A Thanksgiving movie, with popcorn, had 50 students on hand. A mother-son Nerf battle was a “big hit,” she added, while a Valentine’s Day celebration also went well.
But naturally, the holidays can be a time of difficulty for small, low-income families. Many have risen to the occasion, in order to make sure families and children are cared for and loved.
Health services and wellness checks also fall in the purview of family resources. Hunter told the board that they’ve started an attendance card, and goodies are provided to those who maintain strong marks.
A hygiene lesson was provided to fifth graders, and a dental lesson was given to preschool and kindergartners. Appropriate care materials were provided in both scenarios.
More than 120 students attended a mobile dental unit in 2022-23, while more than 320 students took advantage of a mobile vision unit checking eyesight.
Hunter said that event has already happened this year, with more than 540 students rolling through the new optical cameras before lunchtime. The effort led to 42 medical referrals between preschool and first graders.
Perhaps the biggest project of all, she shared, involved students who received some sort of counseling or were part of the homeless designation during the last school year.
Counselors teamed together for a three-pronged education, physical and emotional experience: a visit to Discovery Park of America in Union City, Tennessee; a visit to Sky Zone Trampoline Park in Clarksville, Tennessee; and a matinee viewing of Elemental in Madisonville.
Already in August, basic needs have been met for 91 students, academic support has been offered to 195 students and teachers, 84 students are receiving some sort of counseling, 15 children are about to enter into a backpack program and 24 parent contacts have been made.
Next on the list, Hunter said, is for the district to start working on becoming a “Purple Star” School — which is an official designation for the support of military families.
Open from 7:30 AM until 3 PM Monday through Friday, Hunter can also be contacted by phone at (270) 522-2724.
