Eric's April Letter

april image

March 31, 2020 to April 30, 2020

All Day

#TOGETHER
Supporting E-Learning / Food Distribution / Community

Wow... this update was completely different in my mind a few weeks ago. Our TMP students were growing and our program was thriving as we were entering spring. Then the entire world seemed to stop!

On Monday, March 19th (the first day our students were out of school) we had an emergency board of directors meeting. Through the wisdom and support of our board, we made the decision to adapt. We would transition from being an afterschool program in the present to a virtual one, leveraging the relationships we've built over the years with our families and schools. We are now supporting our TMP students with e-learning by hosting Google Meets tutoring sessions, meeting with students in small pods at our center (though we have taken a break from the pod tutoring this week and the foreseeable future), daily contact with our students and families, and reaching out to our local school teachers and administrators for ways we can support the school in their efforts.

While this has been an incredibly trying time, there has been some amazing blessings. We've always desired a deeper connection to our families. With this crisis, our teachers are on the phones each day with our families and students. We are having more conversations with our families now than ever before. In addition, one of our staff values is to "Think with a mission mindset." During staff development in February we trained on this value, not knowing what was ahead of us. I'm so proud of our teachers and staff are living this out, from picking up school lunches for those who don't have transportation to figuring out how to get students internet access. Every step of this crazy path has been met with a willing and eager heart to serve our students and bend to the current changes.

Lastly, our parent committee set up a Parent Group Page on Facebook in order to share updated school information, share needs, and to have some fun virtually. Last week they hosted a virtual spirit week. And this week our parents are doing a virtual family feud, where all of the questions will be based on local knowledge.

I can't thank our community enough. The support, encouragement and prayers we receive from the friends of Teach My People truly allows our organization to keep going strong for our students, both in Georgetown and Pawleys Island. We are looking forward to the near future when we can share pictures of our students and community being back together.

Together Providing Hope and a Future,
Eric Spatz
Executive Director