Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Top of the class

Teacher finds February is a fine time for a food drive

By PAULETTE LASH RITCHIE
Published February 24, 2005

This month, many Citrus schools are collecting food for area food banks. It was the idea of Dan Epstein, a Lecanto Primary School fourth- and fifth-grade reading teacher.

Food drives "seem to only be for the holidays," he said. So he decided to try one in an off month, within the school system, because people still need to eat.

All schools were invited to participate; some opted out, but Epstein said the response has been great.

Even superintendent Sandra "Sam" Himmel's office is collecting, he said. Lecanto Middle School already has collected almost 1,000 cans.

The food is being distributed to agencies around the county. Hernando Elementary School's food has been going to the Family Resource Center.

In Crystal River, Daystar Life Center is a beneficiary. Inverness collections go to Citrus United Basket; Lecanto collections go to the Family Resource Center, and Floral City Elementary School distributes its collection to a local church.

"We're trying to keep the food within the communities," Epstein said.

The collection is generally expected to continue through the month, Epstein said, but schools are free to set their own time limits.

At Forest Ridge Elementary School, the kindergarten classes are large - 22 to 25 students in each of the five classes. The children include some who have been in prekindergarten and others who have never been away from their parents; those who have early reading skills and those who have not yet mastered the alphabet.

PTA member Annette Miller and her husband, Stephen, the PTA vice president, saw a niche the PTA and community could fill: assisting kindergarten teachers.

So they spoke to the school's administrators and developed the Enrichment Program. It is about 3 months old.

The parents work one on one and in small groups on any skills the children may need to practice, such as letter sounds and rhyming words, to get them to a passing level. They also work with advanced students who need to be challenged with projects beyond the curriculum.

There are 11 volunteers now and four more poised to begin. The parents and community members who wish to volunteer must take the school district's volunteer training and receive badges.

The PTA, which is led by president Rhonda Kauffman, is coordinating - getting the badges, assigning the volunteers to teachers and arranging training for those who can't get to the county training session.

"It seems to be working pretty well," Miller said. "Kids seem to like it, and it helps teachers."

[Last modified February 24, 2005, 00:54:17]