Little Francis began her education with the deck stacked against her.
She was behind the other students even before she entered kindergarten. She didn’t know all the letters of the alphabet. She only knew a few shapes and colors. She could count a little bit and had a hard time getting along with others in the classroom.
Behind in reading and math, she faced trouble at every turn. She dropped out of high school and ended up leading a life of hardship.
Francis is a fictional character in Summit Education Initiative’s (SEI) Cradle to Career Experience, but she was all too real Thursday morning during a presentation at North High School.
About 15 Cleveland Clinic Akron General employees took part in Cradle to Career during Akron General’s Tony Gorant Community Leadership Institute — some as students moving along a path of red or green dots on the floor toward prosperity or hardship, some as advocates for the students, some as observers. The student portrayers were given profiles — some started out on track, others were behind their peers. Some met with challenges along the way. Some had the opportunity for intervention. At the end, their outcomes are revealed.
The hands-on, interactive approach not only puts some adults in students’ shoes, but it also encourages individuals to think about how to disperse their own resources to help more students meet with success, said Lindsay Ridinger, manager of communications and marketing at SEI.
“We designed this experience to help community members develop a greater understanding of how each transition point in a child’s educational progress impacts future success and opportunities into adulthood,” said Matthew Deevers, senior research associate at SEI.
The six critical transition points within a child’s education are kindergarten readiness, third-grade reading, eighth-grade math, ninth-grade success, college and career readiness, and college and career persistence. The students move along that continuum, represented by a banner in the middle of the course, toward a banner on the left that says “Prosperity” or a banner on the right that says “Hardship.” They either progress or are forced to take steps backward based on the academic performance in their profiles.
The goal is to reach the prosperity zone, or get as close to it as they can.
At the end of their journey, the students read from placards with their outcomes printed on them. “Aiden,” who made it to the prosperity zone, earned a bachelor’s degree or higher.
“I was successful in school and graduated with some college credits on my transcript,” read Aiden’s portrayer, Jacquelyne Bailey, Akron General’s director of government and community relations.
“My salary starts well above the national median. … I own a home in a safe neighborhood … My kids will be ready for success in school.”
In contrast, “Francis” was already stuck in hardship at age 14.
“I struggled at every step from cradle to career,” read Katie Garland, the woman who portrayed Francis. “I was never on track, and my family couldn’t afford the support I needed. After a while, I just gave up and dropped out of high school. …
“Unemployment rates for people like me are double the national average, and incarceration rates are triple the national average. … “I worry about my kids being safe where I live. I’m sure school will be about as much fun for them as it was for me.”
The experience was eye-opening, said Garland, who works in Akron General’s marketing department. Her mother is an Akron Public Schools teacher. Portraying Francis made her think about the external forces that have an impact on a child’s life.
“A lot of those things start before they reach kindergarten,” she said, “… It’s a good reminder that educational opportunities extend beyond the classroom and we have to be aware of what kids go home to and what other resources they have.”
Garland said she started to feel discouraged, having to keep going toward the hardship banner.
“It’s probably easier for those kids to feel that way and feel a sense of hopelessness, especially if they don’t have those mentors or those interventions,” she said.
Courtney Scaffidi, an Akron General clinical manager who portrayed an advocate, said the social isolation of children moving toward hardship was noticeable in the second round of the presentation.
“When Francis was down here all by herself and everyone else was kind of laughing and joking and talking, it was that much more evident, the social isolation that also comes along with children that experience the hardship ... it was eye-opening,” she said.
“We have to get to the parents, too, because they have to buy in,” said Ron Tristano, manager of Akron General’s Challenge Golf program, who also portrayed an advocate. “A kid could go to preschool at age 2 or 3 and then come home and not have anybody ever read to them. As they get into the other grades, they come home from school, and there’s no place for them to sit down and do their homework or no time or whatever. It’s a double-edged sword. You have to get to the kids, but somewhere along the line you have to get to the parents, too.”
Deevers said that’s why the participants are called advocates. Oftentimes the families themselves are facing challenges, and so support has to come from the community.
“The programs are becoming the family,” Deevers said.
Geoffrey Hall, CEO of Edwin Shaw Rehabilitation Hospital, said the presentation highlighted the effect of early intervention.
“It was really clear when you placed them based on where they start, even before the interventions, the value of the interventions,” Hall said.
The third round of the experience had a different outcome. Thanks to multiple interventions and support from the community, Francis found her way to success.
Monica L. Thomas can be reached at 330-996-3827 or mthomas@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter @MLThomasABJ and www.facebook.com/MLThomasABJ.