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Supporting our Local Youth in Public Schools · Centrally Speaking

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: Centrally speaking, is the Central Schweinfelder Church's podcast.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: It speaks about issues that would be of interest to our society.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: In particular, it addresses how a Christian worldview intersects with Western secular culture.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: In the spirit of the church's founder, we take the perspective of the middle way, which is in agreement with the historic Christian Church.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_02: I'm Dr.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_02: Drake Williams, Minister of Mission and Theology at the Church.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_02: Our website is www.cscfamily.org.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, our topic today is supporting our local youth in public schools.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_02: We're very fortunate to have Nikki Krelovich with us, who is the executive director of the Methacton Education Foundation, as well as a parent who has uh two children in the Methacton School District.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_02: She's been the executive director for two and a half years, and she has a passion for helping to build stronger schools, with preparing her marketing background as a means to uh help students become supported and uh developed further.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_02: She has a seventh grader and a fifth grader, and they have been involved in the Worcester Elementary School as well as our cola and Skyview.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_02: Nikki, we're very glad to have you here.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you very much for having me today, Drake.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_03: I I appreciate being here.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_02: Well, we're glad to have you, and I'm curious if you could just tell our listeners first when did the Methacton Education Foundation come into existence and what is the role of the foundation?
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_04: Great question.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_04: We were founded in 2009, and the Methacton Education Foundation was founded to provide supplemental funding for innovative educational opportunities.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_04: There's so many great things going on in all public schools.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_04: Mathacton School District is a great one as well, but there's always so much more we can do.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_04: We want to provide our students with the best technology and the best access to education.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_04: And along with that comes a price tag.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_04: So we want to make sure that we can provide extra opportunities for our students here in Methacton to enrich their education, in many cases in innovative areas.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_04: And we're really fortunate to have generous donors in the community as individuals, also businesses who donate to the foundation to help us support those initiatives.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_02: I think some of our listeners will wonder with a public school, shouldn't they have enough funding that comes through the state and the local government?
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_04: Well, certainly everybody pays taxes, and a good chunk of that goes towards the school district.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_04: But we know there's more we can do.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_04: We want to provide our students with the best opportunities and provide additional opportunities in addition to what the normal school district budget can handle.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_04: Pennsylvania ranks 42nd in the country for state funding of education.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_04: And as you can imagine, there's additional strains on the school districts right now in the pandemic.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_04: That's where the foundation comes in.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_04: We work to raise private dollars to help support our school district and provide those things in addition to what our normal budgets provide.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_02: What type of person does the Methacton Education Foundation support?
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_02: Is it broad in general or is it more selective?
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_04: Well, we support all students in the Methacton School District.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_04: We have four primary areas of funding, but they impact all of the students in Methacton.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_04: We support programs with STEM for STEM, which is science, technology, engineering, and math.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_04: We support programs for economically disadvantaged students.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_04: In Mithactin, it's hard to believe, but about 17% of our students are living in poverty.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_04: They receive free breakfast and free lunch, and there's a lot of other opportunities that they can't take advantage of because of their financial situation.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_04: So the foundation helps support that demographic.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_04: We also fund programs in student wellness and career development.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_04: And all of those are opportunities for our students that are above and beyond what the regular curriculum offers.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_02: Are there specific programs Methacton Education Foundation supports?
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_04: Absolutely, and I'm so glad that you asked.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_04: Within the STEM area, there's so many exciting things, you know, and STEM is not just about science and technology and math.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_04: While there are a lot of great careers that are growing every day in the STEM fields, STEM is also a way of learning.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_04: The four C's of STEM are collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, and communication.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_04: And these are all keystones to the 21st century skills that our students need.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_04: It really helps them with problem solving.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_04: So the programs that we support within STEM are DNA laboratory kits at the high school.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_04: We have purchased 3D printers and software from our elementary students all the way up to the high school, where students are using computer-aided design to create keychains on a 3D printer.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_04: We also have provided funding for maker spaces.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_04: Last year, in fact, we unveiled brand new STEM maker spaces at all five of our elementary school libraries that included new Chromebooks and manipulatives.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_04: We had circuit sets and all sorts of things that even at the kindergarten and first grade level, the students were learning how to use to really think out of the box.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_04: We also find that STEM applies to all subject areas.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_04: It's not just, as I said, science and math and engineering, but even in music.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_04: We have a brand new recording course at the high school.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_04: It is using the same technology that they're using in recording studios right now.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_04: The kids are able to take the keyboards and develop melodies that they can record and then play over and layer on top of music.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_04: So it really stem really brings all of those things together, which is great.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_04: As far as the economically disadvantaged students, we have many programs that we're supporting for those students.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_04: As I mentioned, music is an important area for student growth.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_04: And we have an award-winning music program here in Methacton.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_04: Unfortunately, there are a lot of students who can't take advantage of that free program because they can't afford to rent the instruments or they can't afford to buy the instruments.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_04: So the foundation raised money to purchase violins and clarinets that the district holds on to and loans out to students in need so they can take advantage of those incredible music programs in our schools.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_04: We also support the backpack program with 17% of the students in the fact in living in poverty.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_04: That's about 800 kids.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_04: And while they get free and reduced lunch while they're in school on the weekends, we don't know what they're getting.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_04: And if you're hungry, you can't learn.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_04: You want to take care of your basic needs first.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_04: And if those aren't taken care of, you can't take care of the things you need down the road, like education.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_04: So we've raised money, and over the summer, it was especially important during the pandemic to support this program where we provided easy to prepare meals for students over the weekends that we would know that they're being taken care of, even if their families can't afford food over the weekend for their basic needs.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_02: How do you go about identifying uh those who are in need?
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_04: That's a little tricky.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_04: That's something that's pretty confidential, as I'm sure you can imagine.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_04: The district handles identifying which students are in need.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_04: There are applications that are filled out so that they know what their financial needs are.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_04: That's how they qualify for the national free and reduced lunch program.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_04: And those are the students that we reach out to to provide these opportunities to.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_04: Like the backpack program, the district reaches out to all of the students who qualify for financial need and then offers them the opportunity to receive these backpacks.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_04: They get them on Fridays and they're pretty discreet.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_04: They're filled with food, but when they're riding home on the bus, nobody else knows that they've got a backpack full of food because it's just a backpack.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_04: So it's a great way to make sure those kids are getting what they need without everybody else noticing.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, I think you said earlier that the Methacton Education Foundation's been in existence since 2009.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_02: Is that correct?
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_04: That is correct.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_02: Why 2009?
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_02: Was there something special uh that was happening in the latter part of the first decade of 2000?
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_04: Or you know, like a lot of nonprofits, the spark happens when you get the right people.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_04: And in 2009, we had a small group of really amazing teachers and coaches and parents in the district who recognized that there were additional programs they'd like to see their kids have an opportunity to have, whether it was the technology-based things or the arts music opportunities, and they started the foundation really from scratch.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_04: And if it wasn't for the foundation that they built in 2009, we certainly wouldn't be here today.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_04: In the last 11 years, we've raised over a million dollars and have really been able to make an impact on the lives of the students in Methacton.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_02: Great.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_02: I'm sure during these years, since 2009, you've been seeing uh different uh trends and education and sensitivities uh within um American life.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_02: You know that we're becoming much more sensitive, especially over these last number of months, uh, to racism and racist issues.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_02: But uh even before that, uh, towards uh those who were dealing with mental health issues.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_02: Are you seeing these types of societal problems in your in your work with Methacton Education Foundation?
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_04: Absolutely.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_04: Um, in fact, the increase in mental health issues over the last couple of years spurred the Methacton Education Foundation to add another pillar of support, which is student wellness, and the mental health support falls under that.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_04: There are so many more issues than when we were kids from a mental health standpoint.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_04: Today, one in five children are affected by a mental health issue, and those range from depression to anxiety, but unfortunately accumulate into issues much worse like addiction or even suicide.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_04: And it not only impacts their everyday life, but it impacts their ability to learn in the classroom.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_04: And unfortunately, through the pandemic over the last seven months, we have seen that there needs to be even more support for these mental health programs, especially in Methacton.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_04: So we have committed as a foundation to raise more money specifically for these mental health programs.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_04: The district has a lot of incredible programs, one of which is a very intensive mental support program, and we're looking to help them expand that so that all of our students can get the support that they need.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_04: There's a lot of working parts to that right now.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_04: Like I said, we're committed to raising the money for it so that the district can go ahead and implement it and expand it throughout the district.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_04: I know I wanted to jump back to you touched a little bit on, you know, the societal issues like racism.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_04: I'm really excited to tell you that the Methacton School District just recently added an office of diversity into the school district.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_04: The office of, I believe it's called DEI for diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_04: And what's really neat about this is this was a result of Methacton students and former students speaking up about some of the issues that are happening in society and addressing those, you know, nipping them right in the bud here when kids are young.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_04: So the office was established thanks to these brave students who spoke up and talked about you know their experiences so that we can really make a change here in Methon.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_01: As a church, we're concerned about societal problems too.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_01: We've made a statement on uh racism.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_01: We continue to address issues uh that might be mental health issues or at least uh thinking about them in some ways.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_01: And we have our opinions as to where some of these problems come from, but since you're involved with the Facts and Education Foundation, we have where do you see some of these societal problems uh coming from?
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_04: That's a great question.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_04: You know, as I as I mentioned, the district and the professionals who work with these students uh probably have a lot more insight than I do.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_04: My background is marketing.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_04: And at the foundation, my job is to raise the money for these programs.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_04: So I don't know that I'm the best person to speak to that.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_04: I think that there are a lot of folks who could probably better identify.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_04: But if we can, you know, provide the district with supplemental funding so that they can get the resources that they need, so they can access those professionals.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_04: I think that that's probably the best thing that we can do to support the students, whether we know the cause or not.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_01: So to locate and find the professionals who can deal with the problems.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_01: Here at uh the church, we think of things like how technology has increased as well as isolated, as well as changed the way that we communicate one with another, that uh could lead to uh problems uh with uh mental health or feelings of isolation.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_01: I'm just wondering whether you've seen these types of things in the school district as well.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_04: I mean, as a mom, I think that you know, those are certainly all concerns that you have.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_04: You want to make sure that your kids are exposed and well-rounded and getting outside and getting fresh air and interacting with people.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_04: So that's certainly important in our house.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_04: I will say that on the flip side, while I don't like my kids spending too much time on screens or on technology through this virtual learning environment forced from the pandemic, they have figured out how to do more things than I have.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_04: And I often am turning to my 12-year-old for technical support when I'm having an issue with the Zoom or a call.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_04: I know that my 10-year-old showed me after one of my meetings how to create a virtual background so it can look like I am in the Grand Canyon when I'm having my Zoom meetings.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_02: Well, it cuts both ways, doesn't it?
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, it it's it's it's a help, but then this also brings with it uh new and fresh problems.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_04: Absolutely.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_02: We are watching uh younger people communicating with emoticons and uh emojis, and they can be cute and everything, but what's the expression go?
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_02: Um, a picture's worth a thousand words.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_02: One emoticon, what how much is that worth?
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_02: And then what does that communicate?
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_02: And uh are we really able to develop enough emotionally through our means of communication so that we can be the type of people we're created to be.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_02: We see these as problems.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_02: Um, my guess is you've seen these as well.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, it's it's um it's definitely interesting.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_04: I am even seeing that within the school district, you know, so many of the kids, mine included, they communicate, like you said, with emojis and they don't use punctuation in their texts and they don't capitalize.
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_04: And sometimes they don't spell things right.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_04: And both of my kids at Skyview and Arcola are having lessons on how to type a professional email with greetings and salutations and punctuation.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_04: And I think that is important.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_04: It's certainly a lot earlier than you and I learned it.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_04: It's a necessary part of school right now.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_04: And I think you're right, it's gonna be interesting to see how this impacts this generation 10, 20 years from now.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, and it's uh its ability to communicate.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_02: Then, of course, our youth are growing up with Instagram and Twitter and Snapchat and things like that, which have a whole different way of communicating or leading to communication.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_02: And uh that can, let's say, inflame problems, especially if these little phrases or uh ideas get out through social media that uh may not be true, may not be right, and people get upset and bent out of shape.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_02: These things are problems.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_04: Absolutely.
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_04: And even receiving information online, like you said, if it's not accurate, and our our youngest generation is, I mean, they're just taking all of it in, you know.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_04: So in school, when their social studies teachers are teaching them to consider the source, it's a great lesson.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_04: It's a great lesson for us adults too, to think about okay, well, where who is this coming from and and what is the bias here?
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_04: And it's great to see that our teachers are already tackling that with our youth because as information becomes more readily available, and it will continue to do so, I imagine, it's always good to know who the source is, where is this coming from?
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_02: Exactly, exactly, and who has approved the source the source, too.
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_02: We live in a world where there are many authors but very few uh qualified editors.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_04: That's a great point.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_02: Who is uh approving the source?
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_02: Our church uh has been involved in addressing uh societal issues, and uh, you may know the Schwenckfelder denomination has always had very strong uh emphasis on education.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_02: Uh we were just uh hearing from our director at the Library and Heritage Center the other day about how Schwankfelder's when they came as uh uh immigrants uh here to uh the colonies, they were they were surprisingly high on the literate scale, and hence uh our denomination has been very involved with uh schools such as the Perky Oman School up in Pennsburg, and now with a relationship with the Doc Mennonite Academy.
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_02: But is there a role for the church in your type of work in a public school like Methekton?
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_02: Do you have any thoughts on that?
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_04: Absolutely.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_04: I mean, we certainly wouldn't be where we are without the community support.
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_04: And as we grow as a foundation, some of the programs that we're helping to support in the district involve tying those communities together.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_04: Yes, of course, we're trying to raise money, but really we're trying to build bridges.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_04: We're trying to connect our students with our community.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_04: And whether those are through mentorships or internships or, you know, having guest speakers come in on career day and talk about their experiences in their professional fields, all of those things are going to help to shape our youth in the district.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_04: You know, nobody is growing up in a bubble.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_04: We're all connected.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_04: And if we can partner up with the Schwenkfelder Church so that we can provide more of those perspectives and more of those experiences for our students, I think it's going to help build not just stronger schools, but a stronger community.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and a stronger community is good for the school as well as the church, isn't it?
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_04: So absolutely.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_02: You have any final things that you'd like to share with our listeners about the Methacton Education Foundation?
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, there's a couple of things.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_04: First of all, I wanted to thank you so much for your hospitality.
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_04: Last summer we were looking for a location for our board retreat.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_04: We spent a couple of days doing strategic planning so that we can make the most of our time as a nonprofit.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_04: And as a nonprofit, we're always trying to operate on slim margins so that most of our funding can go to the schools.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_04: Luckily, one of our board members, a couple of our board members actually are members at the Schwenck Elder Church and were able to line up the community center for us to meet.
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_04: And it was such a beautiful facility.
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_04: It worked perfectly.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_04: You guys are really well equipped there as well.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_04: And it it was a great opportunity for us to come together as a board and really nail down what we were going to work on in the next couple of years.
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_04: So thank you first for that.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_02: Welcome.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_02: Glad to have you.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_04: That's great.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_04: The other thing I wanted to mention is going back to you, the talk about connecting with the community.
• 20:05
  SPEAKER_04: Methacton's been around since the 60s, and we have about 20,000 alumni.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_04: And up until recently, we didn't have a way to bring everybody together.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_04: The foundation looks like hopefully the end of October will be launching a Methacton Alumni network that will allow us to connect our current students with our past students.
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_04: And I know so many of them are members of the Schwenkfelder Church.
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_04: So I certainly encourage them to check out.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_04: It's called Methacton Alumni and Friends.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_04: It's not just limited to alumni, it's going to be a great resource for parents and for neighbors in our community to connect with the school district and also to be able to provide, you know, whatever opportunities might be good connections for both of us, whether it's job opportunities, especially in this environment.
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_04: We know a lot of folks who are looking for work.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_04: And if we have businesses out there that happen to be Myth Actin alumni, maybe they'll be looking for someone to plug into that role.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_04: And then it's a win-win.
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_04: So we're really excited about this network, the Myth Actin Alumni and Friends.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_04: And it should be launching the end of October.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 21:13
  SPEAKER_02: Well, we wish you well on that, uh, Nikki.
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_02: And thank you so much uh for taking time to uh talk with us today.
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_04: You bet.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_04: Thank you very much for having me.