HOUSTON – There are still many families whose kids are learning from home during this pandemic.
A Houston program is providing one-on-one academic help to make sure students stay connected in a safe way.
The Education Building at The Forge for families Center takes pride in assisting parents through the pandemic. They navigate students through the virtual learning process and help with homework and assignments.
“We’ve been learning how to multiply by four,” Aaliyah Morales said.
Aaliyah is in the third grade and says virtual learning has been tough.
“You have to do assignments on a computer, instead of doing it on a paper,” she said.
It’s a similar story for third-grade student Asha Coleman.
“Well it’s hard to log on to some stuff,” Asha said.
It’s just some of the challenges many students face every day during COVID-19, but 20 students are taking part in the Forge’s Center COVID Academy that started back in March.
“We work with their schools; we interface with their teachers and make sure our kiddos are getting their homework done and academics done,” Bridget Thomas said.
Thomas is the Program Director at the Forge for families Center. She said it’s important to have programs like this in the community.
“We know that in our community, there are disparities in education overall and so we wanted to bridge the gap and make sure our kids didn’t suffer as a result from things like internet challenges, moms that need to work and don’t have a place for their kids to go,” Thomas said.
For the last eight months, students like Sydney Wilson said the academy has been a big help.
“I need help with a lot of academics and stuff and Miss Bridget and other people have helped me,” Sydney said.
The program also has a very strict COVID-19 policy. There are temperature checks at the door, plexiglass at the teacher’s desk and students must wear a facemask.
The program also provides extra-circular activities for students. Right now, the program is not accepting any new students. To learn more about the Forge for families center, click here.