Officials with the H.L. Neblett Community Center said Thursday their Western Academy program has had lower attendance rates since going to a virtual format because of the pandemic, but staff members were attempting to connect with their “scholars” in creative ways.
The Western Academy is an academic enrichment program that opened in 2019 to help close the achievement gap among Black males in the Owensboro community. The pilot program began as a collaborative effort between the Neblett Center and Owensboro Public Schools.
Olga McKissic, executive director at the Neblett Center, told OPS board members during Thursday’s luncheon that 30 Western Academy students — 20 from OPS and 10 from Daviess County Public Schools — were currently enrolled.
However, switching from an in-person to an online program caused a few setbacks with attendance.
“It is very challenging [to do this] virtually, but we’re making that happen because we believe education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world,” McKissic said.
At Western Academy, students are referred to as scholars. For many of the program’s scholars, waking up at 9 a.m. two Saturdays per month to participate in the virtual program for three hours at a time had proven difficult.
Though participation has been lower overall, McKissic said the program’s academic coaches tried to bridge that gap by expanding their working hours to offer additional meetings with scholars.
Prior to the move to virtual, educational coaches at Western Academy had seen academic and behavioral improvements from six different scholars, McKissic said.
The pandemic also forced Western Academy to postpone an “Amazing Race” style competition that divided scholars into teams to solve math and reading puzzles at different locations across downtown Owensboro. McKissic expressed disappointment that the event had to be cancelled, saying the scholars had been looking forward to it.
However, officials with the program have continued to make the best of things, despite the new hardships. In December, scholars will participate in a cookie-baking event that will give them the chance to measure out ingredients, follow instructions and be rewarded for their efforts with freshly-baked cookies.
No matter the difficulties, the importance of reaching the children enrolled in Western Academy was of the utmost importance, McKissic said.
“It’s not just about academics. One 9-year-old had had an illegal substance on his person during a [recent] field trip. He was suspended from school. I wanted to suspend him from the academy,” she said. “But then I realized, that’s who we are trying to reach. We want to reach these young boys. [Researchers] are using statistics of [young students] to determine future prison populations. We want to effect change in the decisions they make when they are confronted with negative decisions.”
McKissic said her team had already identified another 20-plus students who could benefit from Western Academy next school year. According to McKissic, as long as 20 more were identified, the academy would receive an additional $25,000 from OPS to further its program.
“We have identified more than 20, and we are still making every effort to reach those parents,” she said. “We need a better marketing strategy to get this out there. We’ve knocked on doors and sent [mass texts] to families. But where there’s a will, there’s a way.”
