Quality early education is the foundation of a prosperous life. But, any teacher will tell you what happens outside the classroom matters—especially if that classroom is in a community disproportionately affected by poverty. According to the American Educational Research Association (AERA), non-school factors, such as socio-economic challenges, impact student achievement at a rate of 3:1 when compared to school-controllable factors, like teacher certification. Most educators and school administrators go above and beyond to serve their students, but they simply cannot control their experiences before and after the school day ends.
Compared to the city as a whole, on a per capita basis, the residents of Klondike and Smokey City experience twice as many criminal incidents, 2 1/2 times as many violent crimes, and over three times as many homicides in their neighborhood annually, according to the City of Memphis. Outlining factors like crime can be the result of financial and social vulnerability in neighborhoods who are disproportionately affected by poverty. When children are exposed to violence in their community, the psychological impact hurts their academic performance even if they and their families are not directly harmed.
Getting students to the classroom at their highest performance level is our goal," says Natalie McKinney, executive director and co-founder of Whole Child Strategies. "To reach that goal, we must give the members of this community a voice in forums where they need to be heard.”
Whole Child Strategies identifies as a Community-Led Efforts Intermediary. “Our primary role is to engage, organize, mobilize and support Community Stakeholder-Led efforts to shift the power dynamic to move government and other powerful entities to act in the interest of their community according to what community members see as important,” says Dr. Adriane Johnson-Williams, board president of Whole Child Strategies. “We do this by providing funding, critical supports and coordinated efforts around collective accountability, public advocacy and community development.”
Reginald Johnson
Whole Child Strategies has developed Community-Led Solutions that drive long-term solutions, including partnering with the Memphis Medical District Collaborative to provide jobs for parents, Community Grief Counseling, a Neighborhood Watch Association, and Residents on the Move, a partnership with the Memphis Area Transit Authority to address the impact of food deserts.
According to the US Department of Agriculture, food deserts are low-income census tracts with a substantial number or share of residents with low levels of access to retail outlets selling healthy and affordable foods. We all know growing children need healthy food to sustain.
Residents on the Move provides free rides twice a week to residents in Klondike and Smokey City, transporting them to Catholic Charities and markets for fresh groceries they cannot access in their neighborhood. This program is eliminating that barrier of food insecurity, and consequently, ensuring that children can be well-nourished and thrive both in and outside of the classroom.
Residents in Smokey City and Klondike face hunger everyday. “This is a blessing because we didn't have any food at the house,” says C. Addams, a Smokey City resident. Whole Child Strategies has Neighborhood Champions that canvass Smokey City and Klondike. They go door-to-door asking residents what they need to thrive. “If you have a need, you can personally take one of the champions to the side and say 'My lights are about to get cut off' and they will help you!" says Addams.
Whole Child Strategies listens to the community stakeholders of Smokey City and Klondike, then, in the short-term, connects them to organizations that meet their immediate needs. In the long-term, they support community-led efforts to create sustainable solutions to the root causes of those needs. If WCS successfully connects all families in their service area to access their basic needs, every family and every child in North Memphis can be positively impacted.
If you would like to help Whole Child Strategies engage, organize, mobilize, and support community stakeholders to make positive changes in Smokey City and Klondike, visit wcstrategies.org.