From eyeglasses to job placement, ‘Wraparound Center’ has it covered
Staff Photo: Alan Mauldin
By Alan Mauldin
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ALBANY – Sometimes a child’s inability to learn can be as simple as a vision problem or toothache, but as difficult as the opportunity to see an eye doctor or dentist if the family can’t afford a visit.
That’s part of the philosophy behind a new student services center being assembled at an old campus – the former Lincoln Elementary School at 722 Corn Ave.
The Dougherty County School System’s Family Resource & Support Center, known affectionately as the “Wraparound Center,” will combine medical services, including mental health and dentistry, with a literacy program for both students and adults to meet those and other needs.
The program even will include gardens where students and their parents can learn to grow nutritious food at home.
The school, vacant since 2004, has been renovated, and partner agencies are moving in. The school system is centralizing services and adding new ones in an effort to address issues that may not be addressed in the traditional school setting. The center will open during the current school year.
It already has health clinics at four schools, vision clinics at two and offers dental services at one. Those programs are available to all students in the system.
“That was to eliminate non-academic barriers to learning,” said LaKisha Bruce, the school system’s director of community relations. “We found out several hundred kids needed glasses. We’re helping them be more academically successful.”
Similarly, behavioral health issues can derail a student’s grade-school career. So ASPIRE Behavioral Health & Developmental Disability Services will be included at the wraparound center. The system also is opening a mental health clinic at one of the system’s schools in January 2020.
The Georgia Department of Public Health, Phoebe Network of Trust, which provides nurses to schools, and Albany Primary Health Care also are partners.
Family Literacy Connection already is in business at the Corn Avenue center.
The agency offers GED programs for parents and adults, as well as instruction for students. While a parent or guardian is in class, their children take part in learning activities, Bruce said.
“They’re focused on the family,” she said. “They provide a lot of GED services, literacy services, early literacy intervention. They also do parent support.”
Students also will have access to computers and materials needed for school projects. A student who has a school project due but does not have access to internet service at home, for example, or construction materials, can use the center to complete the assignment.
Social services also includes Strive2Thrive, which will hold a dinner and offer financial literacy instruction later this month.
“Strive2Thrive helps families move from a level of dependency to a life of self-sufficiency,” Bruce said.
Fort Valley State University is assisting with three garden areas, which will include training sessions for raised-bed gardening and a greenhouse. It also will include an area with fruit trees and benches that can serve as a place of reflection.
One bonus of having the entire campus at the Corn Avenue facility is there is room to grow, Bruce said.
“If we feel like we need to add something, we can do that,” she said. “If we feel like we need to add a food pantry, there is space available.”
As other needs are identified, providers can move into the complex.
The school system surveyed parents earlier to determine what some of the most pressing needs are for services. When a parent comes in for, say, literacy assistance, the staff will determine whether they would benefit from additional programs.
“(We’re) helping connect the dots,” Bruce said. “That’s what we’re about here. If the home environment is more stable, you’re creating a holistic environment for success for everyone. This center will address the needs of the student and family.”
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