LYNN — Jan Plourde, executive director of the Reading and Educational Assistance for Learning (REAL) program, and her team of volunteers have managed to retain their literacy programming despite the obstacles presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The REAL program is a Lynn-based nonprofit organization that aims to elevate literacy, social skills, and good nutrition for the city’s underserved children and families.
Plourde started the program in 2013 and now provides learning opportunities, book distribution, homework assistance, social programs, and enrichment activities to students at Brickett Elementary School.
“I learned pretty quickly that the city is in desperate need of literacy,” Plourde said. “Children don’t have the opportunities that surrounding communities have.”
Plourde and her team of volunteers have transitioned to operating remotely over the past year, and have been able to maintain all of their volunteers and about 60 percent of their students.
Before the pandemic, mentors and instructors for their “Before Home” literacy program would walk students from Brickett to the program’s location at 17 Atlantic St., for after-school programming that consisted of homework assistance, reading support, healthy snacks, recreation and parental support.
But when the pandemic started shutting down the economy last year, the REAL program quickly transitioned its curriculum to Zoom.
“I think (the students are) all desperate for us to be social again,” Plourde said, noting that Zoom meetings provide some opportunity for social interaction.
“Before Home” offers enrichment time during REAL’s remote programming, including virtual one-on-one tutoring, book buddies, cooking classes, chess, poetry, yoga and meditation.
“They were so much on Zoom (in remote learning) at that moment so we then switched to making sure that we were offering enrichment programs and very hands-on stuff,” Plourde said.
For example, with the cooking class, parents have the opportunity to pick up ingredients the day before, so students can participate and cook along with the teacher during the scheduled Zoom time, which Plourde said the kids have loved.
The program is currently restricted to students at Brickett Elementary School because it is within walking distance to the building, so participants do not have to worry about transportation. But Plourde hopes to eventually expand to other schools throughout the city if funding or options for transportation can be established.
She said the program isn’t about taking on more school time, but is instead aimed at encouraging literacy education at home.
“The basic premise is that children whose families are involved in their education do better in school than children whose families are not,” Plourde said. “The concept here (is) that what we try to be is not more school, but more support for families to then give their children success in school.”
Food insecurity was one of the many struggles that accompanied the pandemic. The REAL program worked with fellow nonprofit, Someone Else’s child (SEC), which it recently integrated with, to deliver groceries, gift cards and support to families in need.
Plourde said that a huge part of this program is to help the families so the program is not just a model to the children, but one to the families as well.
The REAL program plans to open its doors back up to students on May 1 for the “Before Home” after-school program, but with a reduced number of people once a week and remote for the other days.
“We’re here to be part of the city of Lynn and I do strongly believe that Lynn is a resourceful city,” Plourde said. “The biggest one it has is its children.”
Plourde said she is hopeful that the pandemic gets better soon and noted “the parents do a fabulous job of providing their children with the love that they need, and we’re just here to supplement that.”