Help Save Kids From The School Of Hard Knocks
Summer break terrifies Kendra. Most people dream of vacations, but she dreams of summer school saving her three children from a bleak future.
“I don’t want to see them end up like me,” she says. “I wanted to finish school so badly, but there wasn’t the help, and no one cared.”
She goes by Kendra in this column to protect herself and her kids from embarrassment. They’re finally calming down after 10 years of ducking, running and hiding. Kendra grabbed control of her life two years ago and the peace and stability that followed have worked like a tonic.
Her kids aren’t as jumpy as they used to be, and they’re more attentive at school. They’re catching up with their classmates, and Kendra wants their momentum to continue in summer school. She’s afraid she’ll lose them if they fall behind again.
But the Coeur d’Alene School District’s summer classes in math, language arts and computers are $75 each. Kendra earns minimum wage and depends on food stamps to feed her family.
“These classes are for rich people,” she says, angrily stabbing out her cigarette. “I just want the kids to have a chance to make it in school.”
John Brumley cringes at Kendra’s situation. He’s the principal of summer school this year. A dozen parents have called him to say they can’t afford the summer classes their kids desperately need.
But Brumley has no money to spare. Student fees are summer school’s sole support, and they never cover the costs. He fudged this year and allowed each elementary school one scholarship. But he can’t do more and still pay his teachers.
“I know there’s a huge need, but there aren’t any options,” he says sadly.
Kendra can’t help much with her kids’ schoolwork. She quit school after the eighth grade. Assault and degradation were her parents. Survival was her goal. She was married and a mother at 16.
Violence dogged her because no one had taught her how to avoid it. Adulthood brought her divorce, custody fights, brutal boyfriends. Her children cowered around men. Kendra took them to Children’s Village for safety.
At 26, she finally rebelled. She took her children and ran. Child Protective Services helped her rent a house, find a job and test motherhood without fear. Her kids nurtured her as much as she nurtured them and they all began healing.
Kendra’s tasted progress in the past two years, and she wants more.
“I’m 28, and I’m still not even sure who I am,” she says. “I want more for my kids. I’m afraid for them. I just want them to have a chance to make it in school.”
Anyone interested in sponsoring kids for summer school should call his or her neighborhood principal by Friday, when enrollment will be finalized.
Good books
More than 100 middle school kids taught Coeur d’Alene’s Anne Nesse, Simone Kincaid and Candy Comer this year that bribes work. The three mothers threw a reading contest with governor-signed certificates, free pizzas and store discounts as winnings.
Kids had to read 12 books not required by their teachers. When all was read and done, 94 Lakes Middle School students and 10 other kids closed the covers on more than 1,300 books.
The women tried out the contest at the school their kids attend. But they want to see it spread, if other parents will help. Call Simone at 667-0072 for details.
Lost and found
Remember Gene and Alice Sergi and their hunt for Coeur d’Alene High grad Patricia Burns? They found her, thanks to Bill Dennis, who graduated in 1955 with Patty. She’s happily married in Meridian, Idaho.
“We can still not believe it. Now we believe in miracles,” Gene says. He searched for Patty for six years and talked nearly that long on the telephone with her after he found her last week.
What’s your reunion story? Warm the heart of Cynthia Taggart, “Close to Home,” 608 Northwest Blvd., Suite 200, Coeur d’Alene, ID, 83814; send a fax to 765-7149; call 765-7128; or e-mail to cynthiat@spokesman.com.
, DataTimes