SHINE after school program gives out supplies, plans online lessons

WILKES-BARRE — The SHINE after school program may have faded from notice after the schools in which it operates closed, but it remains active, giving out free school supplies to SHINE students Wednesday at three locations.

Turned out the plastic bag of supplies was just icing on the proverbial cake, as students and parents also had a chance to pick up multiple free meals from the district, and at least one hit a trifecta by nabbing a Chromebook from the district for her daughter.

“Walmart was out of them,” Cyre Deaver said of the laptop after she and daughter Serena Goodman, 9, got the food, school supplies and the computer. “We were doing (schoolwork) on my phone.”

Helping kids with their schoolwork at home has been challenging in recent weeks, several parents admitted.

“It’s been years” since she worked on elementary-school lessons for herself, Deaver said. “I don’t know the newer methods.”

The district has been doling out free meals since Gov. Tom Wolf first ordered schools closed March 13 to stem the spread of Covid-19. Initially for only two weeks, the closure was extended repeatedly until Wolf announced it would last through the academic year.

Districts started introducing “continuity of education” programs for students at home, and recently have ramped-up efforts with more structured online learning, but that required students to have computers and internet access. Wilkes-Barre, like other area districts, has been working to get that technology into family hands.

SHINE, funded through public and private funds, has similarly been trying to extend it’s mission into the home. The program works to help at-risk students master material — with the accent on Science, Technology, Engineering and math — they may be struggling with.

SHINE Assistant Director Deanna Drako doled out the plastic bags full of supplies the student’s would be getting if the program were still being done in person. She said a new online component will be launched shortly, focusing on coding, one of the big components of Shine lessons in all grades designed to get children familiar with the broader concepts of how computer coding works.

SHINE gave out up to 30 bags of supplies for it’s students at three schools Wednesday: Kistler and Heights Murray in Wilkes Barre and Wyoming Valley West School District’s State Street school in Larksville. Drako said additional distributions are being planned for other schools that host the Shine program throughout Luzerne County.

Serena, who is in fourth grade, was excited for the new equipment, and the bag of supplies containing crayons, glue and a traditional paper notebook she was able to pick up.

“I love school,” she said, noting her favorite subjects are “spelling and reading.”

As Serena and her mom were leaving the Kistler site early Tuesday afternoon, they spotted a friend Serena hadn’t seen for weeks.

Serena and 11-year-old Sarabeth Roos, both wearing masks, rushed to greet each other. Then their thumbs started flying over the keypads of the phones and, just a few feet apart, they sent each other messages.

Sarabeth’s mom, Diana Roos, meanwhile, said she would feel more confident about what her daughter is learning in school if she were back in a traditional classroom.

“I just pray it (the coronavirus epidemic) goes away,” she said