Supporting Our Students During The Covid-19 Crisis
April 9, 2020
Dear Friend of Access:
On behalf of our Board of Directors and the entire Access team, we hope you and your loved ones are healthy and safe. At Access Academies, two things remain true during this crisis: The well-being of our students, their families, our staff, and our supporters is our top priority. And our commitment to serving the needs of all our students — from middle school through college — is unwavering.
With that in mind, I wanted to update you on how Access is responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- While our students have transitioned to online learning, the Access team continues to work daily on their behalf (albeit safely from their own homes). Graduate Support Directors are checking in with each middle school and high school student to ensure they are successfully completing their assignments, as well as to address any additional needs their families may have.
- Our College & Career Counselor, Amy Clark, remains in frequent contact with our college students. In addition to guiding their transition to distance learning, she’s also helping them navigate challenges like coping with lost or reduced employment, being displaced from dormitories, and negotiating rent payments with landlords. Her mission has never been more critical: Ensure our students’ path to graduation is not jeopardized as a result of recent events.
- To help ease the financial struggle many Access families are experiencing due to the economic downturn, we have sent the parents of every Academy middle school and high school student a $50 Schnucks gift card — and a $50 Target gift card to each of our college students — with which to buy groceries and other essentials. The vast majority of our 394 students qualify for free/reduced lunches, and we hope the gift cards will help lighten their burdens at this time.
- Finally, Access remains fully committed to providing essential tuition scholarships to every one of our high school students and graduating 8th graders. The current crisis will not affect those scholarships, and we will continue to invest in our students for the duration of their 11+ year educational journeys.
We understand this is a difficult time not only for our students and partner schools, but for all of us — our city, our nation, and our world. We also know that the Access community will endure this crisis together, and we thank you for your commitment to our students, program, and mission.
Stay safe and be well.
Every student. Every chance. Every day.
Sincerely Yours,
Tom Mackowiak
Executive Director
[email protected]
314.898.0430, Ext. 1