ONYX Program Manager Yury Bowlds and her husband, a member of the military who has just returned from a tour in Syria, will be relocating to Virginia in early September.  Yury will certainly be missed by the children, family, and NOC staff.

Neighborhood Outreach Connection has had a presence at ONYX (Simmons Cay) Apartments in Bluffton since 2014, providing after-school and summer education programs, workforce development, and health screenings to low-income residents. Following a temporary closure in 2019, Yury Cruz Bowlds stepped in as program manager. In her words, she had to, “practically start from scratch,” to rebuild and reopen the center. To meet this challenge, Yury’s main goal was to hire and train an effective team that would connect with the families they were serving – a goal that she successfully met. 

Looking back on her time as program manager, Yury believes her greatest achievement was the relationships she formed with her team, with the school district, and with the families. These relationships allowed her to overcome a variety of obstacles. For example, one of her greatest challenges was determining how best to serve a student named Pedro who dealt with autism and language problems. She says, “dealing with a student with special needs requires a lot of education and training that I didn’t have.” However, Yury’s commitment to Pedro and her strong collaborative skills allowed her to specialize the ways in which she and her team communicated with him. When speaking to Yury about Pedro, the passion she has for NOC’s mission shines through. She says, “he is one of those cases that I truly feel like we did something for this boy.” Pedro’s success is not an unusual outcome for students who attend NOC programs. 

Another ONYX success story that Yury described relates to a student named Maria. When Maria first came to the program, she could not speak any English and was struggling in school. Now, Maria is fully bilingual, a high school graduate, and will be attending USCB on scholarship in the fall. She volunteers at NOC Onyx in what is nothing short of a full circle moment. When asked what advice she would give to the next program manager at ONYX, Yury emphasized the importance of connection with the families, especially the mothers. Yury’s connection with the mothers drove her to always go above and beyond in her role. Most of the families served by the ONYX center are living in poverty. Due to this, when they are faced with emergency health situations, they have little to fall back on. Yury remembers a time when a mother had an appendectomy, but was unable to find a ride home from the hospital. Without enough money to call a cab, she was faced with few options. Because the families at ONYX trusted Yury, they reached out to her to find the mother a ride. It is in situations like this that the effectiveness of Yury’s approach as program manager shines through. 

Going forward, NOC Onyx must continue to emphasize the importance of communication with the families it serves. This emphasis on communication will allow the center to continue improving the academic progress of the students. Yury reiterates that, ‘it is so important that we continue to focus on students’ weaknesses and reinforce those areas of learning.” Weaknesses cannot be targeted without a focus on communication and connection.

2020 has been a difficult year for everyone because of COVID-19. Schools were closed throughout the country since mid-March 2020, which has had devastating impact on the education of children.

Remote learning, using e-learning platforms administered by local schools, has emerged as a crucial avenue for children to continue learning. This has enabled some children, especially those with access to personal computers and the internet combined with support at home, to engage in structured learning managed by local school systems and thus build skills in math, reading, language arts, social studies, and science. Unfortunately, many high-risk children who come from low-income households and underserved neighborhoods have not been able take advantage of this option. Since mid-March, many of these children have become disconnected with local schools. As a result, these children have already lost 50% to 75% of the learning skills, especially in reading and math, that they acquired over the previous 12 months of schooling.

NOC operated its summer learning program from June 8 to July 30, 2020, to help high-risk children from underserved neighborhoods to build skills in math, reading, and language arts with the help of teachers from local schools, NOC field staff, and experienced volunteers.

Clearly, if high-risk children are to be successful in virtual learning in Fall 2020, they need access to personal computers and the internet. They must also master the skills needed to engage in e-learning under the direction of teachers from local schools at a site that is safe and conducive to e-learning.  To this end, NOC has offered free of charge a two-week summer program for 40 children from August 10 to August 20, 2020, at its two Bluffton learning centers to help high-risk children.

The Summer Virtual Learning Camp has operated with the following objectives.

(a) Provide children the opportunity to engage in e-learning in a safe and enabling environment.

(b) Assist children in understanding the requirements of e-learning (following instructions, review of materials, timely interaction with teachers and scheduled classes, completing assignments in a timely manner)

(b) Help children develop the skills and culture of virtual learning in the absence of a classroom setting and direct interaction with the teacher.

(c) Allow children and teachers to connect effectively to ensure new skills and concepts are covered and learned effectively by the children at their grade levels.

(d) Ensure that children are ready to participate with ease in any remote learning situation in the 2020-2021 academic year.

(e) Ensure that the parents are fully involved in the children’s education and have an understanding of virtual learning.

These children will be well prepared to participate in BCSD’s virtual learning set-up for all children in public schools.

In the midst of the current pandemic, children in NOC’s summer program at Parkview in downtown Beaufort, and at ONYX and Avalon Shores in Bluffton have continued to study diligently, building their skills in math and reading. NOC started its summer program on June 8.

Since mid-March, many of these high-risk children did not participate actively in remote learning. Many of them lost contact with their local schools and teachers because they did not have access to personal computers and the internet, and they had limited support at home. NOC estimates that many of these children lost 50% to 75% of what they had learned over the past 12 months.

NOC has instituted strict safety and health standards at each center, following CDC and DHEC safety guidelines. This has been challenging for students, teachers, and NOC field staff. The children and staff wear masks and practice social distancing. Temperatures are taken as children arrive at the center. Children wash their hands hourly and they use hand sanitizers frequently. Materials are not shared by the children. During the two-hour session, children spend a brief period outside, engaged in exercise and activities following social distancing. At each center, the children receive healthy snacks and lunch is provided by the Beaufort County school system. Each center is cleaned thoroughly every day, following CDC guidelines.

It is wonderful to see these children in action and observe how they have adapted to a new setting and learning culture. They are cheerful and eager to learn, determined to forge ahead academically. This is special when local schools are closed and opportunities are limited. These children will continue to need help, given the uncertainty in schooling in the Fall because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the midst of this pandemic, the children in NOC’s summer program have continued to study diligently at NOC’s learning centers, building their skills in math and reading.  Following CDC and DHEC safety guidelines has been challenging for students, teachers, and NOC field staff.  It was wonderful to visit NOC’s Parkview Center in downtown Beaufort, and to see the cheerful faces of these children, determined to forge ahead academically. This is a special time when local schools are closed and opportunities are limited.

Naren Sharma, Founder & Chair, NOC