“…[I]t kind of makes you appreciate programs and opportunities offered by community engagement and the aid it brings to the residents nearby.”
Lauren Monaghan
This from Lauren Monaghan, YMCA’s Lead Teacher of the ‘Two Year-Olds” Room at their Sunbury branch. In her eight years, 2020’s COVID-19 outbreak creates a host of problems unlike any she’s previously faced.
Toddlers waddle around, socially distanced, barely understanding why their friends and them are wearing masks and prohibited from touching one another. It’s tense, but ‘Ms. Lauren’ does what she does best: keep the peace, maintain good feelings for the kids, and provides a welcoming environment in a world seemingly without one.
A recent graduate (2019) in Early Childhood Education with a minor in Education Technologies, Lauren is certified to teach online in a time where her skills are desperately needed.
“It’s not just ‘hanging out with the kids’. That’s part of it, the fun part of it, but there’s also a curriculum you need to create and stick to. There’s lesson plans, standards for assessing the kids, then assessing the kids themselves. It’s a lot more than just babysitting, that’s for sure!”
Lauren Monaghan
She’s always wanted to be a teacher, ever since kindergarten, and started her journey with YMCA work at fifteen. By senior year at Shikellamy High School, she was promoted to Intern Head Aide with more responsibility, and then Assistant Toddler Teacher once the rooms for one- and two-year olds were combined. “There’s never a dull moment, and I mean that in the best way!” She recalls. “The job is incredibly rewarding and is such a meaningful experience!”
With the YMCA opening back up in early June amid Coronavirus mitigation methods, Ms. Lauren understand the hesitancy of returning kids to daycare.
“The gyms aren’t open, the rooms are deeply cleaned, sanitized, all that. Kids’ temperatures are taken before entering and they’re asked a series of questions: Have you been out of state? Are you showing symptoms? We make sure everyone has a mask on, and that people are segregated for a meeting. While not all the kids came back, we’ve got one staff member per session group of children, and parents aren’t allowed into the building for maximum safety measures.”
Lauren Monaghan
Shikellamy grad Tori Smith, continuing her studies at Penn State, agrees with the community-strong aspect of the area. As shift leader at Pelican’s Snoballs, the Nationals Honors Society member had this to say:
“…Pelicans Snoballs is a great, happy place to go to for the community that…strives to bring joy and a sense of normalcy with all the crazy going on…[high school] kids can have a job before college and still remain socially distanced. And it’s still summer so we can give people something cold(and delicious!) to deal with the summer heat.”
Tori Smith
Both break down how they explain to younger kids the social-distancing measures and global pandemic. “The germs are on the table,” Ms. Lauren says to her students. “That’s how they see it. Parents definitely work with kids to help grasp the concept of the Coronavirus.” Tori focuses on serving customers….from a safe distance….and how to gently enforce mask-wearing when some adults start making things difficult.
“You can’t force people to do what they don’t want to,” she explains. “But you try your best to provide a safe environment during hard times.”
“[Times like these] kind of makes you appreciate programs and opportunities offered by community engagement and the aid it brings to the residents nearby…I didn’t choose this pathway for money(obviously). I’ve worked with children and got to see firsthand how rewarding it was. In times like this we NEED Early Childhood Ed majors.”
Lauren Monaghan
Programs like the YMCA, job opportunities like Pelican’s Snoballs, these are community engagements that are extremely valuable to students. The Y has a series of after-school programs to enrich students’ lives and occupy time between the end of a school and when some younger kids’ parents get off work. Working in your later teens allows for greater responsibility and relevant life skills they can carry with them into college and the work force.
Alone, helpers like Lauren and Tori can make a great deal of difference. Together with a greater community, they can do amazing things, and amazing people make amazing students that can help our college communities.
*YMCA has had a Food program for over 30 years run by Milton Summer Food Sponsor Program, provided lunches during COVID. Dinner and snack for one child. Five days a week. At the Lewisburg, Milton, Sunbury YMCA centers.
firstgenclass.school.blog 