Becky Brown, co-director, SHIM After School Program
Who’s ready to go back to school? Parents? Teachers? Kids?
As a co-director of SHIM’s After School program, I’m excited to welcome back our kids. As a mom, I’m ready for the routine that the school year brings. However, transitions can be tricky!
I’m looking forward to reuniting with kids who have attended our program over the past few years and hopefully, getting to meet new students too! They all grow and develop so much in the four months that our After School program doesn’t operate, and I love hearing about what they did over the summer. Some of our students even travel internationally to visit family in their home countries and share interesting experiences and perspectives from their trips.
Me personally, I had a great time with my two daughters this summer, packing every day with as many fun things as we could. From carnivals to Steelers training camp, Sandcastle, Kennywood, hiking, biking, swimming and everything in between, we’ve had a blast!
The only problem with having a fun summer is that it can make it harder to transition back to the school year routine. The summer is full of fun and freedom- staying up late, snacking all day, and feeling more flexible. As I prepare my daughters to go back to school, I know to expect some sleepiness, irritability, hunger, and unexpected mood changes.
If you’re a parent, these feelings may sound familiar! I watch kids in our After School program take several weeks to settle back into the routine. Initially they feel tired, have trouble focusing and can be easily distracted. After about a month, though, students have gotten used to new schedules and expectations and are able to thrive.
I miss the families we serve during summer break and I enjoy reconnecting with our parents too. It is such a pleasure to be part of these families’ lives as their children develop during these formative years. Especially as the beginning of the school year is full of new information from schools, I feel grateful that I can help local foreign-born families navigate the communication that comes in emails, apps, and mail. Many of the families we serve struggle to understand documents and messages that are not translated into their native language. Our After School staff members work with parents to help them understand school expectations.
SHIM’s After School program has a close relationship with the Baldwin Whitehall School District. They help to identify students who would benefit from our program and work with us to provide transportation. As wonderful as the program is, we are limited in our capacity to serve all the students who could benefit from our enriching environment.
Over the years, SHIM’s reputation within the refugee and immigrant community has led to high demand of youth programs. Due to building and transportation constraints, our After School program is usually capped at 75 children. The waiting list for After School currently has at least 50 students.
It’s tough to see kids waiting to join our program, knowing how eager they are to participate. In a perfect world, we would have facilities, transportation, and enough staff to serve all the kids in the South Hills! 
For now, I focus on the impact of our programs for the students and families who are able to attend. We see the ways that our academic support helps kids improve their grades and keep up with their peers. We see the importance of having teachers from the refugee and immigrant community in our classrooms, illustrating to our students what opportunities are open to them in their future. Representation matters, and our students thrive as we celebrate their diversity and create a safe space for them to be themselves. Our program empowers them to achieve academically, socially, and emotionally and I’m so proud to be a small part of their lives.
Read more perspectives from SHIM staff on our blog!
