Across Cincinnati, Activities Beyond the Classroom has over nine different resource coordinators placed in public schools. These resource coordinators are charged with serving “the whole student,” which means something different for every community and school they work with. It can mean assisting families that need access to healthcare, or getting them access to transportation.
You might be thinking to yourself, what does any of that have to school success? At ABC, we think it has everything to do with school success. We acknowledge that it is hard for a student to thrive academically when they are worried about their family’s health, food security, how they’ll get home, or other issues they’ll return to when they arrive home.
ABC’s Resource Coordinators are bridge builders and switchboard operators, connecting students and families to the resources they need to be more successful. These remarkable heroes come from a variety of backgrounds and have a range of skill sets, but all of them share one common quality: they are expert connectors.
To learn more about what ABC Resource Coordinators do, please visit our website.
We sat down with Silverton Elementary’s Resource Coordinator, Cheri Jordan, to get to know her better. Cheri has a degree in English Language and Literature from Miami University, and she’s been working in the Cincinnati Public School district for over 13 years. Her main goal as the Resource Coordinator for Silverton Elementary is to build and continue meaningful relationships between the surrounding community and the families of the school.
What is your favorite part of your job?
Greeting the students in the morning and being a part of the team that helps make their day great through various resources!
What is something particularly unique/special about the Silverton community?
Silverton is a magnet school, which means that it is a public school with a special curriculum that accepts students from all over Cincinnati. At Silverton, we offer the Digital Leadership Academy program, which equips young students with the tools and context to become responsible leaders in technology as they proceed into junior high and high school. This is really cool because we have a blending of neighborhood cultures within the school.
If you had $1,000 today to make a difference at your school, what would you do with it?
I would use $1,000 to create an emergency fund at Silverton Elementary. Urgent needs pop up out of nowhere often, and that’s been especially true during the COVID-19 pandemic. We currently have a few families that are in dire need of assistance due to health issues in the family.
What is something you are excited about this school year?
I’m excited that our sports teams will be able to compete against other schools this year, since COVID temporarily suspended our ability to play. I’m also excited to increase parent involvement in and with our Parent Teacher Association.
Learn more about Silverton Elementary:
To learn more about Cheri Jordan, Silverton Elementary, or the Digital Leadership Academy, we recommend you check out Silverton Elementary’s website.
