We always knew that the Natomas community was a special place with wonderful people. But there’s no way that we could have ever known how close, caring, and quickly our community could come together as we have in this unprecedented time of need. When it became evident that we would have to temporarily physically close our schools for the health and safety of everyone to prevent the spread of COVID-19, we had to move quickly while making the best decisions as possible given the circumstances for our students. And the only way that we were able to do that was with the attentiveness, quick response, and support of the Natomas Community. Because of our staff, families, and community members, we’ve been able to:
- Serve 5,600 breakfast and lunches each day, as of 4/24/20, at 15 different schools throughout our community to families with children under 18.
- Continue to provide bags of groceries for free every Friday through Joeys Food Locker at Natomas High School.
- Partner with the mentoring program 100 Black Men to provide groceries to families in need at Natomas Middle School through their work with the Sacramento Food Bank.
- Distribute nearly 6,365 Chromebooks and 336 hotspots to students who needed them for distance learning, loaned 998 hotspots to other local districts, and located all but three (99.7%) of our unforgotten families that we hadn’t heard from to assess their needs for student learning.
- Start distance learning three weeks ago with a pilot so teachers and families could get familiar with learning in a different virtual way and develop a routine.
- Provide virtual pop-up opportunities to get students connected and engaged with their peers with fun and creative activities such as Spirit Week, talent shows, challenges, contests, scavenger hunts, and artistic expressions of poetry and dance.
- Spread the word throughout our community that we have a socio-emotional support system in place that’s available 24 hours a day if families are in need of mental services and need to reach out to someone right away.
These are just some examples of what makes Natomas so special. It’s people helping each other, encouraging one another, and just being there for one another. That’s the Natomas spirit and why we’re such a special place
