WORDS & PICTURES: Gabrielle Versmessen
Have you ever wanted your child to be enrolled in an afterschool care program but worried about lack of transportation? Would your child benefit from free tutoring that’s done on at least a 3:10 teacher-to-student ratio? What about being secure in knowing that your child is in a safe, positive, and life-affirming environment?
Avenue941 is a local initiative that does all of these things and more! Brenda Critchfield, Founder and Director of Avenue941, got the inspiration for the program in the summer of 2019 when she was at a leadership institute in Orlando. They challenged everyone to find a problem in their community and create a solution. Teaching at Lee Middle School at the time, Brenda knew many of her students were academically below grade level.
“The problem I focused on was accessibility for students to tutors. The School District of Manatee County offers free tutoring after school, but that assumes they can stay. So, what happens when these students have siblings at home that they’re taking care of, or they are bus riders?” Brenda stated.
In Manatee County, there are 53 neighborhoods and 300 churches. That equates to six churches per neighborhood on average. But there are seven high schools, so about a sixth of the high school population resides in each neighborhood.
Brenda began speaking with Kevin Chapman, Chief of Staff of the School District of Manatee County. The solution was to create pods inside of neighborhoods within these churches and outfit them with Chromebooks, books, and teachers, along with a spiritual component. Brenda wanted Avenue941 to be a faith-based initiative to support these students to have hope for their future beyond academics. They pitched the idea to the school district, and they loved it.
Avenue941 was piloted in January 2021 with e-learners. The pilot consisted of 12 students from Lee Middle School and put them at Resonate Life Church with three adults and Chromebooks for every kid. The school district interviewed the principal, graduation enhancement tech at Lee Middle, and Brenda, as well as came on-site to see what the kids were doing. Every student that attended consistently showed improvement in their grades and attendance.
They opened one location for the first year to work out the details. In February 2022, they added two more locations. In the fall of 2022, they added three more locations. Two more opened in the spring, and now they hope to open three more every semester. The goal is to be in all 53 neighborhoods by 2031.
Brenda explains: “When we started, I was still teaching full-time. I asked, ‘How can the faith community come alongside and help these students?’ There is basically no overhead since these churches will give that space over for free. It’s such a cost-effective way to make a huge dent in academics and the overall lives of children.”
The program won’t open its doors in a new location until it can make a 3:10 adult-to-student ratio. Some sites are close to an 8:10 ratio. They’ll operate for a minimum of two days a week. Seven sites are two days a week, and one is three days a week. The pilot started at four days, but due to funding and staffing, it was a challenge. Brenda’s vision for Avenue941 is to be able to operate five days a week at all locations, with two days being dedicated to academics, then a STEM day with SAT and ACT prep, a character education counseling day, and a life skills day with cooking classes and financial advisors and contractors participating.
A site facilitator who attends the church is on location from doors open to doors close. This person serves as a point of contact for the volunteer, intern, school teacher, counselor, church, and Brenda. Avenue941 raises the funds to hire these site facilitators who can also get the families involved in other things the church might be able to offer to them, such as recovery or parenting classes. They also serve as a liaison between the program and the church. A teacher will come after they’re done with school, and three locations have high school interns who also get there after school. The rest are volunteers.
Thanks to Samaritan Counseling Services and a matching grant from Manatee Community Foundation, every site now has access to a counselor. Now, Avenue941 has $20,000 in counseling funds to give to the students. Instead of a 1:300 student-to-counselor ratio like within the school district, they have a 1:20 student-to-counselor balance.
“Besides academics, what else do these kids need? We know mental health support is huge for them right now. That’s why we wanted to ensure they can speak to a counselor whenever they need.”
The program operates from 2:30 PM until 6 PM. The first hour is dedicated to high school students, and then it’s on to a snack and debriefing time. After that, the elementary students arrive, and it’s crunch time for their homework. They get a “brain break” at 4:30, where they can let out some energy by singing songs, making art, or even shooting a few hoops in the gym. The end of the day focuses on the middle school students since they leave school last.
Snacks and drinks are provided through One More Child, the Azinger Family Compassion Center, and Meals on Wheels. The school district also provides a snack from the cafeteria for any Title I student enrolled in Avenue941.
When the students first arrive, they decompress from their day, and the adults let them know that they’re so glad they came; it’s good to see them again and ask what’s been going on since they saw them last. This helps build the relational component.
“So many students in Manatee County have gone through a ton of trauma. They need their stories to be heard. If they’re coming from a really broken spot the night before and then expected to be quiet, sit down, and do their work, it creates a lot of tension, and they don’t feel seen. This is where much of that academic discord can happen,” Brenda says.
She goes on to explain: “We don’t necessarily do a salvation message, but we do let the kids know that we love them, we believe there is a call on their life, there is a purpose, and that they’re designed with intention, and no one else on Earth is like them. We want to speak life over them.”
Jessica Marty, Site Facilitator at First Baptist Church, lived in Kansas City when she felt led to return to Florida. She connected with her pastor at First Baptist Church, who connected her with Brenda. Brenda explained her vision for Avenue941, and Jessica said the door opened for her to not only work at the church but also partner with the program.
Jessica says: “I love the opportunity to see God work in these people’s lives. Whether they’re volunteers, staff, or students. He’s capturing people’s hearts, and even at a young age, He’s calling them up to the plans He created them for. I love being a part of the affirming, redeeming, life-changing, beautiful work of God in the lives of the students.”
Currently, there are about 100 students enrolled and about 12 to 17 kids at each site. By doing this, they strive to make that quality, individualized impact. Brenda ventures that 70% of these students are making strides in academics, behavior, confidence, and spiritual growth.
February through May, they host a pen pal program for all students from third grade through twelfth to write five letters back and forth with somebody in the field they want to be in when they grow up. At the end-of-year celebration in May, the pen pals have the opportunity to come and meet the students they’ve been in contact with and encourage them to pursue their goals.
“Now, Sarasota, Pasco, and Hillsborough school districts are calling me asking what we’re doing and if they can do it in their counties. Here, the school district sends a teacher and uses the millage funds, so we have a paid teacher through the school district at every site. That’s a partnership and huge support we have in Manatee County that the other counties would have to figure out,” says Brenda. “I want to see this be a city-wide, region-wide, and even state-wide initiative.”
Being able to sustain a nonprofit organization is a challenging feat. But with twelve churches on the waiting list and such positive results, Avenue941 will continue changing the lives of students throughout Manatee County. It’s not every day that a free-to-enroll program impacts not just a student’s academic success but also supports their mental well-being.
- For more information on Avenue941 and volunteer opportunities, visit: www.avenue941.com
