VOL. 31 NO. 1
MARCH 2021
L E G A C Y
Gateway to Gardening Pavilion at Maring-Hunt Library
Where neighbors create legacies
LET’S TALK In the Shrock household, 2021 marks a major milestone. My two youngest, twin brothers JD and Brenton, prepare for high school graduation. Their senior year has looked much different than they had expected, but as they have transitioned from in-person to virtual learning, they have shown flexibility. Their athletic and extracurriculars have gone-on without spectators and faced cancellations. They have shown grace for the administrators making decisions to keep students, staff, and the community healthy. As they have missed key senior moments, like dances and parties, they have still shown strength to celebrate the final memories they are making with friends in small groups and virtually. As I’ve watched my boys respond to the many changes over the last year, I’ve also watched the community adapt to the events of 2020. It’s become clear that as individuals and as a community, we are resilient. In this issue of Legacy, you’ll learn about how The Community Foundation worked with other community funders and caring community members to help as schools adapted the way they bring instruction to their students through the K-12 Technology Resilience Initiative. You’ll also read how your charitable giving can set the example for those around you and make a bigger impact on the causes that matter most to you. Things may still look different in 2021, but positive things are happening across the community. The Community Foundation looks forward to being a part of the positive change. We hope you will join us this year.
Kelly K. Shrock, President
ENSURING ACCESS TO EDUCATION DESPITE THE PANDEMIC
A Muncie Community School teacher assists a student as he utilizes technology for learning.
A
year ago this month, schools across the country shut their doors and moved student learning to a remote model. The inequity of technology access for students from communityto-community and from household-to-household existed long before COVID-19, but the emergence of the pandemic exacerbated the gaps. Some students were able to quickly pick-up learning in a remote setting, while others got lost in the digital shuffle. Recognizing this challenge, The Community Foundation, with support from the Funders Forum Collaborative, launched the K-12 Technology Resilience Initiative to support longer-term and equitable solutions for technology resilience for students and schools across Delaware County. “Technology resiliency in education is the ability to easily transition from in person to digital learning,” explained Marcy Minton, senior program officer at the Foundation. “We want all families, regardless of their situation, to have equitable access to what they need to have quality learning from home.” The initiative provided grant funding to the eight K-12 public schools in Delaware County totaling $241,000 over three funding phases. Requests typically fell into four categories – connectivity, equipment, software, and people resources including training.
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