T-Mobile and CAP Team Up for Pulaski Students
T-Mobile and Riverhead CAP have teamed up to support Pulaski Street School students. On December 9th they donated nearly 800 earbuds to the 5th and 6th graders. The goal is to assist with remote and hybrid learning.
“Many Riverhead students don’t have a dedicated space or enough privacy to fully engage in virtual learning,” said Felicia Scocozza, CAP Executive Director. “It has been quite challenging for them. We are grateful that T-Mobile is partnering with us to help these students succeed in the new learning environment.”
Supporting the new learning environment
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most Riverhead students are on a hybrid learning schedule. In addition, some have opted for 100% remote learning.
“The Riverhead Central School District is grateful for our ongoing partnership with CAP,” said Christine Tona, Interim Superintendent. “We value the support that they provide to our students. This donation is just another example of how our students benefit from CAP. I encourage all of our Pulaski Street students to participate in the CAP Prevention Program this year. We are also grateful for T-Mobile’s donation of earbuds for our students. As we all depend on technology more than ever before, this donation is much appreciated.”
“Many students are vulnerable to distractions during class, especially now as they continue virtual learning while at home,” said John Stevens, Vice President of Small Town Rural at T-Mobile. “Earbuds are one of the tools that can help students concentrate, aid in their learning process, and may help make them more successful overall.”
According to T-Mobile, the company is focused on servicing people living in small towns across America.
“Pulaski Street School is very appreciative for T-Mobile and Riverhead CAP for their donation,” said Patrick Burke, Pulaski Street Principal. “CAP continually finds ways to encourage, support and educate our students on making positive decisions. We are fortunate to have a partnership with CAP not only as an added resource but also as a community friend who genuinely looks after our entire student body.”
prevention goes virtual
Since 1982, Riverhead CAP has been providing a two-year drug and alcohol prevention program to all fifth and sixth grade students at Pulaski Street Elementary School. The program builds on a foundation of social and emotional skills like feelings, self-esteem, decision-making, and communication. Each year, community volunteers and peer leaders trained by CAP personally teach the monthly program to every class at Pulaski.
This year however, the CAP program has gone 100% virtual. CAP staff put together detailed slides, while volunteers and peer leaders record voiceovers virtually via Google Meet. The result is a weekly video that feels interactive, according to Scocozza.
“In a time where we all had to quickly adjust to a ‘new normal’ CAP didn’t miss a beat with their delivery of a virtual program for our kids,” said Callan Lonergan, Pulaski Street School Assistant Principal.
all hands on deck
Scocozza says that it has been “all hands on deck” at CAP to produce these short videos.
“There are four videos per week, one in English and Spanish for each grade,” she added. “It is very labor intensive and there are many moving parts. I am proud of the CAP staff for all of the hours they have invested in this new format and how they continually meet the challenges of 2020.”
Some of the T-Mobile donation will also be given to the high school and middle school peer leaders who help facilitate the program.
“We are so impressed with the peer leaders’ ability to adapt and help deliver this pre-recorded program each week”, said Scocozza. “This pandemic has unfortunately created a sense of isolation for so many students. CAP peer leaders are volunteering their time to virtually visit these younger students and teach them new skills.”
She says that she hopes the earbuds and spinner pens that were also donated are incentives for more students to participate. CAP’s Pulaski Street School Prevention Program videos and activities are posted in each teacher’s Google classroom on Wednesdays.
