Years ago, when Donna Black’s children were in school, she was not in a good place.
Her son eventually went to prison, and his toddler daughter, Alivia — Black’s granddaughter — ended up in the custody of Black and her husband.
Black was in recovery by then, but she was still apprehensive about raising a child.
Determined not to repeat her mistakes, Black enrolled her granddaughter in a daycare that emphasized kindergarten readiness. Then, at 4, Alivia scored high enough on an early entrance test to begin kindergarten earlier than the district’s official cut-off age.
Wade Park Elementary School, in Hough, was the family’s top choice.
She also didn’t want Alivia to feel pressure to act less intelligent than she is because of peer pressure — something Black had experienced in her own childhood.
Beyond basic subjects, Wade Park offers early Spanish classes, music, media, and visual art, which also appealed to the family.
Black says she relished the chance to choose Alivia’s school. It was an opportunity to be proactive at the outset about the direction of her granddaughter’s education.
Alivia is excelling, but even better than the school’s academic offerings, Black says, are the relationships students have with teachers and staff.
Throughout the school year, Black is a frequent visitor. She volunteers however she can: reading to classes, serving as a supervisor on class trips.
Mostly, though, she just enjoys being present.
“I just want to let Alivia know I care, that’s she’s important,” she says.