Fruita Monument High School Sets Up a Room For Students In Need
Fruita Monument High School is setting up something special for students in need. They're working on an area for students to shower, get clean clothes as well as get some food. The room is a locked used-to-be-nurse's office that will be converted into space for the students.
After hearing about the room, I spoke with Tasha Castillo, an ELA English and Special Education teacher at Fruita Monument High School about the great things they're doing. I asked Tasha 'who's idea was this space for students in need?' and here's what she had to say:
There were a few of us teachers working together to support kids having some difficulty. We were spending money out of our pockets keeping that on going and the more it was on going, the more we realized it was a bigger concern. We needed something permanent so that when that happens, we have resources that are available to us.
I was interested to see how the execution of this room would work. I asked Tasha if a 'teacher recommendation' is needed to use the room and the answer is 'no.' I'm delighted to find out how caring Fruita Monument High School's staff is.
In the past a teacher would reach out and say hey, this is a student in need. It could be a classmate or a sibling, we wouldn't turn anyone down.
It made me so happy to find out that students at FMHS, are a big part of making this happen. Students are in charge of organizing, packing sample size soaps and shampoos and sorting through clothes. As Tasha told me:
Students are going to be a big help. They'll decide 'is this something my grandpa would wear?' or is this something other students would wear?'
You can drop off donations at the attendance office. According to Tasha, donations are needed in all sizes. FMHS currently has a lot of smaller sizes and any donation helps.
The students are actually super excited about organizing the clothes and who better to decide 'what's in' fashion-wise than the students themselves? Tasha also made sure to tell me that whatever they don't use will go back into the community.