Lighthouse is an accredited after-school program serving middle and high school students with academic support, evening meals, and enrichment/ recreational activities during non-school hours. A major goal of Lighthouse is to increase the likelihood of students graduating high school.
The Strive to Thrive Lincoln $5,000 grant enabled Lighthouse to provide support to 62 students participating in online classes during the pandemic. Lighthouse was able to hire new staff members to assist students as they completed their school work.
It was clear to Lighthouse that students could benefit from this additional support, as the Lincoln Public Schools district saw a 300% increase in class failures during the first quarter of Fall 2020. Some students struggled to adapt to online learning, and others had difficulties connecting to online resources. Lighthouse wanted to make sure their students could overcome the challenges that accompanied such a dramatic change in education.
Across the semester, Lighthouse students, with the support of staff members, completed 3,451 regular assignments and 401 missing assignments. Additionally, even though Lighthouse was traditionally an after-school program, students began to spend more hours at Lighthouse during the day to complete their online school work. Staff realized students needed meals during these hours, not only the after-school snack and dinner they had been serving. During Fall 2020, Lighthouse served 912 breakfasts and 1,028 lunches. The Strive to Thrive Lincoln grant helped make this possible as well.
Learn more about Lighthouse at: https://lincolnlighthouse.org/