SALEM, Va. – One local school district is working to make sure students and parents have access to the resources they need. Salem City Schools is holding a community resource open house to help make families aware of what's available.
This is the first community resource event of this type for the City of Salem. It gives families and students a chance to meet face to face with representatives, instead of just sending home a flyer with information about what's available.
"We need to work as sort of the liaison to help those community agencies know what the needs of the families are and help our families know about those groups that can help them,"Â says Diane Washenberger, the director of instruction for Salem City Schools.
The Salem Public Library and Salem YMCA will be there, discussing local programming and events for kids of all ages.
CHIP, the Children's Health Insurance Program, and Intercept Youth Services will be providing information about the services, counseling and other support they provide.
For families with older kids who are starting to think about college, Virginia Tech Upward Bound and the Virginia Western CCAP representatives will all be on hand to talk about scholarship and reduced rate options for education.
"The thing we really want to do is promote people having knowledge of what's there, so they can access that and do what's best for their family," says Washenberger. "We educate the child, but we are really interested in supporting the entire family."
It's support the school system is working to provide for kids in kindergarten all the way up to graduating seniors.
You don't have to have a student in Salem or live in the city to attend. Tuesday night's open house is open to anyone in the community looking for more information on local resources.
The event kicks off at the Salem Civic Center on Tuesday, Feb. 20, from 6 to 8 p.m.
Here's a list of organizations that will be in attendance:
Salem Public Library
Salem YMCA
National Counseling Group
Salem Police Department
Salem Parks and Rec.
Salem Ecumenical
Salem School Nurses
Poarch Law Firm
Va. Tech Upward Bound
Va. Western- CCAP
CHIP
Intercept Youth Services
Chick-Fil-A
Salem Title I Program