Whole Child Initiatives

The Kare Kloset is a program that was started in November of 2017 for students that were struggling to have their basic needs met at home. The Kare Kloset provides food, clothing, and hygiene products to students at the Little Falls Community Middle School and Little Falls Community High School.  Donations are received through school employees, community members, and grants. The Kare Kloset serves approximately 20-30 students per month on average. Many of these students are homeless, temporarily homeless, or living in extreme poverty. They are often embarrassed to ask for help and are concerned that they will be taken away from their parents or guardian if they ask for assistance. Once students trust the staff and are aware that they can be a help to their families in need, they allow us to provide for them as we are able.    

Organizers of the Kare Kloset often receive thank you notes from students and their parents for helping them get through tough times.  Many parents are working 1-2 jobs, but struggle to get out of the cycle of poverty. Often, students and parents are dealing with mental health issues, chemical dependency issues, and legal issues.  In most cases, students are living with one parent or a relative. Some of our older students “couch hop” or rotate sleeping at their friend’s houses. It is difficult to function in the classroom when they have so many other things in life to be concerned about.  As students receive assistance from the Kare Kloset, their grades improve, their self-esteem increases, and they feel more comfortable attending school. Often, we have students who shower in the locker rooms and wear donated clothing that they feel good about wearing. They have a better chance of fitting in with others and taking pride in their appearance.

Students that access the Kare Kloset contribute by working to keep it going.  They often fold clothing, arrange food items, and keep the store organized. It has allowed them to feel they’ve earned the items they are receiving and motivates them to be productive citizens both in school and in the community.  

The presence of a caring adult offering support, advice, friendship, reinforcement, and constructive examples is a powerful tool for helping young people fulfill their potential.  The goal of the Mark Wood Mentoring Program is to intervene early in the lives of at-risk youth. The main purpose is unconditional time, attention, and support to assist in children achieving their potential and discovering their strengths. Youth with a mentoring relationship have better attendance, a better chance of going on to higher education, and better attitudes toward school. Participating in a mentoring program promotes positive social attitudes and relationships. It has been shown that mentoring appears to help prevent substance abuse, reduce some negative behaviors, and promote better child/parent communication.  

The Mark Wood Mentorship Program is formatted as follows: an adult mentor (background check required) comes into the school one time per week for a 30 minute mentor session using a mentor room that is equipped with many different activities; board games, art activities, books, craft projects, legos, playhouse, sport items, puzzles, snacks, etc.  Adults and students are “matched” based on interests with parent permission granted for the student to participate. Adult mentors commit for the school year with the option to continue with the same student or switch at the end of each school year.   

The Little Falls Community Schools began implementation of an evidenced-based framework called Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) in the summer of 2011. PBIS encourages schools to identify 3-5 behavioral expectations and teach behavioral expectations along with academics. For students who are not consistently demonstrating the expectations, each school has a protocol to reteach them to ensure students have additional supports to promote expected behavior.  Through this process, each building has formed a PBIS team, and four district-wide behavioral expectations were identified; Respect, Responsibility, Positive Attitude, and Safety. Each building outlined what expected behavior looked like across various school environments, including, but not limited to hallways, classrooms, lunchroom, and community. These behavioral expectations began being taught to students in the spring of 2012. Positive behavior recognition systems have been developed in which any employee can positively acknowledge expected behavior.  

If you and your child/ren are currently experiencing housing instability or homelessness, Little Falls Community Schools is here to offer support and direct you to resources that may improve your current situation. Keeping your child in a school that feels like home to them is critical during this unpredictable time, and we will work to eliminate any barriers that may prevent that from happening.