GOSHEN -- Teresa Vining and Wendy Wogoman don't work at Chandler Elementary School. Their children don't go to school there.
Wogoman doesn't even live in Goshen.
But the two women were so moved by news last school year that the school will face restructuring if this school year's test scores do not show enough improvement that they devote hours each week doing what they can to help make sure that doesn't happen. The women organize volunteer work from the First Church of God to benefit Chandler, ranging from providing food and notes of support to staff members to holding a weekly program at the church with tutoring for Chandler students, English lessons for parents and free dinner.
Chandler Principal Lisa Lederach said First Church of God is one of many organizations that started providing support and volunteers after news broke that the school faced potential restructuring.
In fact, the school received so many offers of help that it was too much for Lederach to organize herself, and she had to appoint a volunteer coordinator.
"They always say, 'It takes a village,'" Lederach said. "And we'll take the village."
THE VILLAGE
As required by the federal law No Child Left Behind, Goshen Community Schools has formed a committee to study the options for restructuring should Chandler not make "adequate yearly progress" -- which is measured by ISTEP+ scores -- next year. The options are to replace the principal and other "relevant" staff who have remained the same during the years the school did not make AYP, close the school, reopen as a charter school or to contract with private management to operate the school.
The committee will make a recommendation to the school board at the beginning of 2010.
Once this news hit the papers, Lederach said, calls from community members offering to help started coming. Lederach made music teacher Cheryl Woodlee the school's volunteer coordinator to handle the influx.
First Church of God provides the Wednesday program for students and parents and sends seven volunteers to help during school days. The church often provides food for staff members, and a church member has "adopted" each of the 65 staff members, praying for them individually and sending notes of encouragement.
"In some ways, First Church of God recognized the school, the students, the teachers could possibly be under a lot of stress," Lederach said. "I think that they feel like this is the way they support a community they have attachments to."
First Presbyterian Church is starting a homework club this week. College Mennonite Church buys food for Chandler families. Grace Community Church provides snacks. Goshen College sends students to work with Chandler kids every week. The Boys and Girls Club, Maple City Chapel, the police department and the Kiwanis Club have all provided programs, volunteers and donations.
The support comes from within the district, as well, Lederach said. High ability fourth- and fifth-graders within the district who do service learning projects have focused all their projects on Chandler this year, and one day fourth-graders from Prairie View surprised the staff with snacks. The Parent Teacher Organization has provided food and support as well.
While Woodlee said the school has always enjoyed a degree of support and volunteers, it only multiplied after the AYP announcement.
WHAT'S A FAILURE?
Vining first heard about Chandler's situation when First Church of God Pastor Troy Scott came to her prayer group with a prayer request for the school.
"He just said, 'We really need to see what we can do to be a part of this,'" Vining said. "He just really was affected by someone being called a failure."
The church started by asking members to pray for the school and its staff. But interest was so high that they launched several programs for Chandler. About 50 volunteers help out at the Wednesday programs. Volunteers pick up children and parents if they need a ride, provide a meal, provide tutoring for students and English lessons for adults and offer child care for younger siblings.
About 25 students show up each week.
While Vining and Wogoman acknowledged that they're not sure whether the programs and support the church is giving will affect test scores, they mostly want to show the staff that they care.
"We just want them to know that we're behind them and support them and we trust them as our teachers," Wogoman said.
Lederach said the students are probably too young to recognize the huge amount of community support.
But it goes a long way for the staff, she said. She said it's helped give her staff confidence and reassurance.
"(The reaction is) that we're going to make it. We're going to find a way to do it," Lederach said. "It's about the kids, and so we're grown ups, and we're going to make it, but it's hard."
Vining said she thinks the church's stated vision, "becoming a community of transformed hearts and lives that transform the world around us," is consistent with the members' mission to help Chandler.
She said was especially struck by the "failing" label No Child Left Behind gives schools in Chandler's position.
"God doesn't see people as failures, and somehow we've got to spread that," Vining said. "We're part of the community, so if the school's a failure then we're a failure, too."