Hunger in Fairhope Schools

Rachel Smith is the parent of a first-grader at J. Larry Newton school in Fairhope where she substitutes and volunteers. One Friday, she saw the school counselor delivering bags of food to each classroom. 

“That was food for those babies to eat over the weekend,” she said. “It was the first time I realized kids in our schools don't have enough food at home. I couldn't get it off my mind.”

The grant funding the food program at Newton was about to expire, leaving 40 children in the pre-K through sixth grade school without weekend meals. Smith volunteered to take over the program and raised the $2,700 needed to keep it running into the next school year. She took it a step further, and bought additional food for student meals during extended school holidays such as Mardi Gras and spring break. “So they can have full bellies during the longer times they aren’t at school,” she said.

“I don’t have a network of people to ask for money and would rather work behind the scenes,” Smith said. “But God doesn't call the equipped, he equips the called. I just want those kids to have food.”

As she raised money for the backpack program from her Facebook page, some asked why they should help feed these children when their parents just needed to get a job. “The stereotype of lazy and living off the government doesn’t fit what is happening in Fairhope,” she said. “Most parents are working, sometimes two or three jobs, and doing what they can to keep the lights on.”

Smith said helping struggling families is a “fire in her soul.” She was once a stay-at-home mom, caring for her daughter with urgent medical needs, when her husband lost his job for three months. The couple spent all of their savings and sold everything of value. 

“From the outside things may have looked okay because we kept driving our Mercedes and BMW,” she said. “They were leased and we couldn’t get out of them. It was humbling to fall behind, but we were lucky our family helped us through.

“The reality is, we all struggle with something, even in a city that looks this perfect. But the beauty and blessing comes when people help each other. In the darkness comes light. Why do we want to deny this happens or turn away?”

Outside appearances can be deceiving in Fairhope, where principals and counselors say there is a misperception that everyone is wealthy and students have no needs. Twenty-nine percent of the 5,100 students in the Fairhope schools feeder pattern (Fairhope High School, Fairhope Middle, Fairhope Intermediate, Fairhope Elementary and J.L. Newton) come from families at or below the poverty line and qualify for reduced or free lunch, according to 2019-2020 school year data. Twenty-two students have been homeless during the year.

Poverty in Fairhope is increasing, and the middle class bridging poverty and wealth seems to be shrinking, said Kate Wellborn, school counselor at Fairhope Elementary School. And it is not just those with low incomes, she said. Many people look stable, but have only a two-month cushion.

“Parents are running up credit cards, and an emergency would be a financial disaster,” Wellborn said. “I think more people need help in Fairhope than we know.” 

School counselors and staff said they pay attention to hunger, hygiene, and signs of distress at home, trying to eliminate negative ways a child stands out. They provide counseling for behavior problems, free snacks for students, and wash clothes for students coming to school unclean.

“The family may not have a washer or dryer, and going to a laundromat is expensive or it requires time away from work,” Wellborn said. “They don't have access to what many of us take for granted in our own homes.”

Even some of the youngest children in school get up, dressed, and to school by themselves because the parents work jobs that don’t fit the school schedule, said Dianna Wolchina, another counselor at FES. “Some students spend hours sitting in the car while their mother cleans on the night shift. Some help their mother work and don’t have time for homework or getting enough sleep. They miss the bus or miss school over and over. These early years are when students start falling behind.”

Housing also affects students. The homeless count includes families sleeping on couches with friends and family, or in sheds in someone’s yard, according to Wolchina.

“The average apartment rent in Fairhope is more than $1,000 and that is unaffordable for our families making minimum wage or even $15 an hour,” she said.

Wellborn said some students live in trailers that aren’t fit to live in, but that is the only place their family can afford. Some of the trailer parks are owned by predatory landlords, and the mobile homes have windows that are broken, with holes in the roof or floor.

“Landlords don't fix these things because the renters don't have anywhere to go,” she said. “Wherever there are poor people, there are people taking advantage of them, even in Fairhope. And it affects our students.”

With so many barriers working against them, children come to school unprepared, behind on social skills, and perform lower than average, Wolchina said. Both counselors understand these barriers from times of poverty and crisis in their own lives.

Wellborn experienced her own financial insecurity when she became a single mother after her divorce. She had a master’s degree and made $35,000 a year in a government job, $3,000 a month before taxes. After daycare, housing, food, a car note and electricity were paid, there was nothing left for gas, clothes, or phones. Emergencies were devastating and she made too much to qualify for most assistance programs. She was able to work a second job at night because her mother watched her kids. “I felt trapped in a cycle that seemed impossible to break,” she said. “I was lucky to have family here to help me through.”

“How do we expect a kid to learn his multiplication facts when he is hungry, worried about losing his home, or the power is out at his house?” Wolchina said. “Kate and I fight for these kids because we have been there.”

Poverty and stress at home are considered Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE), Wellborn explained. The more ACEs, the more likely they are to have a behavioral or cognitive problem than a child with no ACEs.  They are also more likely to experience academic failure and attendance problems. 

Wellborn and Wolchina recently analyzed discipline data from the current school year at Fairhope Elementary School and found that free or reduced lunch students made up 55 percent of the students referred for discipline infractions. They also represent 57 percent of the students chronically absent. Wellborn said these numbers stand out because the kids on free or reduced lunch make up approximately a quarter of the student population.

Some parents say they don’t want their kids in the classroom with ‘those kids’,” Wellborn said. “‘Those kids’ will grow up and be part of our community, and if we don't give them the best possible shot, it will come back to haunt us. Do you want to pay for school and care for kids now or pay for prison and social services later?”

The FES custodians, front office staff, and cafeteria workers, who make little money, are choosing to pay now, Wellborn said. “They give the children who are struggling extra love and attention. They give treats when they find out a child did a good job. They give Christmas gifts to one student each year.” 

Wellborn said community organizations and individuals also assist at the Fairhope schools. The Junior Auxiliary provides uniforms and shoes, and donates money for field trips. Individuals pay off lunch balances and fees, and provide for special needs. 

For some children in Fairhope, school is the only place they receive encouragement and love. “You don't know what a child sees before they get to school each morning,” Wellborn said. The teachers greet every child at the door with a hug, a high-five, or a fist bump to let them know they are safe and loved.

“Fairhope is nice compared to many places, but it’s not perfect.” Wellborn said. “The Lord says the poor will always be with us. Fairhope is no different.”

Fairhope High School Principal Jon Cardwell said everyone assumes his students live in expensive neighborhoods like Summer Lake and The Waters, but 24.6 percent receive free and reduced lunch based on family income below the poverty line. The school restarted the breakfast program three years ago because, “a quarter of our students came to school hungry.” Protein bars are always available in the nurse’s office, and the school sends home backpacks of food.

Cardwell said he hates Friday afternoons because some of his students won’t eat until they return to school on Monday. Some don’t have a home to go to, and counselors work hard to keep school consistent for these students to keep them on track for graduation. 

“Many of our graduation issues are poverty related,” he said. “It is hard to focus on school when you can’t get here or don’t know where you are going to spend the night.”

The students’ needs are increasing every year, and mental illness issues are rising from poverty and social media, Cardwell said.

“We are trying to be proactive and solve things before they blow up,” he said. “But as the community grows it gets harder and harder to keep up.”

FHS hired one social worker, Anna Barrett, and will use funds from the new school tax to hire another, Cardwell said. Last year Barrett had more than 1,200 individual conferences with kids in crisis, and over 40 were suicide intervention calls.

“There is so much on our kids and they aren’t mature enough to handle it,” Cardwell said. “We are also trying to free up our counselors to talk to kids more and let them know they aren't alone.”

Cardwell said in addition to the stresses of school, some students work up to 40 hours a week after school to help their families pay the bills.

“Those kids are working hard and I admire the hell out of that,” he said. 

The school offers resources such as scholarships for the ACT and summer school, a care closet, and help with extracurricular and graduation fees. But the information is not reaching the people who need it, according to Cardwell. 

Parents who are working hard to keep a roof over their heads and feed their families deserve help and resources from their schools, but the schools need to know who they are and what they need, Cardwell said. 

We are using some of the money from the new school tax to cover school supplies at FHS,” he said. “I hope this takes a little pressure off the people who are struggling.”

Cardwell said Fairhope shouldn’t become a gated community of people who look alike and can afford the best houses because, “we lose the culture and contributions of those we keep out.”

“I like our edgy kids,” he said. “We need our difference and diversity because it makes our kids stronger, and us better people. To have real culture and community, you have to accept the whole ecosystem. Fairhope is better if all of our kids find a place where they can succeed.”

Charles Durgin, operations director at the Rotary Youth Club, said he believes Fairhope needs to address the gap in education between the haves and have-nots in order for all kids to succeed. Kids who have to “push a little harder to get it, but they also have a chance to be anything they want to be.

“Every child is at risk, whether you go to school at Bayside or Foley, whether you live on Young Street or Section Street,” he said. “Our kids are around each other. There is drug abuse and domestic violence in the gated communities, too.”

To help the child, you have to help the whole family, Durgin said. “If you want to find out a kids’ problems, just follow him home.”

The Rotary Youth Club, which provides after school, summer, and pre-K programs for underserved children in Fairhope, helps parents find better jobs and work through problems. Durgin said he has hope, but added, “If we don't make a change, it's going to get bad before it gets better.

“It is going to take the right people working together for the betterment of these kids because they are going to determine Fairhope’s future, good or bad,” he said. “Address it in a positive way without labels or pushing them aside. You don’t know what power lies in these young minds.”

Durgin was the first director of the Rotary Youth Club and saw kids graduate from college who never thought they would graduate from high school. Children of the hidden unskilled workers of Fairhope become the first college graduates in their family, changing the economics of the whole family tree.

“My daughter was the first of my parents’ grandkids to go to college,” he said. “It set the bar for my other children and showed them education is what we do.” 

His grandfather was a sharecropper and his father started working at the Grand Hotel when he was eight years old. Durgin’s middle son is a fireman in Mobile.

“My dad never imagined having a son in my position or having a grandson serving the community like this,” he said. “Each generation is supposed to go higher and do more.”

Durgin said the mission of Fairhope should be giving all kids incentive and encouragement, to push them further. 

“Children can't help what goes on at home or that they don’t have enough to eat, but they are in our schools and we can help them have a better life,” he said. “Each one of us can give them the bright side of the light.”

(If you want to help students, donate to Rotary Youth Club or contact one of the schools and ask how you can help pay for field trips, snacks, lunches, and fees, or donate to the uniform closets. Donate to the Junior Auxillary of the Eastern Shore, Ecumenical Ministries, Rotary Youth Club, Prodisee Pantry, or Feeding the Gulf Coast)

This is the second story in the “Tale of Two Cities” series. The first story is in the current edition of Lagniappe and available here online. The next story is Unaffordable Housing.