As year end nears, Center Ave. services continue strong
As schools across Butler County are counting down the days until summer break, the staff at Center Avenue Community School continues to provide necessary resources that won’t be available during the summer.
Butler Area School District’s board highlighted at its monthly community engagement meeting Monday, May 19, how important a role the school serves in the community.
“Our main mission here is to empower students to reach their full potential by prioritizing the authentic relationships between them and our support network and support staff, and the families too,” principal Keenan McGaughey said.
Offering services for students who are physically or mentally disabled, Center Avenue Community School has 75 students, with two K-4 classes, three grade five-eight classes and four serving high school-aged students.
Superintendent Brian White said he frequently gets requests from in and out of state to visit Center Avenue so people can see the school’s operations and learn how to better serve students with a wide range of diagnoses.
However, the services don’t only include teaching for specific needs. With food scarcity being one of the biggest challenges the school faces, McGaughey said one of the most important services the school provides is its weekend backpack program.
McGaughey told the board about concerns he and staff have over students being away from school for nearly three months. He said the love and care the staff has for the students and the environment created shows how much of an impact they have on their students, and that the students want to be there in the classroom.
“It’s May 19, and some of the situations we’re seeing now is that students know we have 12 and a half days of school left. They’re not ready for summer. We provide two or more meals a day, we provide security, we provide order to the chaos they might have at home, and they’re not ready for those three months of chaos.”
