Dec. 14, 2023 9:00p; Edited 12-15 1a
(WGTD)---A company that 'adopted' a Kenosha middle school that has since been targeted for closure has no idea what's next for the three-year-old mentoring program, but the coordinator of the partnership is realizing that it's more important than ever for his firm to stick by the students.
Jake McGhee is Chief Philanthropy Officer for Jockey International. McGhee and over two-dozen Jockey employees serve as mentors at Lincoln Middle School. In addition, Jockey covers the Sylvan Learning Center tutoring costs for nearly 50 students. The partnership also includes a YMCA-run after school component. McGhee proudly points out that the participating students on average achieve significantly higher test scores.
Under a downsizing and consolidation plan that was narrowly approved by the school board this week, Lincoln will close its doors as a middle school at the end of the current school year, resulting in the school's 450 students being sent to the district's four remaining middle schools.
At the meeting, McGhee spoke against the closure. "Kids in our community need consistency," he said. "They need routine. They need stability. They need relationships with adults. And you can't pick that up and move it."
Reached by WGTD Thursday, McGhee said it's unclear how the closure will impact Jockey's program, but he knows that the school and the surrounding inner-city neighborhood need Jockey's help more than ever. "As we navigate the road ahead and figure out our next steps, we must continue to give all that we have to these kids who need us the most in our community. We will continue to fight for these kids. We will help them navigate this transition. And we will do everything in our power to support them going forward," McGhee wrote in an email to the mentors and copied to WGTD.
Continuing on, McGhee said: "We’ll really need to work hard to see where these kids go, and do our best not to lose our connection to them. Whether it is bringing tutoring to them or sending our mentors to a new school, we’re going to have to get creative so that we can be there for kids in our community." Jockey's 60th St. headquarters lies within the Lincoln attendance area.
Lincoln Middle won't sit empty. Next fall, it'll be the new home for KTEC, a KUSD charter school that currently operates out of two locations. KTEC will fill Lincoln to capacity, unlike the middle school enrollment that resulted in a 50% building utilization rate, according to district standards.
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