The Fox C-6 School District has entered into an agreement with an Alabama nonprofit agency to provide free shoes and socks to students who need help.
Board of Education members voted unanimously Dec. 12 to partner with Soles for Souls (S4S), which will provide the district with 500 shoes and 1,000 pairs of socks for students who are experiencing homelessness or near homelessness, as defined by the McKinney Vento Homeless Assistance Act.
Each student who qualifies will receive one pair of shoes and two pairs of socks. There is no cost to the Fox district to participate in the program, and district officials estimated it would cost more than $12,500 to provide the shoes and socks S4S will provide, according to board documents.
“It is another resource to help kids,” Superintendent Paul Fregeau said. “You have to take care of basic needs. When you look at the data, when kids feel better about themselves and are more confident, they are more ready to come to school because they are not walking out with basically no shoes. They will feel more comfortable, safe and protected. It is another aspect of kids coming ready to learn.”
Kim Loomis, director of federal programs and human resources, said she learned about the S4S program during a Missouri Department of Education meeting in October.
She said Deidra Thomas-Murray, director of students in transition and foster care liaison for St. Louis Public Schools, spoke about S4S and the impact it had on students.
“We have a need for shoes at all of our schools,” Loomis said. “Based on referrals, we intend to send shoes to each school. We may have a shoe fair event where parents, guardians, grandparents and foster parents can bring their child or children to select new shoes. We will be reviewing how other district partners have distributed (the shoes and socks) and intend to get these shoes out to our students as soon as possible.”
Fregeau said the program could be a valuable resource for the school district.
“It speaks to the value of the school being part of the community,” he said. “A school needs its community, just like a community needs its school. This is an example of schools and communities working together. It is part of taking care of the whole child. We are not just here to build their brains. We are here to help make them the best person they can be and be comfortable in their own skin.”
Fregeau also said the partnership could free up funds the district otherwise might need to use to help provide shoes and socks to students.
“It relieves resources to be utilized in a different direction,” he said.
As part of its participation in S4S, the Fox district will need to collect feedback from at least 15 students who receive shoes and socks through the program and submit that to S4S. The students’ responses will be anonymous, board documents said.