By Kathy Chouteau
A call for volunteers, a Book Drive and a $25,000 dollar donation from Chevron Richmond are part of an overriding community effort to support Stege Elementary in Richmond after it was ousted from its campus due to poor conditions.
Stege Principal Claudia Velez, who started working in her role three weeks before the K-6 grade school was relocated to DeJean Middle School’s campus in Richmond, outlined ways the community can help them at this transitional time.
“We really want to get our kids to a place where they’re reading at grade level and they’re able to do math at grade level,” she said, noting that there’s been a really big push to offer intervention and support to students during the school day.
To that end, Principal Velez said if there are volunteers in the community who would love to come and read with kids or work with small groups, “We definitely could use that kind of support.” She added that a lot of Stege’s students need to work on catching up with their English language arts and that West County READS and the Educators Book Depot are also having a Book Drive for them.
In terms of volunteers, Principal Velez said they go through a new screening process before being integrated into their roles at the school. Find the community volunteer application form here.
Another area the kids need help with as they integrate into the DeJean campus is playground equipment. Principal Velez said kids go through balls, hula hoops and jump ropes and that “all those types of things are super useful to always have plenty of for kids to play with on the playground.” Call Stege at 510-231-1425 to coordinate your donation.
Lily Rahnema, Chevron Richmond community engagement manager, confirmed the refinery donated $25,000 to the school through DonorsChoose, which included $1,000 for each of the 17 Stege teachers to purchase individual classroom needs and the remaining $8,000 to the overall school.
“It was important to ensure these students continue to have a rich educational experience at this time,” Rahnema said. “Chevron admires Stege’s principal, staff, and students for their can-do attitude and smooth integration into their new campus, and we want to help fortify their educational foundation during this process.”
Principal Velez said she expects Stege’s temporary move to DeJean to last three years while the school’s former home on Cypress Avenue in Richmond is rebuilt. She said a fence separates the elementary schoolers from the middle schoolers on campus and that they occupy two buildings there.
“It is still a work in progress, but overall, I feel like we’ve really built something here,” she said.