{"id":373,"date":"2011-06-14T15:23:07","date_gmt":"2011-06-14T19:23:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=373"},"modified":"2011-06-14T18:34:09","modified_gmt":"2011-06-14T22:34:09","slug":"community-rallies-behind-khs-counselor-slated-to-be-cut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=373","title":{"rendered":"Community rallies behind KHS counselor slated to be cut"},"content":{"rendered":"

Students, residents reach out to the KCSD school board after Gov. Corbett’s cuts endanger beloved counselor
\n<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

By P.J. D\u2019Annunzio, <\/strong>Staff Writer, KennettTimes.com<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/em>KENNETT SQUARE \u2014 It didn’t take long to see the impact Loretta Perna has had on folks in the Kennett Consolidated School District \u2014 but a new generation of students may have to miss out, thanks to budget cuts by Gov. Tom Corbett. <\/span><\/p>\n

The KCSD Board of Education met Monday at the district office to a packed house \u2014 on a night that normally would be fairly quiet.<\/span> A small meeting room\u00a0 was filled with people pleading for a way to keep her on the job.<\/span><\/p>\n

Once the initial business was settled the floor was opened for comment. From there, one speaker after another told of how Perna had made a difference for their lives, helped them to stretch beyond what they had hoped.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI arrived in this country six years ago,\u201d said Sarahi Zamores, who graduated from Kennett High on Friday, \u201cI didn\u2019t know English\u2026everything was new. You\u2019re expected to be successful and do well, but for me it wasn\u2019t like that. It was really hard to learn a new language and new culture. I never felt like a part of the community.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Enter Perna, a Kennett High School guidance counselor and a beloved figure among the local Hispanic population. Thanks to proposed cuts by Gov. Tom Corbett, the grant program that paid Perna’s salary is slated to disappear \u2014 and the impact of that could hurt dozens of students each year.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was a freshman when I met Ms. Perna,\u201d Zamores said, \u201cDuring my sophomore year she told me about the \u2018WIN\u2019 program and she said it was designed for Latino students who were capable of doing well in school but weren\u2019t.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The program, developed by Perna, focuses on strengthening Hispanic students academically with the ultimate goal of attending a four-year college or university. Perna herself helps the students study and complete homework assignments. She also helps them and their families with the college application process.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was not interested in going to college; I never thought that someone like me could go to college, I didn\u2019t have the grades or the money, my friends don\u2019t speak English and know nothing about it\u2026but Ms. Perna told me that if I really wanted to do it I could do it,\u201d Zamores said. <\/span><\/p>\n

Perna\u2019s WIN, or \u201cWalk-in Knowledge\u201d program, has a two-fold goal: while students are encouraged to do well academically, they are also taught the value of giving back to society. Perna supervises trips to paint over graffiti and pick up trash not only to beautify the community but also to foster a sense of responsibility for the students\u2019 own surroundings.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s when I really felt like part of the community,\u201d Zamores said, referring to her own service.<\/span><\/p>\n

The WIN program draws its funding from the 21st<\/sup> Century educational grant, but due to the educational budget cuts imposed by PA Gov. Corbett, the grant is no longer available to sustain the program. Perna, Kennett High\u2019s only Spanish-speaking counselor, is not a direct employee of Kennett Consolidated School District and may be faced with acquiring an alternate position (one that would potentially have her counseling the entire student body rather than solely Hispanic students) within Kennett High or leaving the district altogether.<\/span><\/p>\n

The next speaker to the podium was Cesar Mendez, another 2011 Kennett graduate.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI came to United States about three years ago. When I was in Mexico I wasn\u2019t studying because my family couldn\u2019t afford high school,\u201d Mendez said.<\/span><\/p>\n

This alludes to Mexico\u2019s educational policies, where school attendance is only mandatory until sixth grade and families must pay for a high school education.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mendez went on to recount his own difficulties with adapting to his new home. But he, like so many others in the room, found a mentor and friend in Perna, and was able to overcome his humble circumstances and achieve.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like if it wasn\u2019t for her [Perna] I wouldn\u2019t be attending Penn State next fall. I\u2019d be working in Mexico, agriculturally,\u201d he concluded, \u201cIf it wasn\u2019t for her I wouldn\u2019t have done a lot of community service\u2026if we lose Ms. Perna, we\u2019ll be losing a lot.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The outpouring of support continued as Vice President of Exelon Energy David Ellsworth, Kennett Borough Councilwoman Jessie Cocks, Lutheran Minister J. Patrick Seyler, and two current Exelon employees and former WIN students, analysts Jose Guerrero and Jose Ayllon all spoke words of praise for Perna to the KCSD board.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know Loretta,\u201d Cocks said, \u201cbut I know a lot about what she has done for this community and its students\u2026we have a treasure here in Kennett with these students and we need to collectively as a community find a way to get creative and find a way to keep some one as talented and important to the students in this community as Loretta Perna.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Following Cocks, Seyler spoke on the difficulty that Hispanic students face, internally, when attempting to seek higher education.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI know that many students are discouraged to go to college because they are Hispanic; I have heard many stories of teachers discouraging students, especially female students, to go to college. This is something that is real. We need to be aware of that,\u201d he said<\/span><\/p>\n

He went on to detail the nature of his own vocation as his \u201ccalling.\u201d He related his own drive to that of Perna\u2019s.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFor Ms. Perna this is a vocation, and as teachers I hope and suppose that you understand what that means. Losing her would be a great blow to the community,\u201d Seyler said.<\/span><\/p>\n

From minister to businessman, the floor was given to Exelon VP David Ellsworth.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhile I am by no means an expert on matters pertaining to school funding and the fine school board or the duties of them, I understand and respect the stresses of effective fiscal management and empathize with the difficult choices you have to make\u2026I\u2019m respectfully requesting that this board do what it can to prioritize the dollars necessary to fund the incredible efforts of Ms. Loretta Perna,\u201d Ellsworth said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was stunned to learn that in the year 2000 only two students from Mexico had ever graduated from Kennett High and gone to college,\u201d he continued, \u201ctoday that number is over one hundred, and thirty-eight Latino students currently have plans to attend college in the fall. This is because of Loretta Perna\u2026look at the faces in this room and listen to the stories you hear tonight and help us preserve the hope of their future by funding Loretta Perna\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

After Ellsworth introduced Allyon and Guerrero, Marywood University and Bucknell University graduates respectively, they gave testament to their own successes due to Perna\u2019s guidance, and how they have returned to live and work in the community.<\/span><\/p>\n

The board then responded.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t even begin to agree with you any more with all of the fabulous things you\u2019ve all said about Loretta,\u201d said board president Heather Schaen, \u201cshe is an amazing asset to our district.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI understand that Loretta helps out the Latino population greatly, and helping students navigate through higher education and acclimating,\u201d board member Dominic Perigo said, \u201cbut I as a school board member have to think about what\u2019s best for the entire district and I believe that there are other segments of our population\u00a0that could use Loretta as well.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The board is expected to make a decision regarding funding and Loretta Perna\u2019s position by the end of June.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Students, residents reach out to the KCSD school board after Gov. Corbett’s cuts endanger beloved counselor By P.J. D\u2019Annunzio, Staff Writer, KennettTimes.com KENNETT SQUARE \u2014 It didn’t take long to see the impact Loretta Perna has had on folks in the Kennett Consolidated School District \u2014 but a new generation of students may have to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":376,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4],"tags":[83,82,27],"class_list":["post-373","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-featured","tag-budget-cuts","tag-corbett","tag-kennett-consolodated-school-district"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=373"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/376"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}