In a southwest Fresno neighborhood, learning hasn’t stopped for the summer.
Since Fresno Unified got out, several kids have been hitting the books on the front porch of Rizpah Bellard.
“We just sit on the porch, get a book and read. If they have questions on certain words, I help them sound it out. I have them read to each other,” explained Bellard. “That snowballed into five kids, seven kids, 10 kids and now I have 13 kids.”
Bellard is a substitute teacher for the district, and she’s taught many of the kids in her neighborhood. They’re also the ones who pitched the idea of “Miss B’s Summer School on the Porch.”
“They asked me to teach them and I said ‘Sure.’ This is a great opportunity for them to get on grade-level, because a lot of the students in Fresno are behind,” Bellard shared. “These students want to get on grade-level.”
Miss B, along with her boyfriend Kevin Tatum, who’s also the vice principal at Sunnyside High – are teaching kids from Kindergarten to seventh grade.
The students said they enjoy every moment of it.