Story of Impact: Nakia Arquette
Nakia Arquette is a Program Manager with Communities in Schools of Spokane County, a partner in The ZONE. Nakia grew up in Spokane and returned after going away for college to earn her degree in Elementary Education. “Education definitely wasn’t my hyperfocus initially,” she said. “I always found myself wanting to work with youth and work with kids, and help people potentially in ways in which they don’t know that resources are available.” In that regard, her current position is a perfect fit!
Nakia works with Communities in Schools site coordinators and school administration teams to implement 21st Century Community Learning Center (21st CCLC) programs at seven Northeast Spokane Public Schools, including Bemiss, Whitman, Stevens, Logan, Lidgerwood, Garry, and Shaw. The 21st Century grant and supplemental American Rescue Plan dollars provide funding for summer and after-school programs in Northeast Spokane for children in fourth through eighth grade. There is also funding to support parent and caregiver programming. Nakia provides guidance to and collaborates with her colleagues to bring supplies, materials, community connections, and resources to each school to improve student success and well-being. Nakia said, “I think there’s so much that goes into being successful academically. Your basic needs need to be met, you have to make sure things are good at home, and your family [needs to feel] supported before you’re really successful in the classroom.” The 21st Century programs are designed with this in mind, so they are not just about academics. Nakia explains that these programs “help broaden the horizons for these kids who may not know everything that’s available to them.” With a focus on safety, comfort, and fun, 21st Century programs allow students to “explore different enrichment opportunities that they don’t get throughout the day…We definitely want to open the doors for them.”
Since she began this position in the spring of 2021, Nakia and her colleagues have been navigating the public health challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to support Northeast students and families. “Overall involvement in school and after-school programs has definitely been affected by COVID. You want to make sure you put all the precautions and safety measures in place so kids and families feel comfortable coming to our programming,” Nakia explained. “I can definitely say at the start of 2022, we’ve seen a lot more people wanting to attend our programs and see what we’re all about.” Though most of her days involve connecting with adults, Nakia says that seeing the students for herself brings her a lot of joy. “I was at Shaw Middle School all last week,” she said, “I definitely go and get involved in after-school programs when I can.”
Shifting the focus from her own work, Nakia sang the praises of the site coordinators at each of the schools sponsored by the 21st Century grant. “Our site coordinators that are in the schools deserve a lot of recognition,” she said. They are: Nathan Hamilton at Shaw Middle School; Juandiego Lerma and Miranda Adair at Garry Middle School; Takwona Davis at Bemiss Elementary; Anthony Willins at Lidgerwood Elementary; and Annica Zepeda at Whitman Elementary. “I think it would be awesome to shout them out and give them credit because they put in a lot of hard work,” Nakia said. “I try to help provide that overall umbrella support so that they are supported and can support the kids directly...It’s the site coordinator that really does a good job of putting things together, and I just support creation and implementation.”
Though there have certainly been challenges for Northeast schools, Nakia has been hopeful by the investments made in the past few years. “Now you see a lot of really high quality educators and teachers and admin and community partners and resources wanting to feed into [Northeast Spokane] to really boost it up and show all the potential and the amazing people and businesses in the area,” she says. “And I love being a part of that and providing support to students who are living in that area. We actually have a few site coordinators that currently work for us who are from the area, so they bring a lot of relatability and understanding. So I’m learning from them everyday, but Northeast is definitely a special area and I’ve really enjoyed working here.”
Nakia Arquette is a Program Manager with Communities in Schools of Spokane County, a partner in The ZONE. Nakia grew up in Spokane and returned after going away for college to earn her degree in Elementary Education. “Education definitely wasn’t my hyperfocus initially,” she said. “I always found myself wanting to work with youth and work with kids, and help people potentially in ways in which they don’t know that resources are available.” In that regard, her current position is a perfect fit!
Nakia works with Communities in Schools site coordinators and school administration teams to implement 21st Century Community Learning Center (21st CCLC) programs at seven Northeast Spokane Public Schools, including Bemiss, Whitman, Stevens, Logan, Lidgerwood, Garry, and Shaw. The 21st Century grant and supplemental American Rescue Plan dollars provide funding for summer and after-school programs in Northeast Spokane for children in fourth through eighth grade. There is also funding to support parent and caregiver programming. Nakia provides guidance to and collaborates with her colleagues to bring supplies, materials, community connections, and resources to each school to improve student success and well-being. Nakia said, “I think there’s so much that goes into being successful academically. Your basic needs need to be met, you have to make sure things are good at home, and your family [needs to feel] supported before you’re really successful in the classroom.” The 21st Century programs are designed with this in mind, so they are not just about academics. Nakia explains that these programs “help broaden the horizons for these kids who may not know everything that’s available to them.” With a focus on safety, comfort, and fun, 21st Century programs allow students to “explore different enrichment opportunities that they don’t get throughout the day…We definitely want to open the doors for them.”
Since she began this position in the spring of 2021, Nakia and her colleagues have been navigating the public health challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to support Northeast students and families. “Overall involvement in school and after-school programs has definitely been affected by COVID. You want to make sure you put all the precautions and safety measures in place so kids and families feel comfortable coming to our programming,” Nakia explained. “I can definitely say at the start of 2022, we’ve seen a lot more people wanting to attend our programs and see what we’re all about.” Though most of her days involve connecting with adults, Nakia says that seeing the students for herself brings her a lot of joy. “I was at Shaw Middle School all last week,” she said, “I definitely go and get involved in after-school programs when I can.”
Shifting the focus from her own work, Nakia sang the praises of the site coordinators at each of the schools sponsored by the 21st Century grant. “Our site coordinators that are in the schools deserve a lot of recognition,” she said. They are: Nathan Hamilton at Shaw Middle School; Juandiego Lerma and Miranda Adair at Garry Middle School; Takwona Davis at Bemiss Elementary; Anthony Willins at Lidgerwood Elementary; and Annica Zepeda at Whitman Elementary. “I think it would be awesome to shout them out and give them credit because they put in a lot of hard work,” Nakia said. “I try to help provide that overall umbrella support so that they are supported and can support the kids directly...It’s the site coordinator that really does a good job of putting things together, and I just support creation and implementation.”
Though there have certainly been challenges for Northeast schools, Nakia has been hopeful by the investments made in the past few years. “Now you see a lot of really high quality educators and teachers and admin and community partners and resources wanting to feed into [Northeast Spokane] to really boost it up and show all the potential and the amazing people and businesses in the area,” she says. “And I love being a part of that and providing support to students who are living in that area. We actually have a few site coordinators that currently work for us who are from the area, so they bring a lot of relatability and understanding. So I’m learning from them everyday, but Northeast is definitely a special area and I’ve really enjoyed working here.”