Agency update: Blessed Sacrament Academy
Blessed Sacrament Academy has a long history of helping families to thrive through parent training and children’s activities. But in all their years, they never faced a crisis like they did when the Covid pandemic struck in 2020.
The academy was forced to move from in-person parenting classes to online offerings. The 2021 Support Grant they received from Impact San Antonio allowed them to purchase a camera, MacBook Pro, wireless microphones and other equipment for producing online content.
“Covid restrictions completely shut down our in-person classes for parents, as well as our family strengthening events,” said Kathy Lozano, director of the Family Success Academy, one of the support programs at Blessed Sacrament. “While we were able to maintain operation of our Early Childhood Center throughout the pandemic, in-person services to parents had to be suspended. After 25 years of on-site parent education workshops, we had to switch to online support groups.
“The Family Service Academy provides education, support and resources for the families whose children are enrolled in our Child Development Center,” she explained. “Children from 6 weeks to age 5 benefit from quality early education and care.”
The staff learned to use the iMovie program to create and post videos to YouTube, and they started an online support group for parents on Zoom.
Videos include weekly parenting pep talks, demonstrations and directions for family creative activities, stories that families can enjoy together, and educational resources for parents on child development topics.
The program also started drive-through events where parents could drop by and pick up art packets created to promote literacy and celebrate the joy of children’s books, Lozano said.
“We had holiday events in our parking lot and were able to connect with community resources to get pumpkins for every family at harvest time, gifts for everyone at Christmas, and free books, diapers and clothing throughout the year,” she said. “We also provided drive-through food box pickups a number of times throughout the pandemic. We started a gardening program and distributed seeds, soil and plants to families.
“We were able to resume some in-person family activities this spring by hosting play groups and family events in our children’s courtyard and playgrounds,” Lozano said. “We are happy to welcome parents and their children back to play in our Family Engagement Center also. We are still wearing masks, but now parents can enter their child’s learning environment and join the fun.”
Moving to online content changed some of their client base, Lozano noted.
“We have attracted parents from out of our area with our Zoom options,” she said. “Rather than serving a large number of parents, we find this approach is giving us a deeper connection to the same families over time. Before the pandemic, when we were hosting in-person parenting workshops, we often had families who came to one eight- or 10-week session to meet a requirement, and then moved on. Now we are serving fewer families but making more impact. With the online resources, parents now have the capacity to share our videos, and we can link them to our social media accounts to reach more people.”
Lozano can cite a number of success stories, but one that stands out is a couple who were foster parents to two boys, ages 1 and 2 years. They enrolled the boys in the Early Childhood Center shortly before the pandemic began.
“They were looking for support and encouragement in helping the boys overcome the challenges of abuse and neglect that they had suffered before they were placed in the couple’s home,” she said. The couple also participated in the academy’s programs.
“Their adoption became final in June 2021, and the children are thriving now,” Lozano said. “The family continues to participate in our programs. We are proud to be part of their success story!”
Lozano has high praise for Impact SA and its work in the community.
“We love the deep involvement and commitment of Impact San Antonio members,” she said. “Blessed Sacrament Academy thanks each member and the organization as a whole for all you do for our community.”
www.blessedsacramentacademysa.org
(210) 532-4731