Jess Hawley
at Frank Church High School If you’ve ever met Jess Hawley, chances are you found out exactly what his passion is within the first few minutes. With the help of supporters, including his principal Derek Gardner and the Boise Public School Education Foundation, Hawley has put together an incentive program that provides basic needs for his students at Frank Church High School in return for keeping up their grades. He’s got a lot of heavy lifting to do and has taken on the challenge at a superhero level, though he would argue that there’s nothing really super about it—he’s just providing basic needs to students who don’t have access to them. So many students are living in poverty or in homes where they don’t feel safe, which means learning is their last priority. High school is hard enough, and today’s environment asks more and more of students while simultaneously placing pressure on students through social media in a way that can tear young people to pieces. Add being homeless or dealing with a parent addicted to drugs, and everything else becomes nearly impossible. We often forget that basic needs also include having fun. Hawley brings students to Bogus Basin and gears them up with help from local partners, such as Play It Again Sports and REI. For their first time, they don’t have to earn any special grades. But if they want to keep skiing or snowboarding, their grades must stay up. Boise is a different place when you can’t afford to participate in recreation, yet many things we take for granted feel like a luxury for some people. Playing outside and being a kid can be a huge stress relief for these students who had to become adults at a young age and should be accessible to everyone. Being a teacher is more than just teaching, and how Hawley has become invested in his students is proof of that. He says he’s never afraid to ask for support from community members or businesses, and as soon as he starts talking about the program, the necessity of it becomes apparent. The program is growing rapidly and he hopes to expand to other schools that are also in need. Check out FrankChurch.BoiseSchools.org to stay up to date on this project. The effect this has on their students demonstrates how getting something as simple as face wash can be life changing. CONTINUED >
August 2017 | Boise Lifestyle
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