Toy Story, Part II

Theresa Sterling
Jefferson Somerset Academy

Jefferson Somerset Academy Principal Cory Oliver and Eydie Tricquet, the new superintendent of Jefferson County School District, rumbled down a dirt road in the north part of rural Jefferson County. Oliver’s truck bed was loaded to the hilt with gifts, and they were headed to the homes of two students who are studying via Remote Live Instruction (RLI) because of COVID-19.

With Oliver at the wheel and Tricquet punching in student addresses and navigating with her phone, they were racing the clock to visit all students on their list before the last day of school, delivering gifts sent from other Academica network schools in South Florida. According to Oliver, this year was the biggest gift donation haul sent north to Jefferson students since Somerset arrived in 2017.

“There were six schools that supported us, and Academica staff sent Macintosh computers as well as books and toys. Some lucky top-performing students will get those,” said Oliver. Academica is the Miami-based education service provider that supports Somerset charter schools and several other networks including Mater and Pinecrest Academies, who were key in coordinating donations this year. “If the schools down south weren’t donating this year, they were physically helping me load my Suburban and U-Haul trailer.”

That was the case with principals Pilar Fernandez-Rivas of Mater Gardens Academy in Hialeah Gardens and Saili Hernandez of Somerset Academy Bay in Miami, who loaded up when Oliver was down south in early December to pick up toys. Fernandez-Rivas’ school was the primary donor for the last two years, but with so many RLI students this year it was hard for them to match their past holiday donations to Jefferson students.

Other schools that donated toys—students, staff and administration—included Somerset Oaks Academy in Homestead (Principal Idalia Suarez), Somerset Academy Gables in Coral Gables (Principal Suzette Ruiz), Pinecrest Preparatory Academy in Miami (Principal Ana Diaz) and Mater Academy Middle/High School in Hialeah Gardens.

Activities Director Mary Pino at Mater Academy coordinated the intense effort on short notice and her students came through in a big way.

“We have 18 student service groups at our school. They have a long tradition of doing a Winter Wonderland benefit for families here, and because of COVID, it wasn’t possible this year,” said Pino. “They came to me and asked, ‘Who can we help?’ and this is what they chose to do.”

Students donated money and toys and Pino and her assistant shopped to fill in gaps. The students also adopted some of Jefferson’s most needy families, shopping specifically for them to make sure each child in a sibling group had an equal number of gifts. They put together huge family bags and included $300 worth of gift cards for parents.

Christine Floyd’s family received one of the gift bags. Floyd and her husband have six children, four of them Somerset students. She owns a pet grooming business in Monticello but said business has suffered since the pandemic hit.
“This year has been rough. My husband lost his job, so we really needed this. I am deeply appreciative,” Floyd said. “It will be their biggest Christmas ever. I got goosebumps when I saw what you were doing for them.”

Somerset staff estimated that donations easily topped $10,000. Principal Oliver brought grades pre-K through five to the present-filled classroom during the last week of school before the winter break, and each student chose one gift and one stuffed animal. The remaining gifts went into his truck for the dash to deliver.

With the new superintendent riding shotgun on the last day of school before the break, Oliver finished the home deliveries and was back on campus for early dismissal, just in the nick of time.