Antietam Academy Community Day on May 20: Free food, books and clothes

Mariah Ford remembers being scared when she was told around age 11 that she was going to be transferred to a school she'd never heard of and where she didn’t know anyone.

But soon after transferring, Ford's feelings changed.

"When I realized it was the place for me, I loved it," said Ford, now 24 and the mother of two.

Ford, who lives in Hagerstown, said she keeps in touch with teachers from Antietam Academy and plans to attend the school’s Community Day on May 20.

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This is the third time the school is holding the event. School officials invite not only alumni and staff but the community to attend, English teacher Mary Fortson said.

The goal is "to celebrate who we are and who we are becoming. A lot of good comes out of our school because of the relationships and community we are," Fortson wrote in an email.

The event also emphasizes literacy, with storytelling and book giveaways.

The event will have games and activities, food and resources from several organizations, Fortson said. A food pantry will be open and there will be a clothing giveaway.

The event is free, including the food, she said.

The academy provides an alternative educational setting to help students who have behavioral and emotional difficulties adjusting to traditional school settings, according to the school's website.

Both Ford and Bertie Grimm, 28, said it helped them that Antietam had smaller class sizes, and one-on-one time with teachers.

“We teach academics, but we also give our kids a strong sense of connectedness,” Fortson said.

"(Antietam Academy) changed my life because they were able to show me what a family was and give me help when I needed it. … And they never, like, gave up. And they actually helped you," said Ford, who graduated in 2016.

Since graduating, Ford has worked in community health.

Principal Rachel Kane-Kirkpatrick, in an emailed statement, wrote that school officials have focused on how they engage families in their efforts to help students find success at school and in their communities.

The Community Day is “an effort to build partnerships” with families in several areas. This year parent volunteers are helping with planning and hosting, Kane-Kirkpatrick wrote.

The school’s partnership with parent volunteers “has allowed us to work alongside our families to showcase what is awesome about the Antietam Academy learning community. We are looking forward to the fellowship this day will provide as we strive to build stronger home/school connections in support of our students,” Kane-Kirkpatrick said.

Grimm, of the Smithsburg area, described being indifferent when she was told she was being transferred to Antietam Academy shortly after starting sixth grade.

Grimm said people used to call her a “hardhead.” She describes herself as “more of just a class clown type” back then. She wasn’t listening to her teachers at Smithsburg Middle and would talk back.

She stayed at Antietam through high school, and said her attitude changed her senior year.

Her Dad was a big part of that, Grimm said. But so was the community at Antietam Academy.

“People would say that they would be proud of me if I graduated,” she said of what helped change her attitude.

Teachers like Fortson were "helpful and understood what us troubled kids went through and they were just very understanding," Grimm said.

"They made you feel like family. You knew you were in school, but you knew you could always go to them if you needed something," she said.

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If not for Antietam, Grimm said it probably would have taken her longer to graduate. She doesn’t know if she would have dropped out.

“I definitely wouldn’t have the friends that I have now,” she said of her former teachers at Antietam. She stays in touch with at least five of those teachers, occasionally going to lunch with them.

Those include Fortson, whom Ford also said she keeps in touch with.

“We realize that we are only strong when we are together as a unit,” said Fortson, who has taught at Antietam for over 20 years.

“Even when our kids graduate, they are still our kids,” Fortson said.

If Grimm were talking to a student heading to Antietam, she’d tell them, “They’re there to help you. If you just keep your head on straight, they’ll do anything for you.”

If you go …WHAT: Antietam Academy Community DayWHEN: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, May 20WHERE: Antietam Academy campus, 40 W. Oak Ridge Drive, HagerstownCOST: FreeMORE: Activities include basketball, corn hole, arts and crafts, games and prizes, storytelling, guided walks through the school’s garden, and boxing demonstrations by the Simon Lindsey Boxing Academy.The food bank will be open and there will be giveaways of books and new or gently used clothing for infants to adults. Numerous organizations will provide resources. The Washington County Health Department will bring a concealment trailer so parents can learn where youths could hide items like drugs. The department’s student assistance program will have information for issues such as peer pressure, substance abuse and other areas in which students might struggle. Other organizations expected include the Boys and Girls Clubs of Washington County, Brook Lane, the Girl Scouts, The Mental Health Center of Western Maryland, the Western Maryland Consortium, Willow Tree Counseling Center adolescent counseling services, and Goodwill Industries.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Antietam Academy to host third community day on May 20 in Hagerstown