Mustang Stable breaks new ground

Mar. 23—ORWELL — A desire to help students remove barriers to learning in the Grand Valley Local School District has grown into a nationally known program within three years.

The Mustang Stable was developed as a community learning center after Grand Valley educators attended a conference and thought a learning center might help their students.

The conference occurred in the late 2010s and became a reality in 2021 after much planning.

Grand Valley Local Schools Superintendent William Nye and the school board worked out a process to find a leader for the program and Deliarose Marroquin was hired as a liaison in the summer of 2021.

Marroquin said the first step in developing a program was researching student and community needs with community members. Surveying was done across the district and community; including teachers, students, business leaders, service organizations and many other groups.

"These centers have to be built on community. ... I think our community had to be very vulnerable. ... I feel very fortunate to do this work," Marroquin said.

Nye said he thought the idea could benefit the community and partnered with Ashtabula County Community Action Agency to begin the process.

Carmen Kuula, who worked at ACCAA at the time, assisted in the early stages of the program connecting with how the Dragon Empowerment Center, also a community learning center, was created and nurtured in the Ashtabula Area City Schools.

A Community Learning Center is defined as a physical space and a system for providing and connecting supports around students. the idea is to create the supports around the students and families to ensure they have a greater chance to do well.

The idea gained momentum after the coronavirus pandemic when there were increased educational, physical and emotional needs, said Grand Valley High School Guidance Counselor Carrie Brumit who has been involved in the process for about six years.

Many students have urgent physical and emotional needs that must be met before education can happen at the highest level.

After extensive research the Mustang Stable began to take shape and presently includes a wide variety of support opportunities. A clothing bank, shoe bank, school supplies, hygiene products and household supplies are all available to the students.

After the physical needs are met, a wide variety of services are offered to students and their families. Marroquin said student support groups, community engagement and resource connections are critical components of the program.

Marroquin spent two years as a case manager for the Community Counseling Center, but had also been a high school librarian in Texas and was a long-term substitute in a behavioral unit.

"I think I have found my calling," she said.

Others believe so as well.

Brumit said the Mustang Stable has taken burdens away from teachers so they can concentrate on helping students learn.

Before the stable was created several teachers were paying for groceries for several homeless students, Brummitt said. She said the stable now finds solutions to those kind of problems.

The Mustang Stable becomes a problem-solving aid for families to become what they would like to become, Marroquin said. She said the stable even helped organize a funeral for a family.

Marroquin said she is in regular contact with Dragon Empowerment Center Community Resources Coordinator Jennifer Bunnell, but also honed the center to the rural needs of the Orwell area.

That rural flavor has caught the attention of educational groups and conferences across the country. Program leaders presented the Mustang Stable at a conference in Philadelphia last year and several more sharing opportunities are scheduled this year and next.

Marroquin said many of the students now volunteer at the stable to help others and area businesses, social service agencies and individuals are now a part of the growing center.

Carter Ricer, a sophomore at Grand Valley High School, said the stable has been helpful to him in many ways. He said it helped him improve his grades and helped him improve himself.

All of the funding comes from donations and grants so it is not a burden to the school district budget, Marroquin said.

Special partners help make the project including an eye doctor who helps make sure glasses are found for students that need them.

"Now we have people who have skills and they are giving back," Brummitt said.

Marroquin said the center opened with two reams of paper and a pack of pencils. There are now multiple ways for students to receive clothes, hygiene products, shoes and other necessities.

She said there are also six support groups, parent support opportunities and after-school programs. Even staff members can receive assistance when needed.

"Our job is to support our community and our staff is part of the community," Marroquin said.

Nye said the stable is on the cutting edge of rural programming for learning centers.

"I am proud of her," Nye said.

Grand Valley Middle School Principal John Glavickas said the program is very important to his students.

"She does miracles," he said of Marroquin's work.