Contributed photo
Kayla Folk didn’t expect to be able to buy her son a gift for Christmas. Then her principal showed up at her door Wednesday bearing gifts.
Folk (pictured) attends Riverside Academy. She gave birth to a son the first week of November.
Principal Derek Stephenson and special education teacher Steve Mikolike visited Folk and 11 other teen parents from the school Wednesday to deliver presents donated during a holiday gift drive last week. Additional Riverside staff joined in delivering gifts with a caravan of 5 cars.
Riverside is an alternative high school for students who have faced challenges in conventional settings. Facing the pandemic and remote online learning has been a challenge to students, on top of stresses they already face.
Folk said that two days after she gave birth in November, the state Department of Children and Families took her baby away. Folk had been in the foster care system since she was 12 years old; DCF concluded she had suffered from unjust mental issues based on her history.
The same DCF mentor who supervised Folk while she was in the foster care system took custody of the baby.
“Everything was good for about a month,” Folk said. “Then I got a call from the hospital asking for permission to treat my son for having seizures. The next day, I got another call and was asked if I knew what had actually happened. I found out that my son had a fractured skull and bleeding in his brain.”
As a senior at Riverside, Folk has been working at KFC part-time in East Haven and visiting her son every Wednesday at the hospital.
“I haven’t done school since I had my son in November. I’m still enrolled in school. I just have to start getting back into logging in virtually, which I don’t like,” Folk said. “I actually like school in person. I like being one on one with a teacher in school. Being able to walk up to the teacher and ask for help. Being on the computer isn’t a lot of help to me.”
Courtney Luciana photo
Principal Stephenson and Mikolike.
Folk said Stephenson, Mikolike, and English teacher Barbara Puglisi have supported her throughout this ordeal. The holiday gifts were an added bonus.
“Puglisi will text me to check up on me. Mikolike will do the same thing, or he will try to bring me things that I need, or bring me something to eat. The last time that I saw Stephenson, we had a long conversation about everything that was going on,” Folk said.
Stephenson said it all starts with the relationship in order to build trust with the students.
“When the trust kicks in is when the walls drop,” Stephenson said. “At first, Kayla would often reject our support but would still come to school. She’s a bright young lady. She just has some interpersonal struggles that she’s working through in life.”
Mikolike and Stephenson said that Puglisii’s non-judgmental spirit helped Folk open up.
“Kayla’s behavior at times was so extreme that she intentionally pushed people away,” Mikolike said. “And Pugs looked through the behavior.”
“It’s an intentional pushaway,” Stephenson added. “Because from students like Kayla it’s a perspective of, ‘You’re going to leave me anyway. Everybody walks out my life so I’m just going to make this a little quicker.’ Kayla realized that we’re made out of teflon and we’re not going anywhere.”
Folk will be bringing her gifts to the hospital on her next visit.
During their rounds Wednesday, Stephenson and Mikolike rang the doorbell to Jolie Eichler’s home. She opened the door to greet the Riverside staff with her 1‑year old son, Kaiden, in her arms (pictured).
“We’re here to support you,” Stephenson said, as he passed a bag filled with toys to Eichler. “Let’s focus on getting that high school diploma. All right, you’ve got this!”
Kaiden was asked to pick out one toy from the bag. The rest will be saved to open up on Christmas morning. He pulled out an Avengers figurine and was so excited that he looked to Eichler to open the box up immediately.
“Jolie, we could do so many different things with you but you have to do your part,” Mikolike said. “I know we talked the last time and it’s not easy. You shared your heart, and I shared that with Mr. Stephenson. We’re aware of the struggle, and we’re both parents too.”
“There’s been days where I was late to school or just stressed out, and Riverside would always give me someone to talk me through and keep me going,” said Eichler, a Riverside senior. “They would help me out with food, to get a job, and daycare. Things like that.”
Eichler plans to start working at FedEx in January. Sometimes it’s hard to get school work done at home while caring for Kaiden, she said.
“The teachers understand if he’s running around. but the hardest part is getting used to actually getting up and doing the work, and with a good attitude,” Eichler said. “The staff always take that extra step to make sure that I’m OK and make me feel comfortable to talk about my emotions, and what’s going on at home. They never pressure me but make it known that it’s OK to talk to them.”
Eichler said that her older sister, Vanessa, has been her rock at home. Riverside staff asked if Eichler could think of anything that could be provided in assisting her everyday life. Eichler said that she couldn’t think of anything.
Mikolike said that a common pattern is students not knowing how to ask for help or having clarity of how to get basic needs met.
“How about help with a driver’s license and a paid internship to save for a car?” Mikolike said, in response to Eichler’s answer. “We all need a helping hand.”
Mikolike and Stephenson said that they received such an overwhelming response to the holiday drive that Riverside has opened a Venmo account. Money in the school account will be invested into future accommodations toward students’ growth. Riverside staff is currently in the works of brainstorming ideas like helping students to obtain their own apartments or vehicles.