Alexandra Walker has taught in Alachua County for 17 years, including seven working with Grandma D., who became “a second mother” to her. When Grandma D. called her saying they needed to talk, she knew something was wrong.
Grandma D. told Walker the program that brought them together, the Alachua County Foster Grandparent Program, had been cut.
“We were hysterical,” Walker said. “She’s like a part of my family. She was the officiant at my wedding.”
FGP is a volunteer-driven program in Alachua County’s Department of Community Support Services. Individuals 55 and over volunteer to provide guidance to K-12 students in exchange for a non-taxable stipend of $4 per hour and education opportunities.
The program is funded by AmeriCorps, a federal agency connecting Americans to volunteer opportunities, through its Seniors Foster Grandparent Program.
The program, which recently celebrated its 60th anniversary, may come to an end in September. Federal budget cuts forced AmeriCorps to cut the program's funding after the Trump administration pulled nearly $400 million in grants.
Walker said Grandma D.’s impact in her classroom was “immeasurable.” She worked in the classroom Monday through Friday from 7:15 a.m. to 2:50 p.m. Walker’s students' test scores improved substantially after working with Grandma D., she said, but it’s the social and emotional benefits that stuck out.
Grandma D. made sure every kid was “celebrated” in the classroom, she said. Grandma D. brought cupcakes for students’ birthdays if their families were unable to. Having an extra person in the classroom to support her and her students, especially through a stressful school day, was extremely helpful, she added.
She knew teachers who had worked with foster grandparents for nearly 30 years and can’t imagine how many other foster grandparent and teacher relationships are being severed due to the cuts.
For Walker, the loss of her foster grandparent is more than an absence of another person.
“The social, emotional support for kids, the presence, the hugs, the warmth, it’s going to be a huge hole,” Walker said. “She has a desk in my classroom. It’s so bizarre to me that she’s just not going to be there.”
For Jodee Daulton, a 42-year-old former Gainesville resident, the program’s impact can’t be understated. Daulton’s daughter was in Walker’s second grade class.
Daulton’s daughter is one of the youngest in her class, which has led to academic struggles, she said. However, having Grandma D. in the classroom allowed her daughter to receive one-on-one time that improved her academic development.
“I do think there would’ve been a drastic difference without her,” Daulton said. “Emotionally speaking, it would have been a lot less positive of an experience in second grade for her.”
She saw Grandma D.’s impact on not only her daughter and on Walker. Walker and Grandma D. were “the team to have,” and the experience with them was “wonderful,” Daulton said.
She said Grandma D. brought an extra sense of “comfort and security.” Students saw her as a role model and even gave Grandma D. a nickname.
The extra set of hands made Walker’s second grade class “the sweetest class,” Daulton said. Walker deserves lots of credit, but Grandma D.’s help made the class environment “super supportive,” she added.
“It would be my hope that all teachers had that support so all students can experience education in that kind of environment,” she said. “Teachers need the help. Grandma D. was a wonderful asset, and that program was an invaluable experience.”
Alachua County Communications Director Mark Sexton said it was “ironic” the program lost funding days after celebrating its 60th anniversary.
He hopes the program can find a way to survive through alternative funding or a change of course by the government or AmeriCorps, he said. It has been a valuable social program in Alachua County for years, he added.
“The funding for the Foster Grandparent Program has gone away at the federal level,” Sexton said. “It’s our understanding that the funding will be turned off on Sept. 30.”
Contact Logan McBride at lmcbride@alligator.org. Follow him on X @logandmcbride.
Logan McBride is a journalism junior and the Summer 2025 city commission reporter. In his free time, he enjoys watching TV shows or playing basketball at Southwest Rec. He is also a big football fan and will die for Dak Prescott.
