Children from refugee families got new bikes at Lexington school. Watch their reaction.

Kasey Spicer, the Family Resource Center coordinator at Dixie Magnet Elementary, was recently honored by the Fayette County Public Schools for her work with Congolese refugees.

A growing number of refugee families from Congolese nations attend Dixie, said Principal Robin Steiner, and Spicer has become a familiar face in the neighborhood and become a part of the community.

“Our Congolese population is growing at Dixie,” Spicer said. “I quickly fell in love with these students.”

“We have 16 to 18 Congolese students right now and they are so sweet,” she said. “Everything that we do for them they are grateful and I have really good relationships with their families.”

“It’s part of my job to meet every student’s needs,” she said.

Spicer goes on home visits, makes welcome packets for incoming kindergarteners, and attends family gatherings and celebrations.

“All of the parents of my refugee students work very very hard. Each family is employed,” she said.

When Spicer noticed that Dixie’s food backpacks that are sent home with students for the weekend didn’t include food reflective of the culture of the Congolese families, she collected donations and got grants to purchase staples of beans, rice, and fresh fruit and vegetables to be more responsive.

Also, for more than a year, Spicer said she worked with various community agencies to try to gather enough bikes for the students who desperately wanted to bike to school “and to ride for fun.”

When other holiday giving programs were unable to meet the request, Spicer asked on social media to Dixie families and friends in order to gather enough money.

“Within an hour, I had enough money to buy ten new bicycles for the students. We were only hoping to get two to three,” she said.

“Spicer is indeed building relationships with students’ families in ways that bridge cultures and make schools a welcoming place for everyone,” Fayette County school officials said.