United Way of Southwest Virginia continues to expand its role of supporting education partners through a Virginia Department of Education grant that will support and implement a Community Schools model and framework in Southwest Virginia.
VDOE awarded more than $2.5 million to six school districts in our region through the Community Schools Development and Implementation Grant. UWSWVA will serve as the division-level coordinator for Community Schools in Dickenson and Washington counties, as well as the City of Norton. Carroll and Grayson counties plus the City of Radford, all encompassed within UWSWVA’s service area, were also approved for VDOE Community Schools funding.
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UWSWVA Resilience Manager Danielle Dye (left) speaks with a teacher at Valley Institute Elementary School in Washington County, Virginia. Photo: United Way of Southwest Virginia
Community Schools are public elementary or secondary schools that form partnerships with community organizations and use additional staff to meet the educational, physical, and emotional needs of economically disadvantaged students, their families, and the community.
Community Schools provide an environment that offers excellent support and wraparound services where children feel safe, loved, and challenged. The model is a unique approach that can take fragmented services and appropriately unify them, putting the school at the hub of the community.
UWSWVA is the lead collaborator through our Trauma Informed Schools initiative, taking a Community Schools framework approach by connecting and expanding partnerships with community agencies such as Communities in Schools of Appalachian Highlands, local Community Service Boards, the Department of Criminal Justice, International Institute for Restorative Practices, Institute for Educational Leadership, Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services and others that are strategically valued for providing ongoing support for students that may have been lost with the pandemic. United Way also serves on the statewide Community Schools taskforce that helps support districts that have been selected to implement this framework.
“We are excited to continue our work to care for the whole child and support the entire family, while also addressing the burnout that staff experience when dealing with taking on the needs of students who are dealing with social, emotional, and mental health needs,” said Travis Staton, President and CEO of UWSWVA. “The funding granted to these school systems will allow all of us to continue to develop both system level supports as well as school supports that can support both families and school staff.”
By sharing and teaching districts and staff alike to educate and connect with students with a trauma-informed lens, they are providing an accountability system not only for the students but for the families as well, putting the school at the center of the community and engaging families and community stakeholders in a unique, collaborative way.
Buy-in from the school system and staff is one of the most important factors affecting the success of implementing a community school model.
“Washington County Public Schools is very excited about this new funding opportunity that will allow us to continue to provide more wraparound services for our students and families in the school community,” said Dr. Brian Ratliff, Superintendent of Washington County Public Schools. “We feel the Community Schools funding will provide collaboration among our community partners, so that we are addressing all the needs of students and their families. These services and support for student learning and leadership will provide greater opportunities for student learning experiences, the expansion for family engagement, overall and continuous growth, and student preparation for college and/or career.”
As a part of each funded district’s work and the partnership with United Way of Southwest Virginia, UWSWVA will host the first Community Schools Conference in Abingdon, Virginia on Tuesday, June 13, 2023, working with our district leaders on implementing the Community Schools model and framework.
We will provide a professional development day for our school and community partners from across the state to learn more about the Community Schools framework. Further details on the Community Schools Conference, along with a keynote speaker, will be announced in the coming months.
To learn more about UWSWVA’s THR!VE team and the work they do, click here. To learn more about how you can join the THR!VE team, click here.
