United Way Community Schools are a model for academic success in public schools. Resources are brought into the school building that address and remove non-academic barriers preventing low-income students from being successful in school...and in life. Over the past year, Community Schools reported:
In 2016, United Way began its shift from the outdated transaction pass-through model to the social impact model with the launch of theCommunity School Model in five pilot elementary schools. It transformed into what is now the backbone organization for a nationally recognized best practice model for full-service community schools.
At its most basic level, the Community School Model brings resources into the school building to remove non-academic barriers that local low-income children attending public schools face every day. Non-academic barriers range from basic needs, such as clothing, food and school supplies, to mental and behavioral health challenges, to unmet vision and dental needs, to lack of family engagement, to name a few.
There are 12 measurable goals for United Way’s community schools under four main pillars, following a national model. The pillars include: increased access to health and wellness supports; increased access to enrichment opportunities; increased family engagement; and, expansion of community and neighborhood partnerships.
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United Way launched the Community School Model in the 2016-17 school year with five pilot elementary schools in Erie’s Public Schools (EPS). There are 13 school districts in Erie County, each with its own challenges. EPS was selected as it is by far the largest school district in the county and serves the highest need population. (click here for poverty data)
United Way launched the Community School Model with five pilot schools in Erie's Public Schools (EPS) during the 2016-17 school year. Since then, we have expanded to include three additional districts at the elementary school level: Girard, Iroquois, and Union City. In EPS, the model now spans K-12, including all of the elementary and middle schools and Erie High School.
Most United Way community schools improved academic growth over the previous year, compared to statewide standards.
