A $2 million grant will help launch the community school at Erie High School as early as fall 2024.
The grant from the Erie Community Foundation’s Susan Hirt Hagen Center for Transformational Philanthropy fund to the United Way of Erie County community schools initiative was announced by Erie Community Foundation President and CEO Karen Bilowith at Erie High School on Wednesday.
Education is the cornerstone of any thriving community and investing in its children’s future is paramount, Bilowith said.
“This investment is testament to our dedication to the next generation of Erie’s children, particularly those from low-income backgrounds,” Bilowith said. “By providing a holistic approach through non-academic interventions we empower students to overcome barriers and unleash their potential.”
How community schools help students succeed
Community schools bring community resources into schools — including health care, dental care and other social services — for low-income students and their families. They also offer after-school programs.
About 83% of Erie High School’s 2,080 students are considered to be economically disadvantaged, according to state data.
Community school services and programs help children come to school and learn, said Erie schools Superintendent Brian Polito.
“We know this when a student who has been chronically absent begins showing up to school thanks to supports a community school director helped put in place. We know this when we see a student wearing a warm winter jacket and new snow boots donated by one of our many community partners,” Polito said. “We know this when we see a group of students in an after-school program they would never have had the opportunity to attend otherwise.
“We know this because we see it in improved attendance, behavior and grades.”
Expanding the community school program to Erie High School will ensure that students have continued supports in grades nine through 12, United Way President Laurie Root said. Each of the Erie School District’s 10 elementary schools and three middle schools already are community schools. United Way provides most of the funding for additional staff and social services at the schools with money raised from businesses and other sponsors.
“Without the community school model in place at Erie High, the wins realized for the youngest (Erie public school) students would be diminished if not wiped out entirely,” Root said.
The timeline for the Erie High community school
Planning for the new community school will continue in phases, according to United Way, and will focus on staffing, school and student needs, community input, and steps for implementation.
With 2,080 students, Erie High is expected to have four community school directors and a supervisor to oversee services. Other Erie community schools have one director.
The goal is to have all staff and services in place at Erie High by the start of the 2024-25 school year, though some services and programs likely will be available sooner.
Erie High will be one of only a few high schools nationwide that is a community school, according to United Way.
The community school will cost about $4 million to operate for five years. United Way will continue to raise funds for the project.
The investment will help students succeed, said Katrina Byrd, community school director at Strong Vincent Middle School.
“I am looking to the future when many of our students will rise up from poverty because they had a village surrounding them and reminding them that they can soar,” Byrd said.
More help on way for Erie High:United Way announces plans to make it a community school
United Way launched the community schools initiative at five Erie elementary schools in 2016.
Before Erie High, Woodrow Wilson Middle School and Cleveland, JoAnna Connell, Jefferson and Lincoln elementary schools were the most recent additions to the community schools fold. The Erie School District committed $835,000 a year for three years in federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funding to help launch those community schools in 2021. United Way will assume full funding for the programs with help from community partners and sponsors once the district-committed money is spent.
United Way also operates community schools at Girard’s Elk Valley Elementary School and Iroquois and Union City elementary schools.
And there’s more:Erie School Board approves hiring of turnaround specialist for Erie High School
The partnership with Erie Community Foundation
The new $2 million grant isn’t the first provided by Erie Community Foundation for community schools.
The foundation provided $1.5 million to help launch the community schools initiative in 2016, and in 2018 granted $250,000 to help improve attendance at the city’s first community schools.
Contact Valerie Myers at vmyers@timesnews.com.
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