The Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence has been awarded a 5-year, $47 million grant to establish effective and evidenced-based “community schools” for students and families most in need of removing barriers to learning. Two schools each from the Owensboro and Daviess County public school districts are among the first cohort.
The grant comes from the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE), and $30 million of the total “will go directly to communities and schools following community conversations about need and greater alignment and coordination of existing community services – with the goal of improved education outcomes while in school and after high school graduation.”
“To realize sustained improvement in academic outcomes, and to break cycles of generational poverty, communities need to be at the table, with schools, to ensure all assets available are utilized to support student success and to protect time for teachers to do what they do best — teach,” said Brigitte Blom, president and CEO of the Prichard Committee. “We are excited by the opportunity this grant presents for deepened school-community partnerships and are grateful for the first cohort of school districts who said yes to this opportunity.”
There is not any new curriculum associated with the grant. OPS and DCPS officials said they have not yet decided which specific schools will receive the resources provided by the program.
OPS Superintendent Dr. Matthew Constant said the grant program couldn’t have come at a better time for the district.
“We have just developed our strategic plan for the next 5 years, and one piece of information we heard from multiple data points and feedback groups was the need and desire to further integrate our community and its resources into our schools,” he said. “There are a number of great resources for our families, but they are spread around town and bringing the community into our schools provides easier access to these resources for our families. Our Family Resource Staff already do an amazing job of this but with these resources we hope to take this idea to the next level in our community. Providing families with resources they need will reduce barriers for academic success and life readiness.”
DCPS Superintendent Matt Robbins said they are similarly grateful DCPS is a participant and district officials are eager to learn the next steps in implementing the program.
“The grant will provide full-scale student and family support inside the school,” Robbins said. “Thus, we will have the full capacity to remove any and all barriers to student learning and growth. The grant also provides outstanding teacher professional learning to further enable them to provide world-class teaching practices for our students. This grant was initially a dream opportunity that would enable students to receive full academic, behavioral, and social-emotional support. For this to become a reality is unbelievable and amazing for kids! I cannot wait to see this mature into action that results in changing lives in a dramatic way.”
Blom said the Prichard Committee is committed to implementing four pillars of community schools:
- Integrated student supports that address out-of-school barriers to learning through partnerships with social and health service agencies and providers
- Expanded and enriched learning time and opportunities
- Active family and community engagement
- Collaborative leadership and practices (including high-quality teaching).
“Community schools provide a range of services to meet the unique needs of students, families, and the broader communities they serve,” Blom said. “Studies have found that well-implemented community schools can lead to improved student and school outcomes, particularly for students in high-poverty schools.”
